Social Work Jobs

Teams

This is an exciting time to join Cheshire East Children’s Services. We have increased the numbers of social workers in our teams to ensure we continue to improve and deliver high quality services to children and young people. We are seeking social workers to join the following teams:

ChECS (Cheshire East Consultation Service), Crewe

The team is a multi-agency team which includes experienced social workers, 3 Team Managers and a Service Manager working alongside agencies including the police and education.

This team is essentially the integrated front door to Children’s Services from Early Help to Children’s Social Care. They ensure that every child and young person gets the right help at the right time including CAF support and where appropriate referral to Children’s Social Care.

Cared For Children and Care Leavers Service (Middlewich)

This team has a Service Manager, Social Workers and Personal Advisors working in 4 small pods each supported by a Team Manager.

The team undertakes a diverse range of work including care proceedings, permanence planning, as well as supporting care leavers up to the age of 25. Social Workers within this team will have a varied case load that may include children with plans of long term foster care, adoption, as well as living with their birth family. The team also supports a number of young people who live independently.

CIN/CP Teams (Child in Need and Child Protection Teams)

These teams work in small ‘pods’ of social workers, supported by Team Managers. The teams provide a front line duty function progressing referrals from the ChECS Service, completing assessments and working with Children in Need and in Need of Protection, including pre-proceedings and court work, until a permanence plan is in place.

There are two locality based teams, one in Macclesfield and one in Crewe, each with four pods of workers, four Team Managers and a Service Manager. Please see ‘Rewards and Benefits’ for details of our recruitment bonus scheme for experienced workers joining the service in Crewe.

Children With Disabilities Team

The Children with Disabilities Team progresses referrals from ChECS relating to disabled children and their families.  The Team works across the whole social work spectrum, completing Child in Need assessment and plans, Child Protection Investigations, including pre-proceedings and court work as well as  supporting a group of disabled children who are ‘cared for’ by Cheshire East.

The Team works closely with the Special Educational Needs Service around the development of Education, Health and Care Plans, the Short Breaks Team in the development of bespoke packages of support and sign posting to our ‘local offer’ as well as developing transition plans with social workers from Adult Services.

The Children and Families Support Team (Middlewich)

The Children and Families Support Team exists to promote, contribute to and enhance the emotional wellbeing and placement stability of Cheshire East Children and Young People who have experienced abuse, neglect, trauma and are subject to Child in Need, Child Protection plans or Cared For. This is achieved through direct work with children and young people, consultation, advice, support and training to parents, carers and professionals.

The work of the Team is grounded in Attachment – Trauma theory, informed by current research, practice evidence and learning from experts in these fields. The core approach is that of Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, underpinned by the principles of PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, Empathy).

Adoption Services will be delivered on a regional basis by 2020. In this area, we have been working with colleagues from Stockport, Manchester, Trafford and Salford, alongside the voluntary sector Adoption Agencies, Adoption Matters and Caritas Care to form only the second Regional Agency to become operational: Adoption Counts.

The new agency will recruit and assess adopters, family find for children with a plan of adoption and match children to their adoptive families as early as possible.  They will also be responsible for providing support to families who have already adopted. The service is delivered within a hub and spoke model with office bases in Wythenshawe, Middlewich and Salford.

The aims for the new agencies are to: 

• increase the number of children adopted
• reduce the length of time children wait to be adopted 
• improve post adoption support services to families who have adopted 
• reduce the number of adoption agencies to improve efficiency and effectiveness  

For more information about this exciting new development please visit the Adoption Counts website 

Fostering Service (Middlewich)

This team consists of 2 Team Managers and 15 Supervising Social Workers, supported by a Service Manager.

From 1 April 2018 Cheshire East will be part of a Fostering Collaboration with our colleagues in Halton, Warrington and Cheshire West which will be responsible for the recruitment, assessment and training of foster carers. It is hoped that this initiative will increase placement availability across the region and that streamlined processes will lead to both improved effectiveness and cost savings. In particular, we are looking for families who can provide permanence and stability to older children and teenagers, and young people with additional needs and disabilities.

Resources

Cheshire East Children’s Services have a number of teams that come under the umbrella of resources, each team has a dedicated Team Manager, and this group of resources is overseen by a Service Manager.

Placement Services (Middlewich)

This team consists of 1 Social Worker, and 5 Placement Officers who are supported by a Service Manager. Its primary role is to source and match placements that meet a child’s individual needs and ensure that all placement provision is of a high standard and places the child at the centre of all planning.

@CT Team – Crewe

The team consists of one Team Manager and 8 Family Support Workers. This team provides services to children and their families across the whole of Cheshire East. The team provides Intensive support for Young People aged between 10 and 18 who are Cared For or to Children and their families who are experiencing difficulties to prevent family breakdown and need short term intensive support.

Residential Services

Cheshire East currently has one residential home for children under the age of 18 called (Claremont) based in Crewe. This is a four bed unit which specialises in providing high quality care for the children of Cheshire East.

Emergency Duty Team (Macclesfield)

The Emergency Duty Team (EDT) is supported by 1 Team Manager, 7 Social Workers and 3 Social Care assessors.

The Emergency Duty Team works with adults as well as children and operates outside of normal hours to respond directly to situations that demand a physical response, in circumstances that require Social Work support or intervention on an emergency basis. The Emergency Duty Team ensures that the Child’s record is completed in full in readiness for the allocated or Duty Social Worker and if necessary will refer to one of the specialist teams. Where necessary, Emergency Duty Team Out of Hours Service will conduct a direct visit.

The IRO (Independent Reviewing Officer) Team

The IRO team is an integral part of the Safeguarding and Quality Assurance Unit. The main aim for the service is to safeguard the welfare of the children and young people of Cheshire East where there is social care and other agency involvement. This involves monitoring and quality assuring creation and implementation of plans made in respect of these children and contributing to the work undertaken by various agencies whose job it is to provide services to the children, their families and carers. The Safeguarding Unit is organised as a cluster of distinctive teams supported by respective managers and they are: IROs (cared for children) team, Child Protection chairs/ IROs team, Safeguarding Children in Educational Settings team, Administrative support team, Domestic Violence co-ordinators (‘Cheshire without Abuse’) team and internal Auditors team. The Unit closely co-operates with Local Safeguarding Children’s Board as well as Corporate Parenting Board to achieve good level of communication and co-operation and contribute to the work in line with the improvement plan for optimising and achieving the best outcomes for children and families of Cheshire East.

Roles

Independent Reviewing Officer

Life can be very challenging, particularly for all these children who cannot live with their birth parents and are placed into care. It is these vulnerable young people, sometimes unhappy and angry with themselves and the world around them, sometimes resilient and making the best they can be through the support they receive and their substitute care. These children and young people require passionate and committed Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs) which the Cheshire East IRO team continues to look for.

Any interested candidates may already perform IRO role elsewhere but experienced social workers or managers, with minimum of 5 years post-qualifying and supervisory experience, who wish to make a change and take up this challenge, would also be considered. The passion for working with children and young people to safeguard their welfare and improve their outcomes is the key requirement for this post. So is the ability to talk to the children and find out what their views are which, in turn, assists the IRO in monitoring and reviewing whether what the children experience is good and whether the plans made for them match their needs and address any present risks. 

There is nothing more rewarding than seeing children’s satisfaction and confirmation that better outcomes for them overall have been achieved, which the IRO would have significantly contributed to. Support from the whole team and professional development opportunities, alongside competitive salary would also be afforded. If this sounds like you, please get in touch with Anna Roble, Safeguarding Manager (IRO) Cared for Children, on 01625 374973 or via email: anna.roble@cheshireeast.gov.uk.

NQSW, Grade 8 Social Worker

All Newly Qualified Social Workers are expected to complete their ASYE (Assessed and Supported Year in Employment). You will receive support from your Team Manager, workforce development, and the ASYE peer support group. You will also have a protected case load.

You will receive regular supervision from your Team Manager who will also undertake the observed practice sessions in order to evidence your progression. You will have access to training and development sessions and membership of the College of Social Work and Research in Practice. All ASYE Social Workers have access to a dedicated mentor to ensure that they are supported fully in all aspects of the ASYE program.

Grade 9 Social Worker

As a Grade 9 or Progressed Social Worker, you will be supported by your Team Manager with regular supervision and access to training and development sessions. You will also be able to take advantage of membership of the College of Social Work and Research in Practice.
You will have the confidence to hold more complex cases. All teams have small pods of no more than 6 social workers supported by a Team Manager. You will be expected to complete your PG Diploma in Applied Social Work Practice at which point you would seek to progress to Advanced Practitioner.

Advanced Practitioner (Grade 10)

To progress to Advanced Practitioner, the Council will support you in further academic study and Practice Education.

Social Workers seeking progression to Advanced Practitioner are expected to be able to fully meet the requirements and capabilities at the Experienced Level of the Professional Capabilities Framework and demonstrate that they are beginning to achieve relevant capabilities within their area of practice at the Advanced Level of the PCF , and competence against the Knowledge and Skills Statements.

You will then hold a case load of complex work and support less experienced workers in the team; you will also have the opportunity to provide Practice Education for students and mentor ASYE’s .

Team Manager

Based in one of our area teams, you will be supported by your Service Manager with regular supervision and access to training and development sessions. You will also be able to take advantage of membership of the College of Social Work and Research in Practice.

You will offer supervision to your staff and you will support them to develop through the induction process, ASYE and their professional career progression. Cheshire East Children’s Services expects clear management oversight and there are processes in place for supervision and staff support. You will manage a small pod of approximately 6 social workers.

Service Manager

As a Service Manager you will be responsible for managing the delivery and operation of a range of high quality, cost effective social care services by effective management of staff, supervision of practice, setting standards and promoting and participating in joint working with partners and other agencies to meet the needs of children and their families.

Reporting to a Head of Service, you will be responsible for ensuring the effectiveness of your service e.g. Children in Need and Child Protection, Permanence and Through Care, Fostering, Adoption or Resources.

You will be expected to set objectives for the service, develop plans, identify resources and mobilise staff to ensure the needs of children and their families are met. You will be fundamental in developing policies and procedures in order to ensure best practice within the legislative framework.

Part of your role will include overseeing case work and assessments and planning and recruiting employees. You will also be expected to represent the Local Authority at local, regional and national forums in order to promote and update the services offered by Cheshire East Children’s Services.