Social Worker

Sandwell Children's Trust; Telford; Hybrid; GBP 47,000 - 52,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Market supplement

Retention bonus

Hybrid working

Generous annual leave

Relocation package

Job summary

Sandwell Children’s Trust is seeking exceptional Senior Social Workers for the Child Protection & Court Teams. The role focuses on high-quality assessments, timely interventions, and progressing cases toward permanency while working in partnership with families and local communities.

You will help deliver evidence-based plans, ensure child-centered practice, and contribute to strong multi-agency collaboration in a dynamic care environment.

Qualifications

• Have completed your ASYE programme.
• Have at least 2 years post‑qualifying experience in a Children & Families setting.
• Good knowledge of minimum standards and ability to promote change in family life.
• Ability to analyse information and make informed decisions.
• Good knowledge of child development.

Responsibilities

• Work in an organised, planned way to meet timescales set by the Trust and Court.
• Produce court reports, statements, care plans and assessments with clear evidence-based recommendations.
• Represent the Trust in giving evidence in Court.
• Respond to needs of children via s47 investigations or s17 assessments.
• Develop effective relationships with children and families to identify needs and plans.
• Ensure the voice of the child is central and evidenced in assessments and plans.

Skills

ASYE experience

Analytical skills

Decision making

Child development knowledge

Court reporting & statements

Job description

Key Responsibilities

• Work in an organised and planned way to ensure timescales set by the Trust and the Court are consistently met;
• Produce reports for Court, write court statements, care plans and assessments in a succinct manner, demonstrating highly attuned skills in gathering, assessing and analysing key information leading to evidenced‑based recommendations for children;
• Represent the Trust in giving evidence in Court.
• Respond to the needs of children through s47 child protection investigations or through s17 child in need single assessments;
• Play a pivotal role in developing effective relationships with children and their families to identify their needs and work with families to help develop plans to achieve change;
• Ensure that the voice of the child is at the centre of your work and use a range of direct work tools to evidence the child's voice in your assessments and plans.

Job Requirements

• Have completed your ASYE programme;
• Have at least 2 years post‑qualifying experience of working as a social worker in a Children & Families setting.
• Have a good level of experience of working in a children and families setting;
• Have a good knowledge of minimum standards and be able to achieve our expectation for promoting change in family life;
• Be able to demonstrate the ability to analyse information and make informed decisions;
• Good knowledge of child development.

About the Trust

Following our recent “Good” rating from Ofsted, we are recruiting for exceptional Senior Social Workers to join the Child Protection & Court Teams who are passionate, committed and dedicated to improving the lives of children & young people. With a focus on good quality assessments and dynamic planning which deliver timely evidence‑based interventions and the progress of pre‑proceedings/care proceedings through to permanency planning, this service strengthens partnership working with families in local communities.

At Sandwell Children’s Trust we strive for excellence to improve the lives of children. To achieve this, we know how important it is to retain and attract high performing, forward thinking and innovative people and provide them with all the support they need. With a culture of collaboration, partnership working and the child at the heart of everything we do, it really is an exciting time to join Sandwell Children’s Trust. Working for us There are lots of great reasons to work with us in Sandwell Children’s Trust. From a generous rewards package to a culture of learning and development.

Our 12 reasons to work for Sandwell Children’s Trust sets us apart as the place to grow your career and feel part of a great team. Please visit the Sandwell Deal and our 12 reasons via this hyperlink: https://sandwelldeal.co.uk, Sandwell sits in the heart of the West Midlands and has a diverse population of 341,729 people. While Sandwell is the 12th most deprived local authority in England, it is a community where our families have high aspirations and where we pride ourselves on equality of opportunity and our adaptability and resilience.

Our Families First pilot scheme colleague told us: "Working in this new, collaborative way helps me build stronger partnerships to support children and their families to find the best solutions to suit their lives."

What we can offer you

• A market supplement of £2,500 per annum.
• Retention bonus of £2,000 in year 1, £3,000 in year 2 and £5,000 in year 3.
• Generous annual leave of up to 31 days, plus 5 additional days for long service recognition plus your birthday off.
• We recognise individual loyalty with service awards from 2, 5, 10 and every 5 years onwards.
• Flexible working patterns that suit you and all of our roles have well‑defined career progression.
• £46,753- £52,317 per annum
• and a relocation allowance of up to £6,500 plus, excellent benefits. Additionally, we pay a retention bonus of up to £10,000 over 3 years.
• Hybrid Working - full time 37 hours per week.
• Flexible working patterns that suit you and all of our roles have well‑defined career progression.
• Access to our Learning & Development portal offering virtual training programmes, learning & development info bursts, learning events and much more.
• The latest technology enabling more effective and streamlined working.
• Detailed and effective appraisals to strengthen your practice.
• Access to a range of family friendly policies.

Benefits & Rewards

• Up to £6,500 re-location package
• Generous annual leave entitlement, plus 5 additional days for long service recognition.
• The opportunity to purchase up to 10 days additional holiday through our salary sacrifice scheme.
• Your birthday off paid in addition to annual leave entitlement and 8 bank holidays, plus a concessionary day at Christmas.
• Membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme, this is a nationwide career average scheme with employer contributions of 21.6%.
• We recognise individual loyalty with service awards from 2, 5, 10 and every 5 years onwards.
• Reimbursement of Social Work England registration
• 24/7 access to free and confidential employee counselling service
• Access to a range of discounts on products and services
• Salary sacrifice schemes for cars, bikes and technology.
• Refer a friend scheme
• Wellbeing initiatives and forums
• Discounted gym membership
• Eye care vouchers