Child & Family Worker - Family Safeguarding - Horsham

About Us

We are committed to improving our services for the children and families we support in West Sussex. In May 2023 Ofsted Inspectors praised West Sussex County Council's Children's Services for its 'relentless approach to improving practice,' giving the service an overall rating of 'requires improvement', with 'good' judgements for children in care and leadership and management. The judgements on children needing help and protection and children leaving care are they 'require improvement to be good'.

Inspectors recognised the 'strong, determined and cohesive leadership team' who have made significant improvements since 2019 and their commitment and focus to make further improvements.

For further information about us and about working in Children's Social Care at West Sussex County Council, please visit Careers in children's social work in West Sussex.

About The Job

Salary: £25,409 to £27,852 (pro-rata £20,601 to £22,582)
Working Pattern: Part Time (30 hours )
Contract Length: Permanent
Location: Horsham

You will develop and offer a creative range of services for children and their families to meet needs as identified e.g. undertaking direct work and purposeful interventions with children, young people, parents / carers, families and groups, and delivering support packages or specific programmes.

Services will be provided in partnership with families, aiming to support them to make positive change and to enable children and young people to reach their full potential.

You will need to establish effective working relationships with colleagues within Children's Social Care, Foster Carers and other statutory and voluntary agencies, for example staff from health and education, in order to provide an integrated service.

Key Skills:

• Good communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to organise and present information clearly, concisely, and accurately in ways that promote understanding, both verbally and in writing, including the ability to persuade and successfully convince others of the need to take a specific course of action and gain the trust of service users.
• Ability to analyse and interpret information in order to manage casework with children / young people and their families, assessing needs, setting objectives and reviewing progress.
• Ability to engage and intervene in partnership with children/young people, their families, and other external agencies in order to effect positive and lasting change. Ability to work in an empowering way, focusing on collective strengths and resources, e.g., using a solution focused approach, and responding flexibly to diverse groups and service users whilst maintaining confidentiality.
• Ability to prioritise and manage own workload, co-ordinating a range of tasks in a clear and logical way to meet agreed deadlines, whilst working towards clear goals. Able to reflect on own practice and learn from experience, taking responsibility for proactive professional development.
• Ability to maintain clear, accurate records of all work undertaken and produce case reports and correspondence for a variety of audiences including meetings, conferences, court panels and other agencies.
• Sound and accurate IT skills, including report writing, maintaining accurate records, ensuring confidentiality, and protecting information.

Qualifications, knowledge and experience:

• GCSE English and Maths, or equivalent qualification or experience operating at this level of literacy and numeracy.
• QCF Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People's Workforce (or equivalent), or demonstrable equivalent comparable experience.
• An understanding of systems, procedures and policies relevant to Children's Social Care e.g. child protection and safeguarding procedures, practice and policy. Desirable
• Knowledge and understanding of the development of children and young people, and age-appropriate behaviour.
• An understanding of a range of interventions that can be used with children, young people and families to achieve change.
• Sound and accurate IT knowledge e.g., Microsoft Office, in order to produce written reports.
• Experience of providing advice and guidance to others.
• Significant experience of using a range of direct work interventions in working with children, young people and their families.
• Experience of working with children/young people and their families in crisis or complex situations. Desirable
• Experience of using assessment planning and reviewing processes.
• Experience of working in a Social Care Environment. Desirable
• Experience of forming effective working relationships within a multiagency setting.
• Requirement to communicate in English with members of the public
• Valid and full driving licence

Rewards and Benefits

For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee you can find them on our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further Information

The reference number for this role is CAFHE04486 .

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Patience Okoruwe at for issues or queries regarding your application please contact .