Time Square, Bracknell (Hybrid)
Permanent, Flexible hours, Full time
Enhanced DBS check required
£44,055 - £46,080 FTE inclusive of London Weighting and Essential Car User Allowance
37 hours
We have some exciting opportunities for social workers to join our Family Safeguarding Team. If you are looking for a friendly, creative, and dynamic working culture that supports and enables social work professionals to make a real difference for the most vulnerable then we would welcome an application from you.
We provide children, young people and families with the right service at the right time. Put simply, we change lives for the better.
Bracknell Forest Council is the local authority of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England. It is a unitary authority; The council office is in the heart of the vibrant town centre. Our borough offers great transport links with the M4, M3, M25 and the South Western Railway is local to us, so you can travel to work with ease, with free parking. We also offer a hybrid working arrangements, with time balanced between the office and home.
Bracknell Forest Council have a nationally recognised practice model – the ‘Family Safeguarding Model’. The recent Ofsted stated “Social workers receive regular, purposeful multi-agency group supervision which is facilitated through the service’s chosen social work model. The sharing of findings and views for each worker provides a detailed understanding of the family situation, progress and what the barriers are that stop families making the required changes. This evaluation informs future case work and intervention”- June 2022
Favouring a relational approach in all that we do, over 80% of our workforce are permanent employees, caseloads are manageable and caring for ‘you and your family’ is a priority for the Council.
Working collaboratively with families to keep them together, where it is safe to do so, is at the heart of the embedded Family Safeguarding Model and our approach is underpinned by Motivational Interviewing (MI). This ensures families, children and young people feel empowered and enables parents to make the positive changes needed, to achieve improved outcomes for their children and their own wellbeing. Therefore, parents are motivated to identify the changes needed within their own families which results in them achieving better outcomes for children.
What it’s like working in our team…
We know that social work, whilst rewarding, is not always easy. To support high quality consistent social work, we have a comprehensive learning and development offer, driven by our passionate Principal Social Worker. We have resilience groups, well-being days and events, group supervision as well as peer support.
We are graded by Ofsted as “Outstanding”. In June 2022 Ofsted identified during the inspection
“Children receive the right support at the right time””.
Overall, Inspectors found that social workers and other frontline practitioners benefit from manageable caseloads, good training and powerful and highly reflective supervision that ensures children are at the heart of decision making.
Our teams of qualified social workers and family workers are supported by specialist officers in domestic abuse, mental health and substance misuse, meaning no lengthy waits for much needed services for our families. It is all here, accessible and underpinning the planning and work being delivered to mitigate against risks, build resilience in families and enable families to meet their own children’s needs more effectively. Access to family group conferences and mediation work with families is additionally available and supports all involved, to secure decisions and outcomes in children’s best interests.
We have a good early help offer and work in collaboration with statutory partners and voluntary agencies in the community. Supporting families to access these services and support is also part of our daily morale purpose to enable families to secure safety and confidence in their own abilities to look after their children.
Social workers are very positive about working in Bracknell Forest. Caseloads are manageable and allow workers to have time to spend with children. Staff feel valued and that they can progress in their social work career. They feel well supported by managers and leaders and, together with senior leaders, are ambitious for the children in their care.
You will be supported to carry out the following duties, responsibilities and training…
- To identify the needs of children and promote intervention and safeguarding
- To work alongside other professionals and Adult Workers as part of a multi-disciplinary team
- To manage a caseload of Child in Need, Child Protection, Care Proceedings and Children Looked After
- To take part in the team duty system responding to concerns as and when they arise
- To make effective use of time and be able to prioritise workload, ensuring timeliness in visiting, report writing and other deadlines
- With the Supervisor, be able to set clear goals and strategies as part of individual and group case supervision
- To contribute to service development and learning of others
We know that working in social care can be challenging. Bracknell Children’s Services offer training and reflective coaching to support social workers to continue to develop their skills and knowledge.
The benefits you will experience are…
- Generous annual leave commencing at 28 days increasing after 3 years’ service to 33 days (pro rata for part time). With additional annual leave purchase policy.
- Opportunities for flexible and agile working, we offer a hybrid model of working to promote flexible working around personal and family commitments.
- An inclusive and social working environment with a variety of staff networks.
- Regular opportunities for development with internal and external training courses.
- A great office location next to travel links and the regenerated town centre.
- Internal sports and social club opportunities.
- An extensive employee assistance programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing.
- Discounted leisure centre and gym membership.
- Supermarket discount.
- Local government pension scheme / Life insurance cover.
What we’re looking for…
We are looking for passionate, reliable and motivated social workers who are excited by a new way of delivering support to children and families to join our family safeguarding team. We are looking for social workers who are registered with social work England and have completed their ASYE.
You will need to understand and have experience of permanence/ PLO/ legal processes and an in-depth knowledge of what works for children and families, relevant legislation, and know what good looks like in practice.
By applying for a social worker position, you will have a highly developed specialist knowledge of social work practice. Your skills and expertise will enable you to take the lead with the most complex situations.
If you have chosen social work as a profession and are passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people, then join us in Family Safeguarding to contribute to a service that works with families to enable lasting change for children.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and their families. Applicants should be aware that the post will only be offered to successful candidates subject to an enhanced DBS check as well as other employment clearances
Interview date
Applications will be shortlisted upon receipt, and we will send you an interview invite if your application form is successful. As this is an ongoing advert, we reserve the right to close the advert early if suitable candidates are identified. To avoid disappointment, you are advised to submit your application as soon as possible.
Interviews will be conducted in person, providing candidates with the chance to personally meet the team and experience our work environment. Additionally, this approach allows the recruiting manager and the team to establish connections with potential team members.
Want to ask us a question?
For an informal discussion or to ask any questions about this role, please contact:
Donna Barber or Cheryl Perry, Team Managers on 01344 352020 or cheryl.perry@bracknell-forest.gov.uk
For more information on working for Bracknell Forest Children’s Social Care visit our micro-site www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/childrenssocialcare
At Bracknell Forest we champion equality, diversity and inclusion and welcome applications from candidates from all backgrounds, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or age. As a Disability Confident Employer, please let us know if you need any adjustments at any point during the recruitment process by contacting our friendly recruitment team on recruitment@bracknell-forest.gov.uk
At Bracknell Forest Council, we aim to create an inclusive, ambitious and always learning workplace culture that promotes wellbeing. We empower our people to prioritise their wellbeing and support each other, ensuring they can be themselves, perform their best and deliver exceptional service to our residents. The Bracknell Forest Council Wellbeing Network is made up of various employee wellbeing support groups; we currently have 35 Wellbeing Champions who are all certified Mental Health First Aiders, Disability and Neurodiversity Staff Forum, Pause for Menopause Open Forum.
Candidates should be able to demonstrate experience of working within the current Social Care System and Framework.
Social Work England registration fees can be claimed back from the Council.
Bracknell Forest Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults. We expect everyone employed with us to share this commitment. All successful candidates for this role will be subject to a DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) check as part of our pre-employment checks process.
We can only accept applications from candidates currently residing in the UK.
Any candidates that are currently residing in the UK and wishing to apply who would require sponsorship can determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for the role by assessing their circumstances against the relevant criteria.
No agencies please.
Social_Worker_-_FS_-_JDPS_-_Jun_24.pdf
Candidate_Pack_-_People_Directorate_-_March_24.pdf