Social Worker - ICART

Halton; Widnes; On-site; GBP 34,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

34 days annual holiday (including bank

Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)

Life Cover: 3× Salary

Free Car Parking at HBC sites

Flexible working arrangements

Employee Wellbeing hub

Employee Assistance Programme

Job summary

Halton is recruiting an ICART Social Worker based in Widnes to triage concerns about children within a multi‑agency team, identifying immediate risk and ensuring consent where needed. You will work with social care, health, education and policing colleagues to determine next steps and safeguard children.

The role offers career progression through training and development, a strong support network, and a focus on relationship‑based practice within Halton's improvement journey.

Responsibilities

• Screen parents/carers/child/young person and partners to enable the manager to decide next steps.
• Role based in Widnes with some travel across the Borough.

Job description

Social Worker – ICART

Do you have a passion for making a meaningful impact in the lives of children?

Are you looking for somewhere that allows you to truly shape the life chances of children and young people?

Join a team where we’re always looking ahead — a place that’s deeply committed to continuous learning, growth, and career progression.

Our Story:

Halton is a vibrant local authority area encompassing Widnes and Runcorn, with a rich history and heritage, featuring two iconic bridges that connect communities across the River Mersey. Located in Cheshire, Halton boasts excellent transport links between Liverpool and Manchester.

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 ICART team is the first point of contact for the public and professionals who have concerns about a child. ICART is a multi‑agency team made up of social workers, early help family workers, education, health and police. ICART triages information gathered to determine next steps, this will include identifying immediate risk and ensuring consent has been gained from the parents / carers when professionals refer or dispense with if necessary when a safeguarding matter arises.

Hours:

37

Your Contributions:

As an ICART Social Worker you will undertake screening checks with parents / carers / child / young person, police, health, education and other partner agencies to enable the manager to make a decision about next steps. This role is based in our office in Widnes with some travel across the Borough.

Our Offer:

• A generous annual holiday allowance starting at 34 days per year (including bank holidays), increasing with long serviceMembership of our defined benefit, salary-linked Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with generous employer contributions3 x Salary Life Cover via Local Government Pension SchemeInvestment 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

We have a strong vision for social work practice in Halton and we are currently embedding a relationship based practice model that has systemic practice at its core. We’re on a journey for excellence and we’ve made it our mission to ensure that children and young people get the best service from us, so they are able to thrive and achieve.

We are committed to supporting our Social Workers and Managers to achieve their aspirations too. Working with us, you will have real opportunities to progress your career through training and development as an advanced practitioner, or future leader.

We have a stable and experienced Senior Leadership Team, who lead from the front. The Head of Service, Service Manager and Team Manager are well established staff members in Halton, who are supportive and nurturing.

You will receive bespoke support from the Social Work Academy who are integral in supporting this team in our improvement journey, providing advice, guidance and support to colleagues in this service area.

The Market Supplement applicable to the advertised role is as follows:

• For salaries of HBC 7 and HBC8 - £2,710 per annum
• For salaries of HBC9 - £3,710

A market supplement is payable for those hard to fill posts within Children’s Services, effective from 1stOctober2024 until March 2025 then for another 2 further full financial years until 31stMarch2027.

We are committed to ensuring that the communities are represented across our workforce and a vital part of this is to encourage diversity in all respects. 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.

If you require accommodations, please reach out during the recruitment process so that we can make this the best possible experience for you – [e-mail]

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.