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Job Information
Achieving for Children is a Community Interest Company that has a public sector ethos, combined with the freedom to innovate enabling us to do things differently. As a not-for-profit social enterprise owned by three local authorities (Windsor & Maidenhead, Kingston and Richmond), we offer the freedoms of a social enterprise with the employment benefits of local government. To find out more about us click here.
Senior Social Worker - Mash / SPA
There’s never been a better time to join Achieving for Children (AfC). We are Ofsted Rated GOOD and are passionate about getting it right for children and their families. We are looking for staff who have the skills, passion, and commitment that will enable us to continue to develop our practice and improve outcomes for children. The Senior Social Worker will work as a key member of a MASH with the primary function of screening and responding to all new referrals into children’s social care. The Single Point of Access (SPA) Senior Social Worker will be responsible for supporting management of SPA in screening and gathering further information on all referrals that come into the SPA as needed.
About the role
The Single Point of Access (SPA) is the gateway for all incoming contacts into children’s services. The SPA ensures that consistent and timely responses are provided to all enquiries so that children, their families and professionals working with them receive high quality information and, where necessary, support and protection from children’s services and other agencies or professionals.
The Multi- Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) is the first point of contact for children, young people and families in need or in need of safeguarding within RBWM/AfC. The team assesses and responds in the short term to children in needs undertaking safeguarding assessments where required. Through the MASH, the SPA works in partnership with the police, health and mental health, probation, and adult services to share information so that we can together provide the most appropriate response to concerns about children. With access to the electronic recording and case management systems used by Achieving for Children (AfC) social workers, early help services and youth offending services, the SPA collaborates with partners in the MASH to gather relevant locally held information.
For further information about this role, please contact Taz Makoni by email taziwa.makoni@achievingforchildren.org.uk for an informal discussion.
About you
To be a Senior Social Worker for AfC, you will be passionate about making a positive difference to the lives of children and young people. We are looking for someone who can work flexibly, has excellent communication skills, and can work collaboratively to achieve shared outcomes. It’s a genuine team effort in AfC. To be successful in the role, you will need to demonstrate:
- You are able to use evidence and professional judgment to make decisions and determine the risk of future harm.
- Your extensive experience in assessing the needs of children and their families in accordance with the Framework for the Assessment.
- Your excellent written skills and experience writing comprehensive reports for the Courts.
In addition, we expect all of our Senior Social Workers to have:
- A full and valid driving license and access to own transport.
- A professional social work qualification, CQSW or Diploma in Social Work (DipSW), or other relevant qualification recognized by Social Work England.
- An active Social Work England registration.
About our benefits
We are focused on creating a positive supportive environment, where you will have access to a really wide range of resources, as well as a competitive salary and all the perks to enable hybrid working. In AfC you will also have access to:
- 29 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days after 2 years and 35 days after 4 years with an additional day off in your birthday month (Or for term-time workers, your leave entitlement consists of the non-working periods in your contract)
- Tailored induction sessions commencing on the date you start working for AfC
- Local Government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension)
- Flexible working options - helping to keep a good work life balance
- A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme
- A range of staff benefits and discounts
- An excellent learning and development offer to support your career pathway
To find out about all of the breadth of benefits of working for Achieving for Children click here. For our social work offer click here. For our Recruitment Journey, click here.
Important Information
Start dates: Achieving for Children have set start dates meaning successful candidates join on a set date in each month. Candidates are advised to prepare for this should a job offer be accepted to ensure eligible continuous service is not affected.
Right to work: The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.
Equality: We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams. Achieving for Children are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.
Safeguarding: We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
