Social Worker Children in Care

Undertake preventative work with service users to diminish safeguarding concerns, investigating concerns of significant harm and making appropriate use of legislation to safeguard and promote the welfare of service users.

• To provide a Social Work service to individuals, their families and carers by assessing and identifying their needs and meeting them through direct therapeutic work, care planning and management. Be able to integrate a theoretical approach with practice.

• Manage a caseload, exercising complex decision making in line with professional criteria and making sure that case work is appropriately planned, critically evaluated and reviewed.

• Engage effectively with situations of increasing complexity and challenge including multiagency input, complex family organisational dynamics, multiple problems/disadvantage, multiple significant risk factors, and the need to take into account the public interest.

• Ensure appropriate care for service users ensuring the best use of existing mainstream and specialist resources, and demonstrating innovation with these resources where appropriate.

• Accept responsibility for and supervision of service users who are provided with care services and undertake expert and robust review of such cases.

• Provide expert witness and give evidence to court and other relevant bodies as required, including giving evidence in court in proceedings, and including the presentation of reports and applications for appropriate Legal Orders.

• Work in partnership with other agencies and organisations, in order to fulfil the provision of a Social Work service, representing the perspective of the organisation. Maintain contact with a wide range of statutory and voluntary sector professionals for information exchange, the exercise of judgment and in order to influence outcomes in case planning and decision making.

• Contribute to multi-disciplinary assessments, chairing and leading meetings when required and participate in planning meetings and reviews, demonstrating and promoting information sharing within/between organisations.

• Mentor newly qualified and less experienced Social Workers to develop their expertise and/or offer placements to Social Work students as a practice educator.

• To self-manage your own challenging and demanding workload of cases, seeking support where necessary, and undertake research, and apply knowledge regarding emerging best practice.

• Participate in the provision of training throughout the department, assisting in the development of new resources, working on specialist projects and acting as a member of a professional development or service planning group.

• Identify and act on your learning needs to participate continuously in professional development opportunities, including regular supervision and appraisal, in line with Social Work registration and HCPC standards.

• Apply Social Work ethical principles and values to guide your professional practice and decision-making including partnership, consultation and the participation of service users.

• Maintain up to date, accurate, concise and purposeful records of work in line with the departmental policy on case recording and access to files, producing high quality assessments that accurately assess and manage higher levels of risk and complexity.

• To act in accordance with the priorities and policies of the department, actively promoting and supporting the council policies on equality and working in an anti-oppressive manner