Childrens Social Worker Looked After Children

Job description

Children's Social Worker – Looked After Children

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, Children and Young People’s Services 

Full time, 37 hours per week, Permanent

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

We will deliver on our promise to our children – will you?

Come and join the team here in Rotherham! We have strong and accessible leadership in place and a heartfelt pledge to provide a best practice centre of excellence. We are committed to cultivating a positive, practice-led culture underpinned by plenty of support at all levels. We pride ourselves on our strong learning environment and use this positively to develop staff and improve practice. 

This role is based within one of three busy and supportive Looked After teams, located in central Rotherham. The successful candidate will work with children and young people up to the age of 18. There will be the opportunity within this role to specialise in working with unaccompanied asylum seeking children. You will be joining a service which is supportive, friendly and inclusive, where we care about the children we work with.

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

You will be joining an authority Ofsted rate as Good

Hybrid working arrangements to support employees; this consists of a mix of office-based activity and time spent home working. This promotes a pro-active work/life balance culture throughout the Council, recognising the importance of flexibility to support a positive health and well-being ethos.

We have a generous annual leave allowance, always pay at the top band of the payscale.

Strong management support and oversight with approachable and supportive senior managers

Regular reflective supervision

Excellent professional learning & development opportunities – guaranteed 15 days per year, underpinned by the Rotherham Family Approach which incorporates ‘Signs of Safety’, ‘Restorative Approaches’, and ‘Social Pedagogy’ as our methodological approach and framework.

Bespoke Learning Academy to support practitioners.

Excellent social work case management and reporting systems making your job easier.

An accredited social work career pathway to Level 2, 3 and Advanced Practitioner positions and a proven record of ‘growing our own’ at all levels.

A positive learning environment to enhance your social work career.

Opportunity to talk to current staff via a virtual drop in to gain a greater insight into working at RMBC.

ABOUT YOU

You will have experience of working directly with children, young people and their families (through previous/current employment and/or voluntary work).

You will have some experience of working directly with children and young people ‘in need’ of support, protection and care (preferably through previous / current employment and/or social work placements).

You will be able to organise your daily workload independently and prioritise competing demands with support.

You will be able to show initiative and be able to respond independently to unexpected situations. 

You will be able to communicate clearly; verbally and in writing, acting professionally, respectfully and tactfully when dealing with areas of sensitivity and potential conflict or disagreement.

You will be sufficiently confident to undertake home visits and attend meetings with families and other professionals.

You will have some experience of undertaking Early Help Assessments / Statutory Social Work Single Assessments of needs and circumstances.

You will have a good understanding of the experiences of looked after children

You will be capable of accurate reporting and have the confidence to communicate complex information to a variety of audiences.

You will have some understanding of how evidence is presented in court.

You will be passionate about maximising a child’s life chances. 

You will care and want to make a positive difference for children, young people and their families.

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-centered 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.

Closing Date: 25/02/24

Shortlisting: w/c 26/02/24

Interviews: w/c 04/03/24

If you have any questions regarding this opportunity, please email them to:

Kim Wilson, Service Manager – kim.wilson@rotherham.gov.uk