Social Worker - Children with disabilities

Halton Borough Council; Widnes; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

LGPS pension

Life cover 3x

Personal development

Free car parking

Flexible working

Employee benefits platform

Job summary

Halton Borough Council is recruiting a qualified social worker for the Children with Disabilities Team in Widnes. The role involves multi‑agency safeguarding, care planning, and delivering high‑quality support to children with disabilities and their families.

The post offers a hybrid working pattern with travel across Halton and includes a generous range of employee benefits and a market supplement for hard‑to‑fill posts. A driving license is required.

Qualifications

• Qualified social worker with knowledge of government legislation and safeguarding guidelines.
• Experience working with children with disabilities, their carers and families.
• Ability to work collaboratively with multi‑agency partners.

Responsibilities

• Manage an individual caseload of children with disabilities and meet deadlines.
• Represent the team in multi‑agency panels and forums for care planning.
• Support delivery and development of high‑quality child in need and safeguarding services.
• Travel across Halton; hold a full UK driving license and access to a vehicle.

Skills

Social work experience

Child protection experience

Communication skills

Driving licence

Education

Bachelor's degree in Social Work

Job description

Our Story

Halton is a vibrant local authority with a rich history and heritage, featuring three iconic bridges that connect communities across the River Mersey. Located in Cheshire, Halton boasts excellent transport links between Liverpool and Manchester, as well as close proximity to both Liverpool John Lennon and Manchester Airports. Our progressive community strategy aims to bring about meaningful, long-term improvements that enhance lives. It’s an exciting time to join us as we develop new policies and transform the way people access services. We are immensely proud that when asked what’s great about working for Halton, the most popular response from our workforce has been ‘our colleagues’.

Our Team

The Children with Disabilities Team in Halton provides specialist support for children and young people with complex needs, including physical disabilities, learning disabilities, autism, and complex health conditions, coordinating multi-agency care and services. The service is dedicated to meeting the needs of identified young people and their families within the Runcorn and Widnes localities. It is recognised that the level of support for young people will be differ from child to child and our skilled workforce will be able to support and assess under Section 17 Children Act 1989 and the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons act 1970. Workers are expected to have experience of child protection and supporting some young people within local authority care. The team provide clear, accessible information about support and services. By understanding Halton’s children and their families, the service will continually shape and improve the support that is offered. Working in partnership, the service will make sure families are fully involved in decisions.

Your Contributions

Our dedicated team are currently seeking a qualified social worker, with knowledge of relevant government legislation and guidance, SEND and local procedures relating to children with disabilities, their carers and safeguarding. You will have experience of working collaboratively with colleagues from other organisations, including social care, health, education, commissioned services and the voluntary sector as you will represent the team in multi-agency panels and task groups. Previous experience of supporting young people with complex health needs, a learning disability, social communication difficulties, and challenging behaviour is preferred. You will have excellent communication skills and have an understanding of the use of alternative communication systems such as PECS, Makaton, social stories etc. You will manage an individual caseload, prioritising your own workload and meeting challenging deadlines. Case recording must be clear, analytical and timely. Your role will also include working with the Manager to support the delivery and development of high quality child in need and safeguarding support. Our team work with families living in all areas of Halton. The Service is primarily based at Warrington Road Family Hub, Widnes but there is flexibility to work on a hybrid and agile basis, depending on the needs of the service. There will also be regular travel involved in this role, so a full UK driving license and access to a vehicle is required.

Our Offer

Aside from working with a great team, our employees have access to a fantastic range of benefits, including:

• A generous annual holiday allowance starting at 34 days per year (including bank holidays), increasing with long service
• Membership of our defined benefit, salary-linked Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with generous employer contributions
• 3 x Salary Life Cover via Local Government Pension Scheme
• Investment in your personal development
• Free Car Parking at HBC sites
• Flexible working arrangements
• Extensive employee benefits platform including discounted shopping, car leasing, gym memberships, wellbeing hub and Employee Assistance Programme

A relevant market supplement amount is included in the advertised salary for each grade as follows:Grade HBC7 - £2,710Grade HBC8 - £2,710

A market supplement is payable for those hard to fill posts within Children's Services, effective from 1st October 2024 until March 2025 then for another 2 further full financial years until 31st March 2027.

We are committed to making our recruitment practices barrier-free and tailored to best suit the needs and strength of the individual. This includes making adjustments for people with a disability, neurodiversity or with long-term health conditions. We reserve the right to close this vacancy earlier than the specified date should we receive sufficient applications. Please refer to the attached Job Profile for further information about the role and our values.