Advanced Social Worker – Practice Lead

Introduce the team

The Learning Disabilities Team support people to meet their needs, to live as independently as they can and to live a good life. We work with multi-disciplinary teams, including the Integrated Care Board to meet those needs holistically.

The team focuses on promoting the rights of individuals to be able to make choices and decisions for themselves and use the Mental Capacity act to guide these where required.

The team has a range of practitioners including Assistant Care Managers, Social Workers, Experienced Social Workers, Advanced Social Workers and Link Workers. Our Link workers support the main Care Management functions of the other roles, and support the people we work with to source services and activities in the community.

While the work can be challenging the team are very supportive of each other and fun to be around.  We have a passion and commitment to support the people we work with.

Your next role

Adult Social Care has a permanent vacancy for an Advanced Social Worker – Practice Lead in the Learning Disability Team. You will be joining a friendly, supportive and dynamic team. This role will see you working closely with the residents of Swindon and their families as well as a number of professionals including health, provider services, safeguarding and mental health colleagues.

Offering a significant level of experience in working with those who have learning disability, you’ll manage a complex caseload and be responsible for completing Care Act Assessments, reviews and proportionate support planning which may include Mental Capacity Assessments and Best Interest Decisions as well as other tasks. You’ll offer support to your colleagues by leading and developing best practice, providing supervision in the team, managing safeguarding enquiries, and taking part in the duty rota. The team operates a hybrid working model with all practitioners expected to be in the office for a minimum of two days per week.

Consistent and regular monthly supervision will be provided to you with access to support from the Assistant Team Manager, Team Manager and the wider team.

You must be fluent in the English language (as a requirement of Part 7 of the Immigration Act “for the effective performance of a customer-facing role”).

To apply for this role, you must be register with Social Work England.

Our transformation journey

Like all other local authorities, we are experiencing an increase in demand. As an organisation we know our Adults’ Services are on a rapid improvement journey which is why last year we started making big changes across the service to provide the best care for children and great conditions for our staff. This started with us recruiting an entirely new leadership team of experienced, forward thinking managers who are driving changes in the service and we aim to be one of the best Adults’ Services in the country.

Our Adult Practitioners’ induction

A practitioner-specific, Swindon-specific induction programme, aimed at providing you with the information you need regarding the policies and procedures of Adult Social Care at Swindon Borough Council.

The induction programme incorporates a blend of face-to-face activities and e-learning modules aimed at consolidating and reviewing your knowledge of the key areas.

These key areas include:

• Understanding how to use our case management system
• Understanding the Safeguarding and Quality Assurance policies and procedures
• Understanding and using a strength-based approach

Improvements include:

• Multi-million pound investment in staff and support
• Significant restructure creating smaller Social Worker teams
• New intuitive IT system to cut down on desk time and make mobile working the norm
• High standards for management practice, support and supervision for staff
• Listening to our Social Workers by holding regular social work forums.
• Implemented Liquid Logic since October 2023.

At the heart of it all is our desire to promote and cultivate a strong learning culture combined with outstanding leadership and supervision. Here is what you can expect to find when you arrive:​

• Early help and community health practitioners co-located with our Social Workers, providing great working relationships​​
• Fantastic relationships with partner agencies such as the police and Swindon CCG​​
• Teams located within communities, providing a closer connection to the people we work with

Our new offer to you

We recognise that getting the best outcomes for our Adults means getting the best from you and we have listened to what our Social Workers and our Managers most value.

Please see our Rewards and Benefits offer for more details.

As an employee, you will receive a diverse and exciting environment in which to work, encouraging creativity and innovation whilst recognising the need to support ongoing personal development and a flexible work life balance.

For Swindon to thrive in the future, we need to lay the foundations now. It’s why our regeneration and transformation programmes are already underway. So, you’ll be joining us at an exciting time on our journey. We’ll look to you to share your knowledge, influence decisions and drive real, positive change. With your contributions, we’ll achieve our vision of a prosperous, re-vitalised Swindon together. And you’ll be proud to say it was made better with you. 

Please see our Vision and Values page for more details.

Potential applicants are sometimes put off if they don’t meet 100% of the requirements. We think individual experience, skills and passion make all the difference, so if you are a registered practitioner and meet the majority of the criteria, we’d love to hear from you.

Your next steps

Read the role profile and select the Apply button where you will be redirected to the Swindon Borough Council website to complete our online application process. Clicking the ‘Apply’ button on this job website is not an application, you must register on the Swindon Borough Council website in order to be considered for the role.

If you would like to discuss this opportunity further please contact Team Manager Naomi MacMeekin at NMacMeekin4@swindon.gov.uk who can arrange a call with you.

As an inclusive employer, we welcome applications from a diverse range of communities, and in particular disabled people and people from ethnic minorities. Read our statement of commitment to equality & inclusion.

If you are experiencing technical issues submitting your application please email resourcing@swindon.gov.uk