Experienced Social Workers – Transition into Children and Families Teams
We have opportunities available across our localities in Children and Families, Initial Response and Disabled Children’s Service, as well as opportunities available in our Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) based in Exeter. If you have a team and location preference please state this on your application form.
Background
In Devon we can offer experienced practitioners the tools and support they require to deliver tangible outcomes for the children and young people in our county as well as a wide range of career opportunities.
We have developed a programme of support to allow qualified Social Workers a route to transition into Children and Families Social work teams and we are inviting applications from qualified social workers, who hold current Social Work England registration and have been working in a social work field.
You don’t need to have all the experience of working in a children’s social work setting but will have acquired the necessary skills through your social work practice. As part of your extended induction programme you will be supported to transition into Children and Families Social work.
You will be provided with a learning agreement for your 6 month transition programme, regular supervision and support provided on an individual, group and mentoring basis. Your caseload will reflect your professional capability and development needs and you will have protected time to participate in learning and development activities as well as opportunities to develop your practice capability.
Social Work in Devon
We’re on a journey of improvement here in Devon, and we’ve already come a long way. By making key changes and improvements, we have made sure that our social workers have access to better tools and technology – from mobile phones and laptops, to risk assessment training and care planning resources. Together, we’ve worked hard to get to know individual children better – understanding who they are and their needs, so that we can put interventions in place and make sure that families have the support they need to prevent concerns from escalating. We’re really proud of our workforce, and what has been achieved for children and families in Devon. By listening to, and working with our teams, we have the momentum to continue on our journey towards ensuring that we protect every child, every day.
About The Role
Young people tell us that they prefer social workers who listen. Social workers who help work out what needs to be done and then get on with it, they understand the child’s experience and use their exceptional assessment skills to predict parental capacity to change. As an experienced, qualified and Social Work England registered social worker and with the support of our transition programme this could be you. We understand the pressures you are under as a social worker. Whilst we can’t make them go away, we will make sure that you have the support you need, when and where you need it. Our new supervision framework makes time for you to reflect and be challenged. We are also realigning practice with the principles outlined in the Munro reports, ensuring that we are consistently allocating cases leading to timely outcomes for children and young people. Of course, we know that the success of this relies upon making caseloads manageable. That’s why we’ve rolled out new early help programmes and locality-based admin support.
Personal and professional rewards
We aim to recognise and reward the vital contribution you make. And just as importantly, we want you to grow and develop with us. Right now, we have the widest range of career opportunities we’ve ever had, allowing you to map your own journey by staying on the frontline or moving into management using our career progression scheme. CPD is for you to drive and we give you the tools to do this.
As a place to live and work, Devon is hard to beat. We firmly believe in a healthy work life balance and offer 21 days’ annual leave (plus 2 statutory days over the Christmas Period, and Bank Holidays) rising incrementally to 29 days, after 20 years service. We support flexible working and offer a generous pension too. Relocation support will be available to you, if you’re moving to Devon to take up the role.
About Us
One of the largest counties in the UK, Devon is rich in scenery, food and culture. But like any other part of the country, we have diverse, complicated and challenging social issues. So we need to be forward-thinking. We are working together to become one of the most progressive local authorities in the country. In recent months, we’ve been working with our staff to reshape social work teams to make sure that we’re delivering the best possible outcomes for our children and young people. But we won’t stop there: we’re an ambitious authority, keen to learn, grow and improve, committed to being the best social work teams we can be.
If you are an applicant requiring Tier 2 sponsorship to work in the UK or are living outside the UK please apply here
