Assistant Team Manager, Disabled Children\'s Team

At Swindon Borough Council, we want our town to be the best it can be. Our ambitious vision in the new Swindon Plan is supported by realistic transformation programmes, with the people of Swindon at their heart. Because that’s who we’re doing it for - the communities and businesses that make our town great. As part of the Council, you’ll support a friendly local authority making decisions with real impact. It’s all for better public services, better processes, and a better quality of life for everyone.

Here in Swindon, we have a clear vision and plans to reduce the need for children to come into our care with our new adolescent offer and edge of care work, and we are continually working as a partnership to ensure our children are safe. We’re making a real difference to the lives of the children and families we work with in Swindon. Join us and be part of that difference.

About Us: We have now implemented the Family Safeguarding Model in 2022, a new multi-disciplinary approach that supports a whole-system change to child protection for children up to adolescence, focusing on supporting the needs of children and adults so that children can safely remain within their families. This is a great opportunity to join us now and be part of this pioneering work as we continue to learn from multi-agency family work and support more families to look after their children in their families and wider communities.

In addition, we have an established and growing ASYE programme, linked to our Social Care & Leadership Academy, offering mentoring support, fostering a culture of learning and challenge, manageable caseloads and good quality supervision, as we commit and invest in growing our own talent, as well as our experienced social workers.

About the role: In the Disabled Children’s Team, we are working to ensure disabled children in Swindon are appropriately safeguarded and supported to achieve their full potential. We use current research and innovative practice to ensure we achieve these goals. The Disabled Children’s safeguarding and support team is co-located at the Saltway Centre with multi-agency partners. This means that we are able to provide a holistic service to disabled children, young people and their families.

In Swindon, we recognise that disabled children are more likely to be abused than their non-disabled peers, and have created a bespoke service comprised of highly motivated and specialist social workers with experience in both safeguarding and disability. We are looking for a suitably qualified and experienced Assistant Team Manager with the passion and commitment to work with disabled children. With your previous supervisory experience, you will play a key role in delivering high quality and effective services, which will really make a difference to disabled children and their families, giving them the support they need to develop essential life skills and achieve their goals.

You should hold a professional social work qualification with a sound working knowledge of current legislation and safeguarding practices. Although experience of working with disabled children would be advantageous, we are primarily looking for an Assistant Team Manager with a sound background in supervising Social Workers. The job entails working very closely and forging relationships with colleagues from statutory agencies and with independent third sector partners. Flexibility and adaptability to the needs of our services are the key attributes needed for this role, and in return, Swindon offers excellent opportunities for professional development, regular supervision and promotes a work and life balance.

About You: Your aspirations should be limitless and you will be as determined and passionate about Children’s Services as we are. As a local authority, we continuously drive forward improvements in our services. We want our Social Workers to be part of our transformation, contribute to improving the safeguarding of our children, and we will make sure you have the full support network and training to do it. Our teams are ambitious and proactive and we are looking for people who will share that ambition and be a part of our journey.

Our commitment to your development: We are dedicated to ensuring that you can progress your continued professional development and access training and learning opportunities linked to the BASW competencies for career progression. We have an established Social Work & Leadership Academy. The Academy aims to celebrate the best in professional practice in Social Work and Social Care Leadership. The Academy represents an opportunity for us to demonstrate how we support, develop and value the professional disciplines in Social Work and Social Care through a targeted framework of career development and learning opportunities.

Your next package: Relocation allowance of up to £8,000 (eligibility criteria applies), competitive salaries, free car parking at our central Swindon campus and easy commuter links to many locations.

As an employee, you will receive a diverse and exciting environment in which to work, encouraging creativity and innovation whilst recognising the need to support ongoing personal development and a flexible work-life balance. For Swindon to thrive in the future, we need to lay the foundations now. It’s why our regeneration and transformation programmes are already underway. So, you’ll be joining us at an exciting time on our journey. We’ll look to you to share your knowledge, influence decisions and drive real, positive change. With your contributions, we’ll achieve our vision of a prosperous, revitalised Swindon together.

Your next steps: To be eligible for this role, you must be a qualified Social Worker with Social Work England registration. As an inclusive employer, we welcome applications from a diverse range of communities, and in particular disabled people and people from ethnic minorities.

Closing date: 6 June 2025. Interview date: 11 June 2025.