Job Introduction
Our Children in Care team supports children and young people aged between 0 and 16 years who have care plans of Adoption, Special Guardianship or Long-Term Foster Care. The team consists of a Team Manager, Deputy Team Manager, Senior Practitioners, Social Workers and two Social Work Assistants who specialise in Life Story Work. The team also work very closely with colleagues across the Council, as well as in different partner agencies (e.g Education and Health.)
Social Workers in the team undertake Direct work, Life Story Work and wishes and Feelings Work, all as part of supporting children and young people to recover from the adversity they have suffered; and to understand why they are unable to live with their family or primary care givers. The nature of the work does mean travelling both locally and to places at a distance. The team has a very child-centred way of working and all statutory visits are written in a letter-type format to children and young people. This approach was praised in the authorities last Ofsted inspection.
This post is for a Level 2 social worker and would be ideal for someone who has recently finished their ASYE or is looking for a new challenge in a different area of Social Work.
Main Responsibility
- Chairing multi-disciplinary meetings and working closely with other agencies/professionals to complete assessments and formulate child centred care plans.
- Completing annual Children and Family Assessments on each case to ensure that the care plan for the child/young person is reviewed.
- Ensuring that children have all of their day-to-day care needs met and fully understand their care story. This will be through the provision of direct work/life story work and multi-agency working with other professionals.
- Managing a caseload of up to 20 children with children subject to Care Orders, Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children, Placed with Parents and if sufficiently experienced children subject to Placement Orders.
- Working as part of a team to share knowledge, develop team skills and contribute to the overall development of the team.
The Ideal Candidate
- Social Work qualification.
- Able to demonstrate previous experience.
- Experience of supporting looked after children acquired through their professional experience.
- Any therapeutic training/life story training would greatly assist applicants within this area.
- Child centred and tenacious individual who strives to achieve the best outcomes for children and young people.
- It is essential that you have a driving licence and a car available for work purposes, with business insurance.
Package Description
In addition to your salary, we offer a range of benefits including:
- Great holiday benefits - most roles include 28 days annual leave every year on top of public (bank) holidays, increasing to 32 days after five years. In addition, there is a holiday purchase scheme allowing staff to purchase up to 5 additional days of leave each year.
- Excellent pension – everyone who works for us can join the national Local Government Pension Scheme, widely regarded as one of the best available.
- A full range of family friendly policies including enhanced maternity, adoption and paternity support and a childcare subsidy.
- Access to an award-winning employee benefits programme that includes a health cash plan, a low-cost bike purchase scheme as well as high street discounts and money off entertainment and travel.
- Blue Light Card - employees working within social care can qualify for an additional range of discounts from national retailers and local businesses.
Our roles are either designated ‘site based’ or ‘home based’. ‘Site based’ roles can include up to two days a week working from home whilst ‘home based’ roles are based at home four days a week. Of course, managers designate which category roles are in based on the needs of the service and the circumstances.
About The Organisation
Milton Keynes City Council is a large, modern and financially stable employer with around 2,500 people working across our eight areas. Together we provide local residents and businesses with a wide range of important round-the-clock services and aim to make our city a better place to live.
We work hard because of the demands placed on us, like protecting children from harm or preventing homelessness. However, working for the city is always rewarding and everyone has the opportunity to make a real difference.
We’re very proud of our diversity and are committed to having a workforce that reflects the community we serve. Whatever your background, you will be welcome here if you share our values of being dedicated, respectful and collaborative.
We offer great training and support and because of the size and scale of the organisation there are always new opportunities to explore when it’s time for a new role.
If you’d like to know more about how we do things and what matters to us, take a look at our short booklet What makes us Milton Keynes City Council.
