Children's Social Worker, First Response

The Methodist Church in Britain; Rotherham; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent benefits package

Investment in staff development

Job summary

A children\'s social worker post in First Response, the unified front-door service within Children and Young People\'s Services, bringing together the MASH, four duty teams, Out of Hours, EVOLVE and ENGAGE.

The core is assessing every new child entering the service, including pre-birth assessments, alongside Section 47 investigations, care proceedings and PLO legal gateway meetings.

Court and safeguarding experience are required, plus an enhanced DBS check.

Qualifications

• Experience of working with children in a social work setting.
• Some experience and understanding of court work.
• Experience of safeguarding investigations within a multi-agency partnership.

Responsibilities

• Carry out assessments for all new children entering the service
• Complete pre-birth assessments
• Carry out Section 47 investigations
• Initiate care proceedings
• Accommodate children
• Attend legal gateway meetings as part of PLO processes
• Take part in multi-agency meetings and safety planning for children
• Take a turn on the four-week duty rota, then complete assessments and related tasks

Skills

Excellent assessment skills

Organising daily workload

Teamwork

Initiative and flexibility

Tactful negotiation

Reporting complex information

Job description

A children's social worker post in First Response, the unified front-door service within Children and Young People's Services, bringing together the MASH, four duty teams, Out of Hours, EVOLVE and ENGAGE. The core is assessing every new child entering the service, including pre-birth assessments, alongside Section 47 investigations, care proceedings and PLO legal gateway meetings. Work runs on a four-week duty rota, each team on duty one week in four, alongside daily multi-agency meetings. Court and safeguarding experience are required, plus an enhanced DBS check.

What the job involves

• Carry out assessments for all new children entering the service
• Complete pre-birth assessments
• Carry out Section 47 investigations
• Initiate care proceedings
• Accommodate children
• Attend legal gateway meetings as part of PLO processes
• Take part in multi-agency meetings and safety planning for children
• Take a turn on the four-week duty rota, then complete assessments and related tasks

Experience

• Experience of working with children in a social work setting
• Some experience and understanding of court work
• Experience of safeguarding investigations within a multi-agency partnership

Skills & knowledge

• Excellent assessment skills, with analysis at the centre
• Organising own daily workload independently
• Working well as part of a team
• Showing initiative and working flexibly
• Tactful negotiation when handling potential conflict
• Accurate reporting and communicating complex information to varied audiences

Checks & eligibility

• Enhanced DBS check

Other

• Forging positive working relationships with partners
• Asking the right questions to plan for childrenCaring about children and keeping them at the heart of decisions
• Passion for maximising children's life chances

What’s offered

• Investment in staff, with opportunities to develop analysis and caseload management
• Excellent benefits package, not itemised in the advert