Social Worker (Leaving Care)

Job Description

Job title: Social Worker (Leaving Care)

Company: Derbyshire County Council

Job description: LocationParkside Pod, ChesterfieldReferenceJOB/24/00470Salary detailsGrade 9 – 11 £31,963 – £40,638 per annumJob termFull TimeAppointment typePermanentHours37 hours per weekClosing Date07 April 2024Leaving Care Social WorkerAbout the roleThis is a permanent full-time post based within Derbyshire’s Leaving Care Service for a Social Work post within the Chesterfield and High Peak Team in Derbyshire County Council. This post will be based at our Chesterfield, nationally renowned care leavers hub and office space at the POD.You will be committed to corporate parenting, relationships-based practice as the driver of positive outcomes and transitions. Social Pedagogy, systemic and trauma informed approaches will be at the heart of your practice. We will also expect you to model best practice and mentor workers. You will be joining an established, high performing service with excellent strategic agreements including a recently refreshed and comprehensive Local Offer for care experienced young people which incorporates excellent opportunities for employment, education and training, discounted water bills, council tax reductions and thriving support groups, to name a few. We aspire to build an even better service following on from our 2021 Ofsted Leaving Care Visit. Inspectors were humbled by the amazing strength’ of the council’s care leavers and found:

• A passionate and skilled workforce which is enabling care leavers to progress well and benefit from positive experiences
• The aspirations, wishes and concerns for young people leaving the council’s care are apparent and plans are ‘ambitious’ reflecting a ‘determination for care leavers to succeed in what they want to do.’
• A focus on effective transition for young people between the ages of 16 and 18 with support to develop confidence and life skills to negotiate the opportunities and challenges of adulthood.
• Young people leaving the council’s care value the service and said workers are caring and supportive and they felt they could contact their worker when necessary
• Accommodation needs are carefully considered so young people feel secure and their wishes around location are respected so they can maintain relationships with people who are important to them
• There is a clear focus on education, employment and training designed to help young people of all abilities choose the appropriate route to make the most of their opportunities when they leave care
• The council’s culture is ‘not giving up on a young person’ and this is embedded across the service

What will you be doing?

• Provide a quality social work service that supports children to achieve their potential and achieve positive transitions to adulthood
• Effectively manage a number of young people to achieve the best outcomes for them.
• Model best practice and mentor others
• Evidencing a determined commitment to corporate parenting
• Working in partnership with children and young people build and sustain relationships, identify needs, and develop plans and responses that meet those needs.

What skills and experience do you need?

• BA Honours in Social Work and current Social Work England registration (refer to job and person profile for more information).
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a person-centred approach to building a rapport and relationships with children and families.
• Ability to reflect on own practice and development enabling flexible and thoughtful social work practice and positive change.
• Experience of relationship focused social work.

We believe that hard work and commitment to your role should be rewarded, so we offer a package to our social workers that will ensure you always feel supported and valued:

• manageable case loads
• two thriving office and young person hubs
• visible, supportive and determined managers.
• diverse range of allocations providing an exciting, challenging and rewarding career
• effective leadership and management which helps to reduce risk for our social workers and the children and families they support
• excellent supervision and a supportive peer network
• accelerated pay progression opportunities for frontline social workers following their ASYE
• systemic training equivalent to a foundation level Post Graduate Certificate
• access to an excellent range of training and development opportunities, worth over £5000, including leadership and management development
• Corporate membership with Research in Practice – allowing access to reputable, evidence-based research, training, and resources
• fantastic opportunities to undertake further formal qualifications and career progression through our career pathways
• DBS check undertaken and paid for by us
• Social Work England registration fee reimbursed

For more information on Children and Family services and becoming a social worker in Derbyshire please visitIf you would like to talk to someone informally about this post, please contact team managerWhat benefits do we offer you?

• Local Government Pension Scheme
• generous annual leave and flexi-time scheme
• travel expenses
• discount on leisure centre memberships
• free car parking at most sites
• an in-house counselling service
• occupational health service
• access to sessions with a trained physiotherapist
• cycle to work scheme

Due to this post having access to children and/or vulnerable adults, the successful candidate will be required to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service check. The possession of a criminal record will not necessarily prevent an applicant from obtaining this post, as all cases are judged individually according to the nature of the role and information provided.Related informationPlease read any attached documents before applying for this jobFile size: 66.39 KBWe’re a disability confident employerWe warmly encourage applications from disabled people. If online applications are not suitable for you, there are to apply. If you need advice or support with your application, or need the recruitment documents in another format such as audio, easy read, or braille, our is here to help you and can be contacted on 01629 532440Equality and diversityWe recognise the importance of having a workforce which reflects the people of Derbyshire. We believe this is important because recognising and valuing diversity helps us to deliver services that reflect the needs of everyone in our county. We’re committed to valuing diversity and treating everyone fairly who works or wishes to work for us.Advertise your jobs with usDerbyshire County Council advertise jobs on behalf of other organisations, to help reach a wider audience.If you are an organisation interested in advertising with us, please contact our traded recruitment team on 01629 535117 option 1 or by emailing to find out more.Need to contact us?If you have any queries about Derbyshire County Council vacancies, contact our recruitment team on 01629 535118 option 2 or by emailing our .If your query is about a vacancy with a school, please contact them directly.To keep updated on DCC careers and recruitment news follow us on social media

Expected salary: £31963 – 40638 per year

Location: Chesterfield, Derbyshire

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