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About Us

The Children’s Assessment Service provides an early response to support children and their families who may be in need or at risk of harm without our help. The team's purpose is to complete comprehensive child and family assessments in partnership with children and their families, so we can ensure they receive the right help, at the right time. We do this with the support of our multi-agency partners with whom we have developed strong relationships as part of Oxfordshire’s commitment to the Family Safeguarding Model. As you may expect, a children's assessment team is a fast-paced environment providing a wealth of professional development opportunities and our social worker's have the privilege of supporting families at one of the earliest points of contact with children's services. We maintain a OFSTED rating of 'Good' overall and now we continue to work to ensure children and families receive an Outstanding service

About the Role

In this important role, you will be part of a duty rotation of social workers receiving assessments as they are referred by our Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub. You will also be responsible for leading Section 47 child protection investigations where they are necessary, all with the support of experienced permanent managers. The role of a children's assessment social worker is critical in ensuring our children and their families receive thoughtful, evidence-based assessments that help them identify and make changes, and where necessary have a well developed further plan of intervention to support lasting changes.

About you

This is a key safeguarding role and our social workers are critical in ensuring children and families receive a safe, respectful and child-focused service. Therefore, for such an important role, you should be a qualified social worker with current Social Work England registration, and have completed the ASYE (or equivalent). You should have experience of working with children and their families in a statutory setting. Most importantly, you should share our commitment to delivering respectful, proportionate and evidence-based assessments that are child-focused and ensures children's voices really make a difference to what we do.

Rewards and benefits

It really is true that every single job role here contributes to bettering the lives of the people in our county - we want to do this for our employees too. We are proud of our strong flexible working culture, including the opportunity for flexibility on working hours and the use of technology to support agile working. We offer some of the very best learning and development opportunities to support your ongoing development.

We have a generous holiday allowance which rises as you remain in employment with us up to 32 days, as well as giving you the option to buy additional holiday. You will also have access to a Local Government Pension Scheme with employer contributions of up to 19.9% of your salary; a range of local and national retail discounts; and a host of enhanced family friendly policies including carers leave and paid time off for volunteering.

• Welcome and Loyalty payment of £3,500.
• Relocation allowance of up to £8,000.
• Annual leave starting at 30 days per year (plus bank holidays).
• A comprehensive Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).
• Flexible working.
• Employee Assistance Programme including access to health and wellbeing support 24x7.
• Range of family-friendly policies.
• Childcare vouchers, cycle to work scheme, electric car scheme, range of staff discounts including travel, holidays, insurance, food, health & leisure activities.
• Excellent learning and development opportunities.

Our commitment to:
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

At Oxfordshire County Council we are proud of our diverse workforce. Everyone is accepted for who they are, regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marital status, race, faith or belief, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, or on maternity or family leave. We have a number of staff network groups which provide peer support, education and safe spaces for all.

Our commitment to:
Guaranteed Interview Schemes

As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee an interview for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job. We also guarantee interviews to care leavers who have completed further education and who meet the essential criteria for the job. For those leaving care without any further education, we guarantee an interview for our apprenticeships. We are also committed to helping and supporting those transitioning from HM Armed Forces to civilian life and guarantee an interview for those demonstrating the essential criteria for the role, within three years of leaving the service.

Our commitment to:
Safeguarding

Oxfordshire County Council are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect these commitments.

Our commitment to:
Flexible Working

We are open to discussions about flexible working, which can include flexi-time, part time working, job sharing, nine-day fortnights and annualised hours, depending on the requirements of the role and the service.

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If you encounter any technical issues with the application system, please contact us at: careers@oxfordshire.gov.uk