Social Worker - Cwd (A&R)

At Slough Children First we offer exceptional support, flexible working and a chance to do things differently. We’re proud to have created a place where social work can flourish. Our young people are looking for Social Workers who are down-to-earth, honest, approachable and who can be themselves.  If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you.

We currently have a Social Worker vacancy within our Children with Disabilities (CWD) team, which comprises of three sections: occupational therapy, Assessment and Review (A&R), and Active case work.  This vacancy is within the A&R Section where you will be responsible for assessing review and progressing plans for children in need, and for children in need who access short breaks.  You will be required to respond to safeguarding concerns as they arise. 

As a Social Worker within the A&R section of our CWD team, you will need to be a Social Work England registered Social Worker with a professional social work qualification, or equivalent.  You will have post qualifying experience of working as a Social Worker within children’s services, specifically experience of assessing care needs, implementing packages of care and reviewing those care packages within a resource allocation panel process..

 Main Accountabilities 

• Promote and safeguard the wellbeing and interests of the child / young person at all times and throughout all aspects of work.
• Be responsible for managing an independent workload, ensuring legislative requirements are met to a high standard and within required timescales.
• Thoroughly assess, critically analyse, plan and implement suitable interventions for complex cases that fulfil statutory regulations, instigating proceedings and taking cases to court as required whilst effectively managing risk at all time and seeking support from senior team members when required.
• Produce concise, well-structured assessments, plans and reports, clearly recording and reporting analysis and judgements and ensuring that all recommendations are followed.
• Where cases are to be transferred to another service or partners, ensure that there is a clearly recorded transfer plan.
• Maintain accurate, up to date, evidence-based records safely and confidentially, in line with statutory requirements.
• Work with children, young people and families/carers to develop effective relationships through meaningful and purposeful direct work, actively seeking and understanding their needs and views to promote their participation in decision making and inform practice in assessment and planning in individual cases.
• Work in partnership with colleagues and other agencies to deliver accessible and effective services, empowering parents and carers to develop and maintain safe parenting practices, leading meetings to achieve outcomes for children.
• Be responsible for own individual performance in line with national standards, service and team specific performance indicators and actions required to address areas for improvement.
• Be responsible for own professional development keeping pace with national, regional and local policy initiatives, attending training to maintain professional development and ensuring the receipt of regular supervision.
• Participate in and learn from routine observation, review and auditing activity conducted by the Team Manager and Assistant Team Manager to secure the highest possible standards of social work practice.
• With the agreement of the Assistant Team Manager, identify resources where required and available to promote child/family well being.
• Develop and maintain effective internal and external working relationships to achieve optimal outcomes for children and young people, ensuring a joined-up approach to relationships to other team members and managers.
• Represent Slough Children First’s values and be part of setting a positive culture within your team, service and Slough Children First; challenge behaviour when it is not aligned with our values and take appropriate action; support a professional in a respectful and child-focused environment which supports Slough Children First’s vision.
• Ensure all interventions are conducted within an anti-discriminatory framework, and take into account issues such as race, gender, sexuality, disability etc, and deliver appropriate services to the diverse communities of Slough.
• Provide cover for the work of other team members and take on other additional duties, as required.

Person specification

• Professional Social Work Degree or equivalent (Essential)
• Post qualifying experience as a Social Worker working with children and families (Essential)
• Social Work England Registered (Essential)
• DBS Check (Enhanced)
• Knowledge and application of the legal framework and assessment process in Children’s Social Care (Essential)
• Knowledge and understanding of the values and principles underpinning the involvement of children, young people and families/carers, including the right to access independent advocacy and complaints processes (Essential)
• Ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing, to a range of audiences including children, young people, parents and carers and professional colleagues (Essential)
• Knowledge and application of social work interventions in at least one area of practice (Essential)
• Ability to gather and assess information to inform judgement in complex situations and in response to challenge, clearly reporting and recording analysis (Essential)
• Ability to use a range of interventions effectively and evaluate them in practice to ensure that the correct outcomes are achieved (Essential)
• Ability to manage and prioritise own workload independently, maintaining professionalism in challenging circumstances and seeking support and suggesting solutions for workload difficulties (Essential)
• Acceptance and commitment to the principles of human rights and equality and how they underpin practice (Essential)
• Understands and has experience of the statutory framework underpinning social work (Essential)
• Computer literate with knowledge of Microsoft Office packages (Essential)
• Some experience in using electronic case management skills (Essential)
• Current UK driving license and access to a vehicle (Desirable)