Senior Practitioner in Warrington

We are within easy commutable distance of Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside regions. In addition, we offer flexible working – including a blend of working from home/remotely.

We have a strong vision for social work practice in Warrington and have developed a new approach to social work. We have embedded a relationship-based practice model that has systemic practice at its core. We are working alongside the Centre for Systemic Social Work, who are providing a comprehensive training programme to social workers and managers across our teams.

We have three Children in Care teams, and a Care Experienced Team for our Care Leavers. Each team has a Team Manager who is eager to support and develop all social workers alongside the Senior Practitioner. Our teams support children and young people who are subject to care orders and for whom we share PR who live within foster placements, residential care and also with members of their extended family.

We recognise that the role can be challenging and we have a range of exciting and impactful developments in Warrington that our social workers can utilise in supporting families, including:

• No Wrong Door – a multi-agency hub where young people at risk of going into care get targeted support to cope with the multiple issues they face; this includes our own Internal Accommodation 'The Lighthouse' from aged 8 years, for Outreach and from aged 12 years for Emergency accommodation whilst we work with families for children at risk of entering care and Supported Accommodation placements with wrap around Outreach support for 16-18 year olds.
• Systemic Hub – consisting of Systemic Family Practitioners who are assigned to each team to provide therapeutic support and intervention and provide guidance to our social workers regarding systemic approaches to direct work and interventions.
• Family Time Service – to assist in arranging and supervising the time that our children in care spend with their families.
• Restore - a service designed to work with Mothers who are pregnant and have children previously moved, with the aim of reducing repeat removals.
• Family Group Conference Co-ordinators and Lifelong Links.
• Business Support – the team are able to assist with taking minutes of meetings, scanning documents onto the system and other administrative tasks.
• Magic Notes – AI to record meetings to ease the burden of recording onto the children's files in a timely way.

In Warrington we want all children and families to benefit from high quality and purposeful relationships with professionals. We believe this will help create the best opportunities for people to change and reach their full potential. We also believe one of the most effective ways to improve the outcomes for children and families is through providing our social workers with the best conditions in which they can thrive.

Here in Warrington we are proud to be graded Good overall and Outstanding in two areas – Children in Care and Leadership in our 2024 Ofsted inspection, which says:

• The decisions for children to enter care are made in a timely manner and when it is in their interests to do so. When necessary, care proceedings are initiated, and work is progressed without delay. Feedback from the local judiciary and the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) is exceptionally positive. Social workers in Warrington produce high-quality evidence and assessments for court, which are supporting the timely progression of legal proceedings. This results in swift and highly effective plans being secured for children's future care.
• Children benefit from early planning for permanence. When it is not possible for children to live with their birth parents, social workers work diligently to explore all alternative options, including foster to adopt and special guardianship orders. There is a strong emphasis on keeping children within their kinship network. Family group conferences are used to great effect to identify potential carers for children, which enables assessments to start sooner. When children live with kinship carers, their assessments are comprehensive and support children to remain within the family, maintaining their identity and a sense of belonging. Children are visited regularly to ensure that their needs are being met. For a small number of children, the senior management endorsement of these arrangements is not consistently timely, leading to delays in assuring the appropriateness of these placements.
• Detailed assessments support decisions to enable children in care to return home under placement with parent regulations. Assessments include the views of independent reviewing officers (IROs) and other professionals where appropriate.
• Many children in care in Warrington live in stable foster placements where they are thriving, and where they have a sense of belonging and permanence. When the plan for children is long-term foster care, matching takes place through permanence meetings, without delay.
• Children in care are supported and visited regularly by social workers who know them well. Workers are persistent in their efforts to build and sustain relationships with children who have previously displayed high levels of resistance towards professionals. Social workers undertake purposeful, sensitive direct and life-story work with children on a range of topics, including relationships, safety, health and understanding emotions. This helps children to comprehend, at their own pace, their life experiences and plans for their futures.

We are recruiting for qualified social workers to join our Children in Care & Care Leavers Service; experienced practitioners are welcome to apply. We currently have vacancies for a full-time 37 hours Senior Practitioner post. We have high aspirations for our children and welcome those who share our ambition! So if you want to make a difference to the lives of vulnerable children and young people with relationship-based practice at the heart of everything we do and develop great relationships, then come and join us in Warrington where we are passionate about our work with children and families.

What's needed?

• Social Work Degree or equivalent (e.g. DipSW/CQSW)
• Registered with the Social Work England
• Relevant post qualifying training
• Knowledge of wider children and young people's services including non-local authority provision

Please see attached the job description and person specification for further information about the essential requirements for this role.

Benefits

As well as a competitive salary, working for us means you get:

• 26 days annual holiday - raising to 31 after 5 years of service (pro-rata)
• Access to our attractive and competitive benefits package
• Access to our Health & Wellbeing Programme

Key Dates & Further Information

The ability to converse at ease with customers and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post. DBS clearance is required.

If you are applying for the job internally, please ensure that you apply via the Careers Page on SAP; however, if you are applying for an additional job you would need to apply externally. In accordance with Home Office guidance, successful candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK before commencement of employment. Sponsorship is not available for this role; therefore, you must have the right to work in the UK to be eligible for appointment.

Warrington Borough Council is a Disability Confident employer.

For enquiries or an informal discussion - please contact Mags Houghton Interim Team Manager 07866004201 or Sandra Siwoku Interim Service Manager 07890560655.