Senior Social Worker - CSST (plus Welcome Payment of £7,000) in Bracknell

We are seeking an experienced Senior Social Worker with a strong background in safeguarding to become part of our disability team, supporting and improving the lives of children and young people with complex and specialist needs. This full-time, permanent position offers the opportunity to use your skills to make a meaningful impact every day.

About you… You must hold current Social Work England registration and have substantial post-qualification experience in statutory children’s social care, including children and family social work, covering areas such as child protection and children in need. To succeed in this role, you will have knowledge of relevant legislation, guidance, policies and thresholds. You will be able to demonstrate strong assessment and analytical skills with experience of working in partnership with children and their families, and other professionals, to produce needs-led plans for children and young people. You will have the ability to work both independently and effectively as part of a team. Experience of working with children with disabilities and complex needs is desirable but not essential as we will support you to develop this specialist knowledge.

About the team… The Children’s Specialist Support Team (CSST) is a highly skilled team working with children who have disabilities and/or complex health needs. We are an experienced, friendly and supportive team who focus on ensuring that children are at the centre of all we do. We provide a range of services for children with additional needs and those who are assessed to have additional vulnerability. This includes the council’s statutory responsibilities for disabled children in need in the community (including care packages and short breaks). The team is an eclectic mix of different service areas covering a wide breadth of work with children with disabilities, Occupational Therapy and Short Breaks (including Larchwood, our short break respite unit). Taking a child first and social model approach, partnership and collaborative working is the key to our success. The team is well integrated with local partners and works alongside specialist workers in domestic abuse, mental health and substance misuse, often in co-located settings.

Key Responsibilities:

• To hold a caseload and provide assessment, care planning, intervention and family support in line with expertise commensurate to a senior practitioner.
• To promote listening to children at every opportunity, ensuring their views are heard, recorded and acted upon in an appropriate and timely manner and to ensure life journey work is completed with children and young people in accordance with their age and understanding.
• To assess and identify the needs of children and families referred and negotiate delivery of services by determining how these needs can be best met in accordance with statutory responsibilities and council policies using best value principles.
• To work alongside partner agencies e.g., voluntary and statutory and within the context of the care plan for children and families to ensure the provision of appropriate and effective services.
• To develop and maintain accurate case records and comply with the department's policies, procedures and guidelines including data protection and GDPR.
• To participate in regular reflective supervision and be able to set clear goals and intervention strategies.
• To support and mentor less experienced colleagues including newly qualified Social Workers, Family workers and Social Work Students.

Benefits:

• 28 days annual leave increasing to 33 days after 3 years’ continuous service, with the opportunity to buy up to 10 and sell up to 5 days.
• Local government pension scheme, with life insurance cover.
• Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme (subject to eligibility).
• Reimbursement of Social Work England registration.
• Recognition of continuous service attained within the NHS and UKHSA when calculating some benefits.
• Career development through internal and external training opportunities.
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and fostering leave.
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support your health and wellbeing.
• Inclusive and social working environment with a variety of staff networks and a sports and social club.

At Bracknell Forest Council our values define who we are and what is important to us. Our core values are inclusive, ambitious, and always learning. These values influence the way we work with each other and the way we serve our residents and engage with our communities. We make our values real by demonstrating them in how we behave every day. If you are excited about joining a diverse team that celebrates learning and strives for excellence, we would love to hear from you.

Bracknell Forest Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect everyone employed with us to share this commitment. All successful candidates for this role will be subject to a DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) check as part of our pre-employment checks process. Candidates should be able to demonstrate experience of working within the current Social Care System and Framework. We can only accept applications from candidates currently residing in the UK.

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.