Independent Reviewing Officer

Stoke-on-Trent City Council; Stoke-on-Trent; On-site; GBP 53,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

LGPS

28 days annual leave

8 public holidays

Cycle to work scheme

Career development

Job summary

Stoke-on-Trent City Council is seeking an Independent Reviewing Officer to provide independent scrutiny of care planning, chair statutory reviews and keep children’s rights at the centre of decisions.

You will monitor each child’s journey, challenge drift, and ensure pathway plans reflect needs and are delivered on time, with opportunities to influence practice and participate meaningfully.

Qualifications

• Social work qualification and registration with Social Work England.
• Post-qualifying training completed.
• Experience in children and families social care, including statutory childcare.
• Knowledge of care planning and fostering regulations, child development and attachment.
• Experience with Signs of Safety and chairing complex meetings.
• Excellent communication and report-writing skills.
• Ability to challenge poor practice and escalate concerns.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and chair statutory reviews and produce decisions and minutes.
• Monitor cases, scrutinise care plans and challenge drift or delays.
• Visit children separately and ensure their views influence decisions.
• Use dispute resolution and refer to Cafcass when necessary.
• Ensure rights to advocacy, complaints and legal representation and promote participation.
• Contribute to monthly file audits and service improvement, provide advice to partners and maintain records.

Skills

Independent judgement

Child participation

Report writing

Challenging practice

Communication

Education

Social work qualification & registration with Social Work England

Tools

Signs of Safety

Job description

Be an independent voice for children in care and help ensure their plans lead to lasting, positive outcomes. As an Independent Reviewing Officer, you will provide independent scrutiny of care planning, chair statutory reviews and keep children's rights, wishes and lived experiences at the centre of decisions. You will monitor each child's journey between reviews, build relationships with children and young people, and ensure care and pathway plans reflect their needs and are delivered on time. Through constructive challenge, quality assurance and effective escalation, you will tackle drift and delay and help secure the right permanence plan for every child.

• Coordinate and chair statutory reviews, producing clear decisions and minutes within prescribed timescales and ensuring actions are specific, measurable and followed through.
• Monitor children's cases on an ongoing basis, scrutinise care and pathway plans and challenge drift, delay or decisions that do not meet a child's needs.
• Visit children separately from their reviews, build trusting relationships and ensure their views, wishes and worries influence care planning and decision-making.
• Use the dispute resolution process to raise and escape concerns, seek legal advice where necessary and refer to Cafcass when other avenues of resolution have been exhausted.
• Ensure children understand their rights to advocacy, complaints and legal representation, and promote meaningful participation by parents, carers and partner agencies.
• Contribute to monthly collaborative file audits and service improvement, provide advice and consultation to partners, and maintain timely, high-quality records on council systems.

Why Join Us?

• Use your independent professional judgement to uphold children's rights and improve the quality of their care.
• Build meaningful relationships with children and young people and help them take an active role in their reviews.
• Influence practice through scrutiny, constructive challenge and shared learning across Children's Social Care.

Any offer of employment will be subject to the successful completion of required pre-employment checks. These may include:

• Right to Work in the UK.
• Proof of address.
• Satisfactory references.
• Occupational Health clearance.
• Evidence of relevant professional qualifications or registrations.
• A DBS check at the appropriate level.
  Stoke-on-Trent City Council's diverse and talented workforce is its greatest asset. The skills, knowledge and experience of our employees are essential to delivering our ambitions for the organisation and the city. We want to be an employer people are proud to work for, where staff are supported, developed and rewarded in an inclusive way that helps them excel and deliver the high-quality services our residents need.

We are growing and developing our Children and Families workforce as part of an ambitious programme of service transformation. We are looking for talented, committed and values-led professionals to join us.

A recognised social work qualification, registration with Social Work England and successful completion of post-qualifying training.

• Relevant experience in children and families social care, including within a statutory childcare agency, and experience of supervising social work practice.
• A thorough understanding of the legal framework for children in care and care leavers, including care planning and fostering regulations, alongside knowledge of child development, attachment and evidence-based practice.
• Experience of working with Signs of Safety, ideally alongside systemic practice, and the ability to chair complex meetings confidently and effectively.
• Excellent communication skills, with creative approaches to involving children and young people and the confidence to challenge poor practice and elevate concerns at all management levels.
• Strong analytical, planning and report-writing skills, with the ability to make sound decisions under pressure, meet statutory timescales and maintain accurate records.

We are a city of strengths, with a proud heritage and bright future. Working for Stoke-on-Trent City Council is more than just a job; it is about making, protecting and improving services for local people, reducing inequalities and improving independence for those who live and work in the city. That is where you come in. We are looking for people of the highest calibre, with the skills, knowledge and experience to help us deliver our compelling vision.

• Our career matters here. At Stoke-on-Trent City Council, we are committed to helping our people thrive. From competitive pay and a supportive working environment to opportunities for development and career progression, we invest in our workforce because we know it is our greatest asset. We are building an inclusive organisation that reflects the communities we serve, where everyone is welcomed, valued and encouraged to make a difference.
• A 12-month fixed-term role with a salary of £53,051-£56,293 per annum.
• 28 days' annual leave rising to 33 days after five years' continuous service, plus eight public/bank holidays.
• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme.
• Opportunities for professional development, learning and management development.

When you work for Stoke-on-Trent City Council you'll be helping to improve the lives and wellbeing of our residents. We'll provide you with support, learning opportunities and flexible working options and some amazing benefits including; a competitive salary, generous holidays, an excellent defined local authority benefit pension scheme, annual leave purchase scheme, cycle to work schemes just to name a few. We also have access to lifestyle benefits which offer a wide range of discounts such as family days out, travel, retail and many more.

Our commitment to you Vibrancy and diversity are two of Stoke-on-Trent's greatest assets. A city founded on creative endeavour should value and celebrate the multitude of voices, ideas and identities that shape its culture. We are committed to creating a culture which is truly inclusive, where all staff feel valued, listened to, supported and able to do their work to the best of their abilities at all times. And we must ensure that our decisions and policies nurture and empower communities across our city and do not inadvertently disadvantage groups and individuals that we want to help to thrive. Our approach to Equality and Diversity is an invitation to all our communities to work with and for us so we can continue to improve how we deliver services residents need. Our employee networks are inclusive, open forums for colleagues with similar lived experiences. They allow staff to meet, support and mentor each other, alongside being a voice for under-represented groups to advise and support the organisation when developing policies and services.

Our city Although the 13th largest city in the UK, Stoke-on-Trent is rapidly outstripping a number of parts of the country with our economic growth and recovery. Stoke-on-Trent is a city with a strong sense of civic pride - we've been voted the kindest city in the UK - and a place where you'll receive a hugely warm welcome. We have a rich and diverse culture, steeped in our prestigious industrial heritage as the celebrated 'world capital of ceramics'. But we don't just want to celebrate our proud past - we firmly believe that Stoke-on-Trent's best years are ahead of it. We are determined to raise aspirations and match them with high-quality education and health provision, as well as improved opportunities to secure fulfilling and well-paid work. Through uniting social and economic opportunities, we are maximising the full power of the city council as a secure and steadfast institution within the city.

Stoke-on-Trent is a city of strengths, with a proud heritage and bright future. We have undergone significant changes over the last few years. New ways of working have already transformed many service areas and we are determined to continue to develop more innovative approaches to ensure that we can maximise the benefits of transformation.