PLO Reviewing Officer in Swindon

3 - 4 Month Contract With A Local Authority

To provide specialist oversight, quality assurance and challenge across Public Law Outline (PLO), pre-proceedings and care proceedings work, ensuring timely progression, high-quality assessments and robust permanence planning for children and families.

The postholder will support social work teams through Legal Planning Meetings (LPMs), pre-proceedings and court processes, offering constructive challenge and reflective supervision to improve practice, analysis and outcomes for children. Working closely with social workers, team managers, legal services, Children's Guardians and Independent Reviewing Officers, the role will ensure care planning is child-focused, evidence-based and legally robust.

The PLO Reviewing Officer will promote a restorative approach, providing high support and high challenge to practitioners while ensuring compliance with statutory timescales and best practice.

Key Responsibilities

Legal Planning & Pre-Proceedings

• Support social work teams through Legal Planning Meetings (LPMs), pre-proceedings and care proceedings.
  
• Facilitate reflective discussions with social workers to prepare cases for Legal Planning Meetings.
  
• Review assessments, care plans, chronologies and genograms to ensure they are accurate and fit for purpose.
  
• Challenge and support social workers to strengthen analysis and evidence within assessments.
  
• Ensure timely progression of the PLO process and legal planning activities.
  
• Promote family-led approaches and ensure Family Group Conferences (FGCs) are considered and completed where appropriate.
  
• Ensure fathers and wider family members are identified and actively involved in planning processes.
  
• Support effective decision-making regarding permanence planning and risk management.
  
• Drive improvements in care planning quality and analysis through reflective practice.
  

Court & Care Proceedings

• Support social work teams throughout court proceedings.
  
• Quality assure court statements, evidence and care plans.
  
• Review documentation through the lens of permanence planning and children's outcomes.
  
• Facilitate pre-Case Management Hearing (CMH) discussions with Children's Guardians and social workers.
  
• Ensure cases progress through court proceedings in a timely and effective manner.
  
• Provide guidance regarding care planning, permanence options and contingency planning.
  
• Promote robust consideration of permanence pathways including:
  • Adoption
    
  • Long-Term Fostering
    
  • Special Guardianship
    
  • Other permanence arrangements
    
• Ensure final care planning and legal planning meetings produce coherent permanence plans.
  
• Liaise with Children We Care For Teams regarding post-adoption contact and family contact arrangements.
  

Quality Assurance & Practice Development

• Provide challenge, support and professional guidance to social work teams.
  
• Promote high-quality analysis and evidence-based practice.
  
• Support practitioners to improve assessments, statements and care planning documentation.
  
• Monitor practice standards and identify areas for improvement.
  
• Support consistency and quality across multiple social work teams.
  
• Encourage restorative and strengths-based approaches to practice.
  
• Contribute to service improvement and best practice development.
  
• Support compliance with relevant legislation, court requirements and local procedures.
  

Requirements

Essential

• Qualified Social Worker.
  
• Social Work England Registration.
  
• Minimum 5 years' post-qualifying experience within Children's Social Care.
  
• Significant experience of:
  • Child Protection
    
  • Safeguarding
    
  • Court Proceedings
    
  • Public Law Outline (PLO)
    
  • Pre-Proceedings Work
    
  • Permanence Planning
    
• Experience as:
  • Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO), and/or
    
  • Child Protection Chair, and/or
    
  • Children's Guardian (CG)
    
• Strong knowledge of Public Law Outline and care proceedings processes.
  
• Experience supporting social workers through court and pre-proceedings activity.
  
• Experience quality assuring assessments, statements and care planning documentation.
  
• Excellent understanding of permanence planning and family-led practice.
  
• Strong analytical and reflective practice skills.
  
• Ability to provide constructive challenge and professional support.
  
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
  
• Strong organisational and workload management abilities.
  
• Experience using social care case management systems.
  
• Good IT skills including Microsoft Excel.
  

Desirable

• Previous experience in a dedicated PLO Reviewing Officer role.
  
• Experience using Liquidlogic.
  
• Experience facilitating Legal Planning Meetings.
  
• Knowledge of Family Group Conferencing processes.
  
• Experience working within restorative practice models.
  

Additional Information

• Location: Swindon (2 Days Office-Based, Hybrid Working)
  
• Hours Per Week: 37 Hours
  
• Payment Frequency: Bi-Weekly Payments