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.
We offer a £4000 market supplement (pro rata), excellent training and career progression opportunities, flexible working including homeworking for up to 2 days a week (full time equivalent) and a suite of IT equipment to enable you to do your job effectively. Support with career progression and access to clinical supervision is provided to all employees.
We encourage and warmly welcome applications from social workers in all disciplines such as Adult Social Care and Mental Health Services.
This role is eligible for you to be referred by an MKCC employee, as part of the Children’s Services Social Worker Referral Scheme. The successful candidate, and the referrer, will, subject to all conditions of the scheme being met, receive £1000. The reward is split into two £500 payments, the first received on appointment, and the second after the first-year anniversary of being in post. You must indicate in your application, the name of the person referring you, for this to apply. It can not be applied retrospectively.
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
We are really proud of the benefits we are able to offer our staff here at Milton Keynes City Council, including:-
- Local Government Pension Scheme, considered to be one of the best employer contribution rates of 18.8%.
- 28 days annual leave per year in addition to statutory and public holidays, rising to 32 days after 5 years.
- Holiday Purchase Scheme.
- Our Professional Development Centre provides access to courses such as in-house management development programmes endorsed by the Institute of Leadership, coaching and mentoring and access to our Smarter Learning portal
- Cycle to Work Scheme.
- Health Cashplan.
- MK Advantage benefits package – a range of savings on a wide range of retail, leisure and entertainment products and services such as Pizza Express, M&S, B&Q, John Lewis and Arriva Travel.
- Blue Light Card - Employees working within Social Care can qualify for a range of discounts from national retailers to local businesses in a wide range of categories including holidays, cars, days out, fashion, gifts, insurance, phones and much more!
- SmartGo – Aimed at encouraging low-carbon transport and healthy lifestyle with discounted travel e.g. Halfords, Arriva, Europcar, National Railcards and Stagecoach.
- Homebuy Scheme (for eligible roles).
- Smarter working which provides the opportunity to work from various locations including from home for a proportion of your role (subject to business needs).
- A full range of family friendly policies including enhanced Maternity, Adoption and Paternity entitlements.
- Childcare Subsidy.
About The Organisation
Milton Keynes is a diverse, welcoming, and expanding place, built on smart ideas with even bigger plans for the future. We have world class attractions, beautiful open spaces, and a great standard of living.
Milton Keynes City Council is one of the largest employers in the region, making a difference every day for local people. We’re responsible for all local government services in MK including education, housing, highways, and social services - around 240 services in all.
Our values are to be dedicated, respectful, and collaborative. If this sounds like you, join us for a stimulating and fulfilling career measured on results, and a rewarding work-life balance.
