Independent Reviewing Officer WMF2073e

The Cumbria County Council; Barrow-in-Furness; On-site; GBP 49,000 - 51,000; Full time

Job summary

The Cumbria County Council is seeking an Independent Reviewing Officer to play a vital role in safeguarding children within Westmorland and Furness. The successful candidate will oversee care plans, chair crucial meetings, and ensure children's needs are met. Candidates must have a Social Work qualification and demonstrate strong knowledge of child protection procedures.

Benefits

Opportunity to work for an Ofsted rated ‘Good’ Local Authority

Competitive rates of pay

Excellent training and career development opportunities

Join the Local Government Pension Scheme

Discount schemes for local gyms and phone contracts

Qualifications

• Expert knowledge of child protection and care planning legislation.
• Ability to chair difficult meetings and influence outcomes.
• Experience at Team Manager or Advanced Practitioner level.

Responsibilities

• Ensure children in need of protection have appropriate care plans.
• Chair Cared For Children’s Reviews and Child Protection Conferences.
• Scrutinise performances of the Local Authority for quality assurance.

Skills

Child protection procedures

Childcare practice

Care planning legislation

Education

Social Work Qualification

Job description

The job requirements are detailed below. Where applicable the skills, qualifications and memberships required for this job have also been included.

Job details

Job reference REQ00000018418 Date posted 27/05/2025 Application closing date 22/06/2025 Location KENDAL Salary 49,764.00 to 50,788.00 Package Blank Contractual hours 37 Basis Full time Attachments Blank

Independent Reviewing Officer WMF2073e

Independent Reviewing Officer

Salary: 49,764 to 50,788

Hours: 37

Location: Kendal, Penrith, Barrow in Furness and Countywide Locations

Contract: Permanent

About this opportunity

All children in Westmorland and Furness deserve the best start in life and we're looking for the right people to help us make that happen.

We are looking for an experienced person to join us as an Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO).

As an Independent Reviewing Officer, you will have a key role within Children’s Services.

The Independent Reviewing Officer is at the centre of safeguarding children, the role is highly visible and influential; this position is foremost in providing a leadership role to improve outcomes and provide quality assurance for Westmorland and Furness’ most vulnerable children.

The Role

In this role, you will be ensuring that children in need of protection and those children Cared For by the Local Authority have the right plans in place to meet their identified needs. The role will involve visiting Cared For Children and recording their views, chairing Cared For Children’s Reviews, chairing Child Protection Conferences, chairing Missing from Home Stage 2 meetings and leading complex strategy meetings, (such as suspected Fabricated or Induced Illness) in addition to other duties.

You will also be providing continuity and effective oversight of individual children’s plans, whilst ensuring the child’s views and wishes are being heard and acted on, ensuring children’s assessed needs are being met in a timely manner.

One of the key and critical aspects of the role is quality assurance, the IRO scrutinises and holds to account the performance of the Local Authority; this may result in either informal or formal challenge in the child’s best interests.

Who we are looking for!

We are looking for someone who has expert knowledge of child protection procedures, childcare practice, and care planning legislation, as well as being up to date with relevant research. Applicants will need to have the ability to chair difficult and challenging meetings and influence others to ensure the best outcomes are achieved for children.

A Social Work Qualification and registration with Social Work England is essential, as is the ability to work independently whilst delivering service priorities. Applicants should ideally have worked at either Team Manager or Advanced Practitioner level.

In addition, knowledge and experience of using the Signs of Safety framework would be an advantage, as we use this practice model as a way of empowering families to identify their strengths, manage their support and protect their children.

We encourage you to contact the recruiting manager Richard Lofthouse for an informal chat about this role [e-mail]

What can we offer you.

• Opportunity to work for an Ofsted rated ‘Good’ Local Authority
• Competitive rates of pay
• Excellent training and career development opportunities.
• Opportunity to join the Local Government Pension Scheme
• Boost your pension with Shared Cost Additional Voluntary Contributions (facilitated by AVC Wise)
• Various perks and discounts schemes, including money off your phone contract and local gyms.

DBS This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974 and requires an enhanced DBS check with a Children’s Barred List check.

Please note this role involves working in regulated activity with Children. It is an offence for people who are barred from working in regulated activity to apply for roles that require them to work unsupervised with Children.

Application and Interview information

Interview date:26/06/25

We are currently operating in-person interviews. Options will be discussed with candidates once they have been invited to the interview stage of the process for this specific position, and if you have any concerns or adjustments are needed, we are happy to discuss

Safer Recruitment

At Westmorland and Furness Council we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the safety and welfare of children, young people and adults at risk and we expect all employees, volunteers and the Externally Provided Workforce (EPWs) to share this commitment.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

Westmorland and Furness Council is committed to improving the diversity of its workforce to better reflect the communities we serve. We welcome applications from everyone and work to promote an inclusive, supportive culture that values and celebrates our differences.

As a Disability Confident Employer, disabled applicants, who meet the essential criteria of this job, are guaranteed an interview.

Please see below the supporting information: