Disabled Children Support Worker

Cornwall Council; Truro; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority in Truro is seeking a dedicated social worker for their Disabled Children & Therapy Service. This role involves providing coordinated support, managing cases for disabled children and their families, and utilizing evidence-based intervention skills. The ideal candidate will have at least 3 years of experience in this field and a relevant qualification. A competitive salary and various employee benefits are offered to promote a balanced work/life situation.

Benefits

A competitive salary

Defined benefit pension scheme

Generous annual leave entitlement

Health and wellbeing programme

Employee benefits scheme

Qualifications

• At least 3 years' experience working with disabled children and young people.
• Strong understanding of the needs of disabled children and their families.
• Passion for disability and ability to make practice enjoyable.

Responsibilities

• Provide support and reviews for disabled children and their families.
• Develop and implement Child Support Plans.
• Act as an advocate for children in need.

Skills

Experience with children with disabilities

Multi-agency collaboration

Evidence-based approaches

Case management

Education

Level 3 qualification

Job description

Overview

The Disabled Children & Therapy Service (DC&TS) is a specialist, multi-disciplinary service which supports disabled children, young people and their families whose main need for services arises from their disability or their intrinsic condition, where these conditions have a substantial or critical impact on the quality of the child's/young person's life or/and the lives of their families. The service intervenes where children's needs cannot be fully met by universal services alone; it includes a statutory social care service that undertakes assessments that provides services at the acute and complex level of need, and services at Tier 2 through Early Support, Portage and Supporting Change in Partnership.

Responsibilities

• Work as part of multi-disciplinary teams to provide coordinated support and regular reviews of needs following a statutory social work assessment and child plan.
• Hold case responsibility for undertaking direct work with disabled children and young people aged 0 to 18 years and their parents/carers, under the direction of a Team Manager in the DC&TS and the Manager in the Tier 2 Team.
• Utilise a range of evidence-based approaches and intervention skills drawn from core curricula such as the Outcomes Star, Signs of Safety, Motivational Interviewing, the Family Partnership Model, and a solution-focused, goal-oriented approach.
• Devise Child Support Plans, undertake Section 17 family assessments, undertake direct work with children, contribute to a range of social work-led support, provide immediate support at times of family emergency, and carry out reviews of progress against agreed outcomes using the Child Support Plan.
• Support and coordinate other services to ensure disabled children, young people and their families have what they need, act as advocates on behalf of the children, work alongside social workers, with children and families, and provide immediate support during family emergencies as required.
• Regularly review the childrenreedom needs in a Child Support Plan and participate in training to use evidence-based approaches such as Positive Behaviour Support, Signs of Safety, Motivational Interviewing, and the Family Partnership Model.

About you

• You will have at least 3 years' experience of working with children and young people with disabilities and have a relevant level 3 qualification.
• You will have an excellent understanding of the needs of disabled children, young people and their families and recognise that parents are the experts in their own children.
• You will have an excellent track record of improving outcomes for disabled children.
• You will have a passion for disability, be energetic, motivated and able to make your practice fun.
• You will be committed to multi-agency work and take a strengths-based approach to work with families to develop resilience and reduce dependency.
• You will understand the function of statutory services and relevant agencies, recognise the importance of working flexibly to include all members of the family and their support network, and understand the dynamics of successful partnerships/relationships to enable change. This is a public/customer-facing role, where the statutory English language requirement for public sector workers applies.
• This position will be subject to an enhanced criminal record disclosure check.
• This is a Full Time Post: Monday - Thursday 08:45 - 17:15, Friday 08:45 - 16:45. Compressed Hours will be considered.

What you'll get in return

Cornwall Council's ambition is to be an employer of choice, a high performing Council and a learning organisation. We commit to providing a reward and benefits package to attract, motivate and reward our employees. We offer a range of flexible working options to our staff to help provide a greater work/life balance while ensuring that service needs are met.

• a competitive salary
• a defined benefit pension scheme, based on your career average earnings, with the option for extra voluntary contributions
• a generous annual leave entitlement with the potential to purchase additional leave
• A national award-winning employee health and wellbeing programme
• Employee benefits scheme giving access to discounts to local and national goods and services