Advanced Social Work Practitioner Looked After Children

Permanent, Full time, 37 hours per week.

Closing date: 14^th April 2024
Shortlisting: w/c 15^th April 2024

Interviews: w/c 22^nd April 2024

Now is the time to come and work for Rotherham Council Children and Young People’s Service. For more information about Rotherham Social Care jobs, please visit: https://www.rotherham.gov.uk/childrens-social-work-jobs

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY
 

Our Children and Young People’s Service is currently recruiting an Advanced Practitioner, in one of the three long-term Looked After Children’s teams based at Riverside House, Rotherham.

Linking to the Principal Social Worker across the whole social care function, they play a key role in the development of other social workers and achieving the best possible practice standards for Rotherham children.

We are looking for a skilled and experienced social worker, who is passionate about improving the life chances of our children and young people and wants to support their colleagues to develop and enhance their skills and practice.

There will be the opportunity to develop experience and knowledge of working with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people in this role. 
 

Advanced Practitioners in Rotherham will:
 

• Work with a small caseload of children and young people
• Offer mentoring and development work for other social workers, including carrying out observed practice, direct teaching and co-working
• Embed Signs of Safety and restorative approaches in practice
• Develop their own practice and skills in training, coaching and mentoring and use these in operational teams, working with a team of social workers and with team managers to identify where development and support is needed
• lead (with peers) on the practice development agenda across the organisation, as a part of an Advanced Practitioner network led by the Principal Social Worker.

The Advanced Practitioner in LAC will be responsible for providing support to the team of Social Workers, under the supervision of the Team Manager, with a focus on:

• Permanency planning for children who have a Care Order.
• Supporting young people with their transition and journey to leaving care.
• Developing, implementing, and reviewing complex care plans to ensure that children’s needs are met.
• Direct and life story work with children and young people.
• Rehabilitation of children and young people to their family where safe to do so.
• Children’s support networks and their important people, so that children have a support system in place when they leave our care.

Key benefits of working at Rotherham Council’s Children and Young People’s service are:
 

• Low caseloads
• Strong support from Managers
• You will be developed into an excellent practitioner. All Social Care Professionals will be trained extensively in the ‘Signs of Safety’ operating model (15 day programme) and Restorative Practice approaches
• Early Help provision is strong, which is now reducing the demand for social care and supporting professionals with creative options for service users
• Investment has been secured to ensure our most challenging young people have access to high quality therapeutic support
• Edge of Care Services
• Looked After Children are prioritised for CAMHS assessment and intervention
• Career Pathway
• The opportunity to make a real difference to the children and families in need of care

Now is the time to come and work for Rotherham Council Children and Young People’s Service. Help us achieve our ambition to become outstanding – be part of our improvement journey and the transformational change that we are making. We are committed to making sure that every child makes the best start in life and we are striving to become a child-friendly borough. Rotherham is a great place to live and work.

Our USP is the quality and extent of the 15 day training offer for Signs of Safety, using action research as the tool to embed the learning. We want excellent practitioners to help transform social work practice in Rotherham by generating a movement where excellent practice is the norm, resulting in consistently better outcomes for all our children. These are in accordance with our ambition to become a leading children’s services authority.

ABOUT YOU

We are seeking talented and inspirational professionals who can:

-         Innovate to help re-define children’s services

-         Promote a learning and coaching culture

-         Develop the skills and practices of our Social Care team to provide an outstanding service to children and young people

-         Add value and make the most of available resources

Our vision is for the children and families of Rotherham to routinely experience and describe the services they receive from us as outstanding, and we intend to do that by putting the child first in everything we do.

With new leadership in place and a heartfelt commitment to providing a best practice centre of excellence, you will play a vital role in building on our performance culture - providing direction and support that is rewarding in every sense, for every individual.

ABOUT YORKSHIRE

Rotherham and the wider South Yorkshire region is a great place to live and a stone’s throw from some of the UK’s finest towns and cities, and is home to some of the most beautiful countryside in Britain. Easy to reach from Sheffield or Leeds, there are plenty of places to see, things to do and property is excellent value for money - all within a 2-hour train journey from London.

If you have any questions regarding these opportunities, please email them to childrenssocialcarejobs@rotherham.gov.uk
 

Or contact our Service Manager: Kim Wilson at kim.wilson@rotherham.gov.uk