Social Worker (Children with Disabilities Team)

Social Worker (Children with Disabilities Team)

Employer: Wokingham Borough Council
Salary: £43,221 - £49,464 per annum (inc £3k Market Supplement) - Pay award pending
Location: Shute End/Home Working
Contract: Permanent
Working Pattern: Full Time
Hours: 37 hours per week.
DBS Check: Enhanced
Closing Date: 10/11/2024 at 23:00
Reference: 704038

Social Worker - Children with Disabilities Team

Our Children with Disabilities (CWD) Team is looking for a Social Worker to join them, who either has experience in a CWD Team or brings excellent skills from a Child in Need (CIN), Child Protection (CP) or Child in Care (CIC) background and is keen to extend their knowledge in the disabilities arena.

The ideal candidate will be passionate about providing quality services to children with disabilities and their families, delivered within a signs of safety practice framework, to support life skills development, increase independence, promote family resilience and keep children safe from harm.

Many of the key aspects of this role, will draw on your previous experience working with families using a strength-based approach. We will provide the training and support you will need to become a confident CWD Social Worker.

The Social Worker role: You will be responsible for a caseload of children with disabilities spanning the range of statutory provisions, including CIN, children subject to CP Plans, CIC and those where Care Proceedings have been initiated. You will work with these children and their families to undertake holistic social work assessments, with a view to identifying risk and need; and work with multi-agency networks to develop and review plans that address and mitigate concerns in a timely manner.

The ability to engage with a variety of stakeholders and communicate effectively in a verbal and written format are key to performing this role, alongside a secure safeguarding understanding.

About the Team: The CWD Team sits within our wider Children with Disabilities Service, which includes a range of resources tailored for families in the Wokingham Borough. The CWD Team is made up of 4 Social Workers and 3 Occupational Therapists. The team is headed up by a Team Manager who has been with Wokingham Borough Council for two and a half years and an experienced Assistant Team Manager. The team work in a hybrid manner, with a pre-arranged duty day in the office which rotates at least once weekly between team members. Given the complexity of working with Children with Disabilities, workloads are carefully managed to ensure the ability to deliver a focused and meaningful service.

Quote from Senior Social Worker, Children with Disabilities Team, (October 2024):

"I had never worked in a CWD Team before joining, but I've found that I really thrive working on the complex cases in CWD. I am confident that I receive the right level of challenge and support from my Manager(s). It's a lovely team and we're in a good place, working well in a standardised manner and enjoying connecting at our regular team development days".

What we can offer you:

• Salary: (Grade NL32 - NL38): £43,221 - £49,464 per annum (inc £3k Market Supplement)

• Annual Leave: 28 days, rising to 33 days with 5 years continuous service

• Local Government Pension

• Local and National Discounts

• Continuous Professional Development

• Supportive Management

Closing date: Sunday 10th November 2024, 11pm

Interview date: Tuesday 19th November 2024

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Nicola Vines, Team Manager, Children with Disabilities Team: Tel: / , or Alix Williams, Recruitment & Retention Specialist for Children's Social Care:

If your application is shortlisted for an interview, you will be required to provide proof of your right to work in the UK at that stage. Additionally, successful candidates must present proof upon receiving a job offer.

Please note that all offers are conditional and subject to the satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks.

Please be aware that we will be reviewing the applications we receive on a daily basis, and we reserve the right to close the advert early if suitable candidates are identified.

Wokingham Borough Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff, other workers and volunteers to share this commitment. All successful candidates for this role will be subject to Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks along with other relevant employment checks.

WBC is an equal opportunities employer.

How to apply

Please apply online via the link provided.

Please note, we do not accept CVs submitted without a fully completed online application form.

Further information on this vacancy

• CWD Social Worker Job Description