Social Worker - Support & Safeguarding Pods

About the role

Social workers will be part of a Pod managed by an Assistant Team Manager and overseen by the Team Manager. The Social Workers are responsible for managing a caseload of children and young people and completing assessments, direct work and interventions with them and their families. They will work effectively in line with legislation and AfC policies and procedures to: 

• Safeguard and promote the welfare of children in line with the Children Acts 1989 and 2004, Children and Families Act 2014, and working Together to Safeguard Children guidance, giving due consideration to their race, culture, religion and linguistic background.
• Carry a caseload and be responsible for assessment and planning for children and young people in compliance with casework objectives, statutory and departmental policy and procedural requirements, consistently maintaining the highest level of professional standards.
• Undertake direct social work responsibilities as an allocated worker to the children and young people assigned, investigating concerns regarding a child or young person’s safety or wellbeing, make an assessment of the risk and protective factors in the family and decide on the most appropriate course of action.
• To ensure the provision of clear written reports to child protection conferences, reviews, planning meetings and any other purpose as required, ensuring good quality casework analysis and risk assessment is evident throughout. Reports and case notes prepared for Court are of high quality, to support giving evidence in Court, as required. Case recording to effectively evidence the voice of the child and progress of plans.

For further information about this role, please contact Lynda Gutteridge by email lynda.gutteridge@achievingforchildren.org.uk for an informal discussion.

About you

To be a 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 judgement to make decisions and determine the risk of future harm.
• Your excellent written skills and experience writing comprehensive reports for the Courts. 
• A full understanding of the role and responsibilities of the Social Worker in the lives of the children and families you will work with.

In addition we expect all of our social workers to have:

• A full and valid driving licence and access to own transport
• A professional social work qualification, CQSW or Diploma in Social Work (DipSW), or other relevant qualification recognised 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).

For more information about AfC: Drop in and meet Regina on the first Wednesday of every month at Civic Centre, Twickenham.

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.