Social Worker

East of England, East of England

Permanent

£36,756 to £38,480

Other Allied

Social Worker

Job summary

Salary:£36,756 - £38,480 (inclusive of 5% market supplement)

Hours per week:37 hours

Interview date:To be confirmed following shortlisting

Children In Care Service Empowering Young Lives

We'reseeking a dynamic,forward-thinking and experienced Social Worker to become an integral part of our Children in Care Team in the north of Wiltshire. Dedicated to improving the lives of looked-after children and meeting the unique needs of the most vulnerable, we received an 'Outstanding' rating from Ofsted in September 2023, with positive inspection feedback for our service.

As part of the Children in Care Team, we are proactively preparing to meet growing demands whilemaintaining manageable caseloads. To achieve this, we are investing significantly in new positions at the management, Social Worker, and Personal Advisor levels, all aimed at delivering the best possible outcomes for our Children and Families.

We have a local offer for care leavers and 'The Leaving Care Forum,' complementing the Children in Care service, as we strive to enhance inclusion and participation for all our looked-after and care-experienced young individuals.

Main duties of the job

We warmly invite qualified and experienced Social Workers registered with Social Work England to apply! We would value your understanding of related agendas, practices, policies, and your thorough knowledge of associated legislation. If you bring prior experience in children in care, safeguarding, or working with children and young people with disabilities, your application will be highly regarded.

Join our innovative local authority, where you canleverage your proven professional and personal development experience to further your career aspirations. Together, we can continue making a positive impact on the lives of the children and families in Wiltshire.

About us

Wiltshire Council is a friendly, welcoming place to work, with a 'One Council' ethos. Thats why we focus on getting the things that matter to our people right.

This position comes with a 5% market supplement payment. All market supplement payments are subject to review on an annual basis.

We are firmly committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and to the principles of inclusion and diversity in both employment and the delivery of services.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Specific duties and responsibilities include:

To undertake for children and young adults person-centred social work/community care assessment with customers and to plan for the provision of support and/ or services with customers in order to assist them meet their outcomes and to live as independently as possible fulfilling their individual potential. To ensure accurate and timely recording of all information/assessment activity onto the Social Care records database in accordance with work targets set by the Team Manager and Assistant team manager.

To be Primary worker with case responsibility for Children in Need, Children Looked After and when appropriate Children in need of Protection - depending upon the function of the dedicated team.

To operate within the County policy and keep up to date with social work methods, practice developments, new legislation and procedures, including the Childrens Act 2004, Children & Families Act 2014, Every Child Matters and Care Matters agenda, The Care act 2014, NHS and social care legislation.

To be responsible for the day to day interpretation of and implementation of statutory duties and departmental policy and procedures in the provision of services to children and young adults.

To be allocated work from the Team Manager or any person delegated to act on their behalf based on eligibility criteria and to hold case management responsibility for this work.

To have a well developed understanding of assessment and the management of risks for adults and to be able to apply Council policy and support customers to manage risk appropriately. To identify where vulnerable adults may be at risk and to act in accordance with the Departments Safeguarding policies and procedures.

To complete enquiries and assess, the needs of and risks to vulnerable children and young people in a timely manner giving due consideration to the wishes and views of the child and the childs family. This will include the completion of S47 enquiries, Single Assessments, Vulnerable Adults safeguarding and engaging service users and other relevant persons in the work base, homes or any other appropriate venue e.g. hospital, school etc.

To take appropriate action to assess and minimise any identified concern or risk to children/young people in accordance with the requirements and timescales of Assessment Frameworks, Child Protection procedures and Looked after Children legislation and procedures.

To draw up and implement, with the child/young person and their family/carers, an appropriate plan to address identified issues and to maximise the participation of service users and carers in this process ensuring that social work intervention is ongoing only when necessary in peoples lives.

To carry out regular reviews of individual plans, record outcomes and formulate revised plans which are outcome focused.

To convene meetings e.g. team around the child meetings to assist in the implementation and review of plans for vulnerable children. To write reports for Child Protection Conferences, Planning Meetings, Looked after Children reviews, Legal meetings and Court Hearings and attend these as appropriate Participate in the teams social work duty rota.

To fully engage and prepare for own supervision and appraisal through self-evaluation, ensuring that continual professional development is evidenced.

Ability to travel on a daily basis and to undertake visits to families in their own homes or in other settings.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

Have up-to-date knowledge of relevant legislation and guidance in relation to working with, and the protection of, children and young people.
Thorough understanding of the needs of children in care.
Up to date knowledge of key child care legislation, policies and practices central to the implementation of a professional social work service on behalf of the council.
Knowledge of Every Child Matters, the five outcomes and shared processes.
OR
Have up-to-date knowledge of relevant legislation and guidance in relation to working with, and the safeguarding of, vulnerable adults.
Knowledge and understanding of Health & Social Care legislation and wider policy context for vulnerable adults
AND
Knowledge and ability to put into practice a range of theories, models and interventions and to assess impact for the service user.
Knowledge of assessment processes including the contribution provided by other agencies, timescales and their impact on council and Government performance targets and indicators.
Knowledge of Outcome focused interventions.
Professional Social Work qualification.
Social Work England registered.
Experience of direct work with children, young people and families ; Or
Experience of direct work with vulnerable adults.
Experience of completing assessments, reports and plans for children identified as vulnerable and in need ; Or
Experience of completing assessments, reports and plans for adults identified as vulnerable and in need.
Knowledge and evidence of assessment skills, including engaging with users of services, other professionals and agencies to achieve a holistic assessment.
Excellent report writing skills.
Proven organisational skills, including the ability to prioritise work, manage own time effectively and meet deadlines.
Ability to keep accurate electronic records.
Ability to contribute positively to the social work team and department.
Takes responsibility for own professional development and commitment to evidenced based practice.
Good IT skills.
Ability to manage competing demands of a caseload.
Effective communication skills, both verbal and written with colleagues, outside agencies and service users.
Ability to identify problems with some complexity and to demonstrate creative approach to such problems.
Ability to develop and maintain effective professional relationships within and outside the department.
Fluent in English Language.

Desirable

Understanding of Person Centred Planning.
Experience of foster care and family placement work.
Experience of developing supported living options for vulnerable adults.
Experience of working with children in care, their families and foster carers.
Developing ordinary life, supported living options for young adults.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.