Independent Reviewing Officer and Conference Chair

Telford and Wrekin Council; Telford; On-site; GBP 51,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading local authority in the United Kingdom is seeking a Children's Independent Reviewing Officer and Conference Chair to ensure that the needs of children and young people are fully represented in decision-making processes. The ideal candidate should be registered with Social Work England and have extensive experience working with children in care. This role offers a competitive salary, flexible working arrangements, and numerous employee benefits, contributing to a supportive work environment aimed at delivering exceptional social work practice.

Benefits

Competitive rates of pay

Flexible working policy

Employee assistance programme

Generous leave entitlement

Qualifications

• 5 years post-qualified experience working with children in care.
• Knowledge of childcare legislation and statutory guidance.
• Experience managing multi-agency meetings.

Responsibilities

• Ensure plans for children meet individual needs and regulatory standards.
• Focus on achieving positive outcomes for children and families.

Skills

Ability to communicate well

Practice care and kindness

Understanding children and young people's views

Negotiation skills

Analytical skills

Education

Social Work qualification

Job description

Children's Independent Reviewing Officer and Conference Chair

£51,726 - £54,856 per annum (Salaries include market factor where applicable)

37 Hours Per Week - Fixed term 6 Months

Full reimbursement of Social Work England registration fee

Essential Car User Allowance

Do you aspire to work for an Outstanding' Local Authority?

And can you peel back the layers...?

Children and young people are at the heart of all we do. The qualities that are important to them are:

• Understanding that there are layers to a person, a practitioners ability to see the person as a 'whole'
• The ability to practice care and kindness
• Being able to really listen to children and young people – what are their views, hopes, aspirations and worries?
• The ability to communicate well

Our family are usually the people closest to us, those we care most about. Family life is not just about legal ties – it goes far deeper than that. It concerns our most important biological, social and emotional relationships. We hold the value that children and young people are best cared for by their birth families and extended networks, and this underpins our family first ethos. Where this cannot be achieved, we seek to ensure that children and young people's relationships are maintained in line with their best interests. Birth parents and extended networks are included within the decision-making processes and we provide alternative care which is nurturing and which fosters a sense of belonging.

There has never been a more exciting time to join our service: alongside making a difference to the lives of individuals and families, we have adopted exciting new strengths-based approaches and are passionate about delivering continuous service improvement.

There has never been a more exciting time to join our service: alongside making a difference to the lives of individuals and families, we have adopted exciting new strengths-based approaches and are passionate about delivering continuous service improvement.

Responsibilities and Duties

Our Independent Reviewing Officers and Conference Chairs are tasked with ensuring that plans for children fully reflect the individual needs of children and young people and that all planning processes meet regulatory requirements, reflect best practice and maintain a focus on achieving best outcomes.

Here in Telford and Wrekin - we aspire to place relationships at the forefront of practice and whilst ensuring that the child's voice is heard and listened to. As the conference and review chair it is your job to ensure that plans are child focused, robust, and achievable and to challenge if plans are not progressing or meeting a child's needs.

The Ideal Candidate

• Social Work qualified and be registered with Social Work England.
• At least 5 years post-qualified and have experience of working with and developing effective relationships with children in care or the subject of child protection plans.
• Knowledgeable of relevant childcare legislation and statutory guidance, including a clear understanding of the IRO handbook, Working Together and the Care Planning Regulations.
• Focused on achieving great outcomes for children and young people, using a solutions-focused approach to challenge and promote best practice.
• Able to work both virtually and in person with children, families and partner agencies.
• Driven to ensure the child's voice is heard and central to planning and decision making.
• Experienced at managing multi-agency meetings.
• Be able to analyse and evaluate information effectively and negotiate with colleagues.

Our brilliant practitioners are at the heart of our ambitious approach to improve outcomes for children and families in Telford and Wrekin: from tailored in-house training to the West Midlands Teaching Partnership, we ensure that our workforce have access to the best development opportunities.

Ofsted Inspection Highlights

• Children and families in Telford and Wrekin continue to experience exceptional social work practice when they are in care and as care leavers.
• Participation is a real strength and children's and families' involvement is threaded throughout service developments.
• Social workers know their children well and have developed effective relationships with parents.
• The virtual school is a significant strength in Telford and Wrekin.
• Care leavers benefit from an extremely comprehensive and generous local offer.
• Corporate parenting is a strength in Telford and Wrekin.
• The stability of the experienced workforce creates the perfect environment to benefit children and care leavers. As a result, social workers maintain relationships with children who know them over many years, which contributes to children's feeling of belonging.
• Staff enjoy working in an environment where senior leaders are visible, and they feel valued.

There has never been a more exciting time to join our service after the recent publication of our Ofsted Inspection!

Contact and Apply

If you think you can meet the challenge and would like to find out more about this role, please see our recruitment web pages or contact us by emailing lisa.capper @telford.gov.uk .gov.uk or by calling 01952 384089

Please click on the links below to view the job description and person specification.

At Telford & Wrekin Council, we know that having a diverse workforce is key to providing the best possible services to our community. We celebrate having a diverse and inclusive culture where people are able to be themselves at work, and everyone has a voice.

Posts working with children or vulnerable groups will be subject to an appropriate criminal records check. It is an offence to apply for a role that involves engaging in regulated activity with children and adults in vulnerable circumstances if you are barred from working with one or both of these groups.

A CV template is available if you do not already have a CV.

Benefits

• Competitive rates of pay
• Automatic access to a secure, flexible and tax efficient Local Government Pension Scheme
• Staff benefits and discounts including salary sacrifice schemes
• Free on-site parking
• Generous leave entitlement (24 days rising to 32 days) plus 8 bank holidays and an additional concessionary day
• Free access to our employee assistance programme and confidential counselling
• Flexible and mobile working policy - we are well adapted to a hybrid model of working which includes a combination of time spent in the office and at home - our approach is to promote greater level of flexible working around personal and family commitments
• Private lettings are available from Nuplace' who give priority to social work professional

Find out further information about working at Telford & Wrekin Council including our full list of benefits.

Please note that Telford & Wrekin Council do not hold a sponsorship licence for visas.