Senior Social Worker | Full Time, Permanent
Purpose of the role:
Manage a caseload of complex and difficult cases involving assessment, planning and implementation and evaluation of appropriate action to ensure resources are utilised effectively to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and their families within a residential parenting assessment unit. To promote and implement intervention and support to families to target the concerns raised and think creatively . To establish and support good communication with families and support them through the assessment process.
Contribute to raising and maintaining standards of professional social work within a team, develop areas of specialist practice, offer expert advice to less experienced staff, and supervise social work assistants and unqualified staff. You will also be working in line with the relevant standards set out under Social Work England.
Main duties and responsibilities:
· Carrying out court directed assessments within controlled time frames.
· Manage a caseload of complex cases involving high levels of risk and needs to a high standard to ensure resources are utilised effectively. At any one time there are 9 families in residence and there may also be community assessments. Each social worker, therefore, manages a case load of up to 3-4 families.
· To manage and keep files up to date including weekly summary reports, final reports, risk assessments and recordings of meetings.
· Liaising with other professionals and providing timely and detailed records as required
· Undertaking ongoing risk assessments of families, acting decisively to protect children.
· Provide a high-quality resource of professional social work knowledge and expertise to the Jamma Umoja team, to include some supervision of family assessment practitioners (FAPs), social work assistants and social work students. Social workers are responsible for implementing an assessment of parenting capacity, writing court reports and other documents that may be used in court. Social workers are expected to attend the family courts and provide oral evidence when required. Social workers will be responsible for case audits and reviews etc, and to generally assist the team in ensuring that it carries out its core tasks to a high standard.
· Maintaining a consistently high level of observation, recording, interaction, communication and assessment of families interaction, need, parental motivation and daily events within the service
· Provide coaching and mentoring support to FAP's, including those undertaking social work training, to support and further their professional knowledge and development to impact upon the overall quality of practice within teams.
· Liaise regularly with colleagues throughout Jamma Umoja to ensure social work staff/FAPs deliver existing and new practices consistently and to a high standard.
· Contribute to the development of new initiatives through attendance or leadership on working groups, multi-agency forums, training courses etc and acting as lead for identified service initiatives, i.e. planning for permanence and research work, to develop current and new ways of working that meet service requirements.
· Building appropriate professional working relationships, working in partnership with families advising and supporting parents in the care of their child(ren)
· Maintain awareness of changes in legislation and related policies and practices and ensure all social work staff are also informed of these changes to enable consistent and timely implementation.
Job Type: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: £42,000.00-£46,000.00 per year