Children Looked After Senior Social Worker

We have opportunities for Senior Social Workers to join our Children Looked After Team based in Reigate.

When not working with our residents in the community, we are keen to support agile working with a combination of home and office working. We are keen to get the balance right of providing flexibility but ensuring you feel connected to your team and the service.

The salary range is £46,399 - £49,588 per annum. We also offer a financial package of up to £6,000 which is payable in 3 instalments across your first 18 months in post.

Rewards and Benefits

• We pay your Social Worker England Registration fee
• 28 days annual leave, rising to 30 days after 5 years' service (plus bank holidays)
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependants leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days plus 1 team volunteering day per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources

We recognise that looking for your next Social Work position is a really important step in your career and we're here to make that transition a positive one. Our commitment to applicants is to remove barriers and to understand more about you, your motivation for working in children's social care and why you're proud to work for such a valuable profession.

Following our latest Ofsted visit in April, we are pleased to report positive feedback on our service quality for children in need or under child protection plans in Surrey. Ofsted recognized the improved impact of our 'comprehensive improvement programme'. We are committed to continuing our progress and are seeking motivated individuals to help us ensure children in Surrey are effectively safeguarded and receive timely support.

About working with Children Looked After

As a member in the Children Looked After Team, your aim and role will be to support children living with relatives, friends or foster families and perspective adopters or older children living in children's homes and semi-independent units. You will build sustainable relationships with them and plan for their permanence. You will be responsible for ensuring their safety and support them towards independence.

Through regular visits, assessments and reviewing their Care Plan, you will nurture and develop meaningful relationships with these children; understand and interpret their wishes; and champion and support them to reach their full potential. Occasionally, you will be required to prepare reports and attend court. You will be supported in this challenging role with regular supervision and consultations with our Mental Health Focussed Social Worker. You will also find support by working alongside other social workers, family support workers and partnership organisations such as: Health Services, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (New Leaf), Independent Reviewing officers and carers. You will also be supported in your career development by your management team and also by the Surrey Academy.

One Voice

In Surrey, you will have a sense of belonging within your individual team but also the wider service areas and directorate. You will receive high quality supervision, as there is a firm commitment towards dedicating time that focusses on the work you do with children and families, to enable you to work creatively and holistically in providing support and protection to children whilst also paying attention to your wellbeing and career development. This creates a sense of purpose and fulfilment with a clear pathway to achieve your future aspirations.

Wherever you are in your career journey, Surrey is committed to supporting and nurturing you so that you can be the best version of yourself.

Our Surrey Children's Service Academy currently has over 60 courses available and offers a bespoke learning programme so you can be at the forefront of best practice. Modules such as motivational interviewing and our total respect course allow you to feel empowered in having essential conversations whilst still ensuring a child centred approach to your practice.

Our Inclusive Approach

To apply you will need to upload your CV and answer the following questions. (no more than 200 words per question):

• Please tell us what has motivated you to apply for this role?
• Please tell us about the key skills and experience you will be able to bring to this role.
• Please tell us about an example that demonstrates how you have built long lasting relationships with children.

If your application is shortlisted, you will be invited to a short first round virtual interview to explore your answers to the above questions (lasting approx. 15- 20 min).

If your Teams call goes well, you will be invited for an in person interview, allowing you to meet the team, check out your potential office and get a feel for what your journey might look like.

We are committed to inclusive recruitment. That's why, if you're invited to a face-to-face interview, we'll share the themes of the questions with you in advance. This way, you can prepare and feel comfortable knowing what topics will be covered during the process, allowing you to focus and confidently discuss your valuable skills and experiences.

We look forward to hearing from you!

The job advert closes at 23:59 on the 16th December 2024.

You will need to be registered with Social Work England.

Surrey has both urban and rural areas and locality based social care workers will be expected to have a valid driving licence to drive in the UK, access to a vehicle and be willing to travel across a wide geographical area.