Social Worker - Children's Assessment Service

Vibe Care are seeking for their client an experienced Social Worker to work within the Children's Assessment Service Team for Children's Front Door Services. Based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

Hours: Full Time 37 hours per week - Flexible working can be discussed at interview.

The Role:

• Provide professional social work to a caseload of children, young people, and families, ensuring their views are heard.
• Complete section 17 Child and Family Assessments and section 47 Child Protection enquiries in a timely manner, making recommendations for appropriate outcomes.
• Ensure the highest of professional standards and good overall knowledge of relevant law, legislation, and practice in line with the values and principles of the Family Safeguarding model and Oxfordshire County Council's Threshold of Needs and Practice Standards.
• Ensure provision of good quality services which integrate government and local guidance and initiatives including, Children Acts 1989 & 2004, Working Together, local Child Protection and Looked After Children procedures, and the DoH, Assessment Framework 2000.
• The nature of this post will require flexibility to meet urgent priorities as they arise, which may entail some work outside normal office hours on occasions.
• Adopt a flexible attitude, undertaking a range of tasks in line with the needs of the service and support other services within the Front Door as needed.

Responsibilities:

• Provide an efficient and effective service to children, young people, and their families, ensuring that the needs of the children and their parents/carers are professionally assessed, and that relevant interventions are provided where needed, in a timely way.
• Undertake child and family assessments for allocated families, assessing need and recommending proportionate outcomes, including plans that are SMART.
• Investigate allegations of harm or neglect under s47 Children Act 1989 when required.
• Act as the duty worker for the team on a rotational basis, responding to new referrals.
• Prepare and submit written reports in a timely manner and of appropriate quality, including child and family assessments, child protection conference reports and, when required, legal reports for care proceedings.
• Ensure that the child's voice is considered in all casework and included in all assessments and plans.
• Liaise with and work in partnership with other agencies and organisations, parents and carers.
• Attend initial Child in Need meetings, Community TAF meetings and Initial Child Protection Conferences, presenting plans clearly, with professionalism and integrity.
• Ensure the swift transition of families from the Children's Assessment Service to long term teams so that interventions to help, support and protect children and young people are offered in a timely manner.
• Keep the Assistant/Team Manager fully appraised of significant information about allocated families, seeking advice as necessary.
• Practice in line with the Council's procedures and statutory regulation in supporting children who come into the care of the local authority.
• Attend case supervision/assessment reviews for all families and ensure that relevant updates are provided before each meeting.
• Attend regular individual supervision and engage in continual professional development as recommended by the Assistant/Team Manager.
• Use ICT to maintain accurate case records, recording activity in line with key performance management data.
• Ensure that all case management complies with the statutory requirements and the Council's policies and procedures.
• Be familiar with and committed to equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice and the Council Policy and Plan, implementing this in all aspects of working practice and promoting it in the team, workplace, and wider organisation.
• Promote the involvement of young service users and families in meetings about them, and where possible, in-service development.
• Comply with OCC health and safety policies, procedures, and rules, taking reasonable care of self and others.
• Complete any other duties as may be deemed necessary to carry out the full remit of the role.

Essential Criteria:

• A relevant Social Work qualification and current registration with Social Work England.
• Successful completion of the ASYE programme (or equivalent) and evidence of a minimum of 1 years post-qualifying social work experience in a statutory children's social care role (3 years for Senior Practitioner application).
• Knowledge and experience of undertaking Section 17 Child & Family Assessments and Section 47 Child Protection Investigations.
• Experience of working with children and their families in a statutory Children's Social Care setting and a good working knowledge of services relevant to children, young people, their families and carers.
• A good understanding of safeguarding, relevant legislation, guidance, policy and procedures.
• Knowledge and experience of Children We Care For processes, procedures and care planning.
• Demonstrable experience of multi-agency working to achieve positive outcomes for children.
• Knowledge of a range of relevant tools and their application in practice to develop an evidence-base that informs the development of child-focused plans of intervention.
• Able to communicate appropriately and effectively, verbally and in writing with adults, children and other professionals, ensuring language is accessible to all.
• Able to produce timely and high-quality written work and comply with directorate recording procedures.
• Able to effectively use a range of IT systems (Word, Outlook and Children's Services Case Recording Systems).
• Able to demonstrate good professional analysis, risk assessment and decision-making skills.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience of working in a children's assessment team setting.
• An understanding and commitment to the principles of the Family Safeguarding Model, including knowledge and experience of Motivational Interviewing.
• Achieving Best Evidence (ABE) Trained.

Vibe Recruit is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.