Directorate: Children and Family Services

Section: Children's Social Care

Grade: Level 11

Hours: 37 hours per week

A unique opportunity to work within dedicated Children in Care teams.

We are looking for aspirational and dynamic qualified Children and Families Social Workers, who are interested in engaging the children in our care in varied and diverse direct work to support them to achieve their permanency plan.

You will be responsible for completing your statutory duties in co-ordinating children’s plans, whilst ensuring they are individual to the child’s needs and aspirational in respect of focus, supporting children to engage with their plans and achieve the very best outcomes.

You will be well supported, not only by team coordinators who support you with various administrative tasks, but also by an established and experienced management team. This will afford you opportunities to engage in direct work with your allocated children, to develop restorative relationships and to support children to understand their journey. 

You will work alongside our Contact Service, to promote family time with parents, siblings and significant people for the children in our care, ensuring that children develop strong networks of support as they transition towards independent living.

Permanency planning is key for all our children in care, enabling the opportunity to support children through to Adoption and Special Guardianship, creating development and progression opportunities for Socials Workers.

Children and Family Services are proud of its achievements to date and is continuing to ensure children and families remain the number one priority at the heart of all we do. Stoke-on-Trent is a city on the up – we’ve been confirmed as one of the best areas in the country for economic growth, we’ve been named as one of the most cultural places to live by the Sunday Times and we’re one of the greenest cities in the country with acres of green open spaces and parks.  We are located in North Staffordshire in the West midlands with easy and excellent access to transport links to all parts of the UK and internationally.

There is a strong sense of togetherness here and stoke has undoubtedly the friendliest people in the UK, we pride ourselves on building relationships with families and partners and hold restorative practice at the centre of all we do. 

We are investing in a high-quality learning and development offer to ensure that you have access to high quality learning, development opportunities and support, whatever stage of your career you are at.

If you’re looking for a challenging yet rewarding role, one where you’ll be supported every step of the way, Stoke-on-Trent City Council is the place for you. 

 For these roles you must

• Be a qualified Social Worker 
• You will have sound knowledge of relevant childcare legislation, including a clear understanding of ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’.  
• An ability to build effective relationships with children, young people, and families. ability to work flexibly around work commitments   

Amongst the benefits we offer are:

• Up to 40 days holiday (including 8 days bank holidays)
• Option to buy extra annual leave
• Flexible working hours
• Hybrid working
• Relocation allowance to £8,000 subject to policy
• Manageable caseloads
• High quality reflective supervision
• Health and wellbeing support
• Access to staff equality and diversity network  

Want to know more and apply?

It’s great to know that you are interested in working with us at Stoke-on-Trent City Council. as a potential employee, it is important that everyone who works for us is committed to our stronger together vision ensuring we are working together to create a stronger city we can all be proud of.

If you are passionate about children and young people getting the right help at the right time, about listening to their voice, and about working in partnership with families and wider networks, then we would very much like to hear from you. 

To be considered for a position you must have a degree in Social Work or equivalent and be registered with Social Work England.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and we expect all our employees and volunteers to share this commitment.  This position is exempt under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the successful applicant will be subject to a criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

Previous applicants need not apply 

Additional Information

Stoke-on-Trent City Council values the diversity of its community and aims to have a workforce that reflects this – we therefore encourage applications from all sections of our community. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees – a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed together.

Please note that if an employee who is currently at risk of redundancy within the organisation applies for this vacancy their application will receive priority.  If this happens you will be advised accordingly.

To Apply

please visit our website https://webrecruitment.stoke.gov.uk/wrl/ If you have any queries or want an application form in another format, please email recruitment@stoke.gov.uk or call us on 01782 238189.