Principal Social Worker (Court Work)

Cardiff County Council; Cardiff; Hybrid; GBP 36,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government organization in Cardiff is seeking a Principal Social Worker to oversee court cases for children subject to care proceedings. The role involves conducting assessments, managing case plans, and collaborating with families to ensure children's welfare. Applicants should have experience in social work and understanding trauma's impact on families. The position offers flexible working arrangements, generous annual leave, and a secure pension plan.

Benefits

Generous annual leave

Flexible working hours

Hybrid working arrangement

Local Government Pension Scheme access

Qualifications

• Experience working with children in care proceedings.
• Understanding of the NSPCC Reunification framework.
• Ability to develop assessments tailored to parents' learning styles.

Responsibilities

• Manage cases for children subject to care proceedings.
• Conduct assessments considering risks and protective factors.
• Collaborate with families to support children returning home.

Skills

Assessment skills

Knowledge of trauma impact

Case management

Strong communication

Job description

About The Service

Cardiff are looking to recruit permanent workers with a passion and drive to deliver only the ‘very best’ service to our children and their families and carers.

Cardiff is a forward thinking organisation that is looking at remote and innovative ways of working with flexibility to work at home, in the office and supporting safe face‑to‑face contact with families and children.

Cardiff Children’s services are leaders in practice and have been chosen as the location for key pilot projects including Family Drug and Alcohol Courts. We are forward thinking and seeking to embrace new models of working to ensure success in supporting children and young people experiencing mental health crisis and children involved with criminal exploitation. Our new ways of working have led us to develop multi‑disciplinary teams.

Cardiff supports the learning and development of individuals through leadership and management development opportunities whilst actively involving staff in the auditing and review of proactive learning that enables continuous development of the service and individuals within a nurturing and supportive culture.

There is a key focus on shifting the balance of care ensuring that only those children for whom risks cannot be mitigated are placed outside their family network. This is being achieved through clear analysis of the presenting issues and seeking to tailor support to meet the needs of family which might include daily support in the home and or the use of respite. Cardiff are committed to working with families through statutory intervention and sharing parental responsibility only where the risks dictate and not as a result of access to resources / services.

About the job

We have created a new Principal Social Worker role which will focus on Court Work.

You will be a case holding social worker working with approximately / children ( / families) who are subject to care proceedings. You will be responsible for all aspects of the case management including statutory visiting, care planning and review, and court.

You will work with children and their families to assist in decision making for Children to remain at home or return home to their parents. Assessments will need to consider the current risks and associated protective factors whilst also identifying the likelihood of sustained change within the child’s timescales.

You will have experience of working with children subject to care proceedings and their families and produce work of an excellent standard which provides recommendations based upon sound evidence based analysis.

Benefits offered

Cardiff is frequently found at the top of lists of best cities in the UK to live in so come join us and see what we can offer.

• A generous annual leave entitlement starting at days per year to a maximum of days per year after years, with the option to purchase additional annual leave to a maximum of days.
• Our working culture is flexible, with a flexi scheme allowing you to work to a schedule that suits you
• Hybrid working – supporting you to flexibly deliver your role whether on visits, from an office or your home
• Access to theCardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Pension Fund which is part of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), offering a reputable, secure and flexible pension plan for peace of mind.

This is just some of what Cardiff has to offer, take a look at our Social Work website for more information about all our benefits and hear from some of our social workers, talking about why cardiff is the place to be.

What We Are Looking For From You

You will have undertaken assessments using the DOH Framework of assessment and have knowledge and understanding of the principals of the NSPCC Reunification framework. You will understand the impact of trauma both on parents’ capacity and on the child’s needs and be able to ascertain if the parent(s) has capacity to meet the needs of the individual child. You will require the skills to overcome barriers to engagement during the assessment process and tailor your assessments to the learning styles of parents.

Your assessments will draw upon the knowledge of other professionals working with the child and their family and exploring the informal support networks available to the parents to assist them in the parenting role.