Social Worker (Children with Disabilities Team)

Are you a relationship-based social worker who puts children and their families at the forefront of everything you do? Are you committed to providing the highest standard of Social Work practice to children with disabilities and their families? Do you want to work in a multi-disciplinary team that believes in working alongside children and their families to bring about positive outcomes?  Then West Berkshire Council may have the role you’ve been waiting for.

West Berkshire’s Children with Disabilities Team works in partnership with SEN, Learning Support, Health and Education to deliver services for children and their families using a joined-up approach. The team includes Social Workers, Occupational Therapists, Family Support workers and business support colleagues to deliver a service which promotes social inclusion and equality for children with disabilities.

We are looking for an exceptional social worker with strong social work values to join our team and enjoy the benefits of positive working practices in which you are recognised as an expert in your field. You will have completed your first two years in practice at the commencement of taking up your post with us. We place a strong emphasis on practitioner development and support our Social Workers to seek opportunities to add to their skills in areas of particular interest to them.

To be successful in this role, you will be a skilled, experienced and motivated social worker. You will have ethical qualities and influence to support and inspire your other team members to meet our ‘best practice’ standards. You will need an excellent knowledge of Social Work legislation and a strong commitment to safeguarding children and promoting equal opportunities and access to social inclusion.

You will need to commit to working in a busy team and provide high quality assessments and interventions to children with a range of disabilities, including learning and physical. Being a successful Social Worker in the Children with Disabilities Team involves developing and maintaining good quality professional relationships with children, their families and other agencies and contributing to a busy and developing service.

You need to be flexible and self-disciplined and will undertake the full range of children’s social work including Child in Need, Children in Care, Child Protection and court work.

This is your opportunity to develop your career, expand your skills and knowledge in a supportive and friendly environment as you join us at this exciting and innovative point of our ongoing development.

To be a great social worker you must be able to develop and maintain high quality relationships with children and their families but in order to do this effectively you must first have the right support and guidance.

West Berkshire Council has developed a unique package of benefits to support social workers and managers. This is because we recognise that working in a frontline team is demanding and to be effective, teams need manageable caseloads, good supervision and a real break. This is why we are investing in supervision and sabbaticals for frontline staff. 

You will receive regular monthly personal and case supervision as well as being part of a multi-disciplinary team discussions on a regular basis.

In addition, you will receive:

• A market supplement of £6000 per annum
• A golden hello payment of £3k after one year in post
• A retention payment of £2k after two years of service
• A further retention payment of £3k, plus a four week paid sabbatical after three years’ service
• Flexible Working: West Berkshire has adopted a Hybrid Working Policy, which allows employees to split their time between attending the workplace and working remotely
• Free Parking
• Social Work England registration fees reimbursed
• Dedicated employee wellbeing service
• Regular and high quality reflective supervision.
• Approachable and visible senior leadership
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Generous annual leave allowance, plus an additional 5 days leave after 5 years continuous local authority service
• Staff benefits and discount scheme
• Relocation package of up to £8000 for individuals moving from outside a 30 mile radius (subject to eligibility)
• Blue Light card fees reimbursed

Good communication skills, both written and verbal are essential.

It is essential that you hold a current SW England registration and a full driving licence with use of a car.

Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment. 

Please contact Anna Mobbs, Team Manager on 01635 503165 for an informal chat about this role.