Children's Social Worker - First Response

Salary £39,152 - £46,142 with excellent benefits (pay award pending). Contractual hours 37. Full time. 4‑6 month temporary contract. Location: Rotherham.

Directorate – Children and Young People’s Services. We will deliver on our promise to our children – will you? We talk about children, not cases, and keep children at the forefront of our decision making to achieve better outcomes.

The First Response service is a big team comprising the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH); four duty teams; the Out of Hours service; EVOLVE (exploitation) and ENGAGE (crisis support). Social workers rotate between roles, moving between MASH and duty on a rota basis to meet their full potential, utilize skills and develop analytical abilities. We are proud of our partnerships with co‑located agencies and provide daily multi‑agency meetings in response to domestic abuse, quick safety planning for children, and easy access to strategy meetings and information sharing when needed.

Duty teams undertake assessments on new children entering the service and work across the Borough. We operate a four‑week duty rota: each week on duty, the remaining three weeks are for assessments and other tasks. This work includes S47 investigations, initiating care proceedings, accommodating children, assessments, pre‑birth assessments and legal gateway meetings following PLO processes.

Responsibilities

• Assess new children entering the service and conduct comprehensive assessments.
• Participate in duty rotes and ensure timely investigations and care proceeding.
• Maintain accurate reporting and communication of complex information.
• Collaborate with multi‑agency partners and forge positive relationships.
• Negotiate tactfully in potential conflict situations.
• Work flexibly and demonstrate initiative to support children.

About you

• You will care. You will make sure children are at the heart of all you do.
• You will ask the right questions to make the best plans for children.
• You have experience of working with children in a social work setting.
• You have excellent assessment skills where analysis is key.
• You can organise your daily workload independently.
• You have some experience and understanding of court work.
• You are a team player and value the strength that colleagues bring to the team.
• You have experience carrying out safeguarding investigations as part of a multi‑agency partnership.
• You can demonstrate initiative and work flexibly to ensure children receive a service that matters.
• You can negotiate tactfully when dealing with potential conflict.
• You can forge positive working relationships with partners.
• You are capable of accurate reporting and communication of sometimes complex information to a variety of audiences.
• You are passionate about maximising a child’s life chances.

Legal and Equality Statements

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. The Council is committed to encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion among its workforce, eliminating unlawful discrimination, and ensuring the workforce is representative of all sections of society. As a Disability Confident employer, a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview.

For questions regarding the role, please email Service Manager Joanne McCartan: joanne.mccartan@rotherham.gov.uk

Head Office Riverside House Main Street Rotherham S60 1AE