Children's Social Workers - Children in Care

Our Children’s Services are looking for qualified Social Workers to join our Children in Care team.

Here at Wigan Council, we believe our workforce is our greatest asset and we will ensure you have the right support and a positive working environment to deliver outstanding social care to children, young people and families.

We have ambitious plans for the future which are outlined in our Deal 2030. Our Children’s Services has been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted and our Adoption service has been rated as ‘Outstanding’. We are looking for practitioners to join our team to fulfil our ambitions of ensuring that our children and young people’s futures are influenced by these plans.

As part of our recent Ofsted visit staff indicated that they "feel well supported by managers and leaders during these challenging times and they receive regular communication from the senior management team".

We believe that looking out for our young people and supporting families is a key priority for the future. Our children and young people have told us how important it is for them to feel safe, to have access to things that interest them and be proud of their local area. We want our young people to thrive, be proud to call the borough of Wigan home and see it as a safe and vibrant place to grow up in. We want them to be happy and to continue to feel connected with the borough as they grow into adults, with opportunities to live, work and raise their own families here. We want you to help us to achieve our goals.

What we can offer you:

• Flexible working – including a blend of working from home/remotely and utilising our re-designed, shared office space
• A generous pension scheme and a salary up to £37,890 per annum
• A manageable caseload
• Fantastic career development opportunities you can access through our ‘one stop shop’ supported by regular supervision with your manager and reflective supervision with peers
• Regular social work forums to share your views with the ability to get involved in service development to improve our support to children and families, being creative and doing things differently
• New challenges and experiences
• A culture where everyone is treated with respect and ensure our behaviours of Be Positive, Be Accountable, Be Courageous and Be Kind are embedded in everything we do
• Continuous service across other GM Authorities and partner organisations
• Free parking.

What we need from you:

• A caring and friendly nature and you put children, young people and their families at the heart of all you do
• Social work qualification with up-to-date registration with Social Work England
• Knowledge and understanding of relevant legislation with its implications for the delivery of social work services to children, young people and their families
• Experience of a broad spectrum of services within the field of social work with children and families either through social work experience or through training
• The ability to work as part of a team and alongside colleagues from other areas of Children’s services
• Good time management skills with the ability to work to deadlines and reorganise the workload to meet conflicting demands.

Below is a brief overview of each of our teams and your job role:

You will be working in a busy and friendly team and will work predominantly with children in care, their carers, and their families, ensuring excellent standards of Care Planning to promote best outcomes for our children in care. We are currently recruiting to additional children in care social work posts to enable caseloads to be reduced to allow time for creative direct work with children. We are always reviewing birth family’s situations and strive to ensure those children who can return home, do so safely using the NSPCC Reunification Framework. Having experience of working directly with children, young people, and their families, focusing on supporting them to understand their life stories is essential, along with supporting them to develop strategies to overcome some complex challenges. This includes working in partnership to tackle child sexual exploitation, and other challenges that arise when working with vulnerable children and young people to facilitate, empower and promote independence, strengths and assets of young people. Transition is a key priority in the service , supporting our children as they move towards adulthood in a seamless way and working closely with our Care Leavers Team.

For further information about our Children in Care team please contact Jacqui Hardman on: Jacqui.hardman@wigan.gov.uk

For further information about the role, please click the links below:

DBS Applicant Information

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Claire’s story will give you a bit more of an insight about being a Social Worker in Wigan.

Interview Date: To be Confirmed

Interviews will be held remotely

This role is subject to enhanced disclosure procedures plus child barred list check

Wigan Council is committed to safeguarding