Job Description

The role

We are recruiting a qualified social worker to join our Children in Care & Care Leavers Service, on a fixed term contract to cover maternity leave - for a period of 9/12 months.

A bit about us\xe2\x80\xa6

We are within easy commutable distance of Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside regions. In addition, we offer flexible working - including a blend of working from home/remotely.

We have a strong vision for social work practice in Warrington and are developing a new approach to social work. We are currently embedding a relationship based practice model that has systemic practice at its core. We are working alongside the Centre for Systemic Social Work, who are providing a comprehensive training programme to social workers and managers across our teams.

We have three Children in Care teams, one which includes Leaving Care - each team has Team Manager who is eager to support and develop all social workers alongside the Senior Practitioner. Our teams support children and young people who are subject to care orders and for whom we share PR who live within foster placements, residential care and also with members of their extended family. We recognise that the role can be challenging and we have a range of exciting and impactful developments in Warrington that our social workers can utilise in supporting families, including:

• No Wrong Door - a multi-agency hub where young people at risk of going into care get targeted support to cope with the multiple issues they face; this includes our own Internal Accommodation \'The Lighthouse\' from aged 8 years, for Outreach and from aged 12 years for Emergency accommodation whilst we work with families for children at risk of entering care and Supported Accommodation placements with wrap around Outreach support for 16-18 year old.
• Families first (which includes Family Group Conference Co-ordinators, PAMS assessors and family support workers).
• Systemic Hub - consisting of Systemic Family Practitioners who are assigned to each team to provide therapeutic support and intervention and provide guidance to our social workers regarding systemic approaches to direct work and interventions.
• A family time service (to assist in arranging and supervising the time that our children in care spend with their families).
• Restore - a service designed to work with Mothers who are pregnant and have children previously moved, with the aim of reducing repeat removals.
• Administrative team - the team are able to assist with taking minutes of meetings, scanning documents onto the system and other administrative tasks

In Warrington we want all children and families to benefit from high quality and purposeful relationships with professionals. We believe this will help create the best opportunities for people to change and reach their full potential. We also believe one of the most effective ways to improve the outcomes for children and families is through providing our social workers with the best conditions in which they can thrive.

Here in Warrington we are proud to be graded Good in all areas in our 2019 Ofsted inspection. Which says;-

\xe2\x80\x9cMost social workers are permanent and experienced employees. This is complemented by a continuous supply of both recently qualified and qualifying social workers, who unanimously endorse the high standard of support and early career development provided by the local authority. Social workers\' morale across the service is high, and they are realising the benefits of smaller teams, continuous allocation to children, manageable caseloads and the considerable investment in their training and development. Social workers also appreciate the importance given to their emotional well-being and welfare through regular \'check-ins\'."

In Warrington we want all children and families to benefit from high quality and purposeful relationships with professionals. We believe this will help create the best opportunities for people to change and reach their full potential. We also believe one of the most effective ways to improve the outcomes for children and families is through providing our social workers with the best conditions in which they can thrive.

What else we can offer you:

• Great training and progression opportunities.
• We value good supervision and Time to Talk.
• We recognise that everyone is on their own individual journey and will tailor support to help you to achieve.
• We thrive off good multiagency working and relationships and have excellent support services available to assist with supporting families.

Our people make Warrington work! Because our people do such a great job, we\'ve put together an attractive and competitive benefits package.

Just some of the otter benefits for working for Warrington:

• Car leasing scheme (salary sacrifice)
• Comprehensive discount shopping platform
• Rail season ticket scheme
• Generous annual leave allowance
• Attractive pension scheme

We\'ve recently moved\xe2\x80\xa6

We have now moved to our new building in Time Square, this is a great work space with hubs and pods which will provide a great environment to work, furthermore, with cafes and restaurants on the doorstep. In addition, as a result of the pandemic we have reviewed our working practices and now offer significant opportunities to work from home.

We have high aspirations for our children and welcome those who share our ambition!

So if you want to make a difference to the lives of vulnerable children and young people with relationship based practice at the heart of everything we do and develop great relationships, then come and join us in Warrington where we are passionate about our work with children and families.

How to apply

For enquiries or an informal discussion, please contact Sandra Siwoku Team Manager on 01925 444298 or 07890560655.

Key dates

Closing date for applications is 02 October 2023.

DBS clearance is required.

The ability to converse at ease with customers and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post.

Warrington Borough Council is a Disability Confident employer

Job details

Salary

GRADE 07 (\xc2\xa330,150 - \xc2\xa333,819)

Warrington Borough Council