Senior Practitioner - Disabled Children Access and Referral Team

Job description

Job responsibilities

Are you an experienced, passionate Social Worker looking to become a vital part of a Specialist Disabled Childrens Access and Referral Team? If so the Disability Social Care 0-25 Service wants to share this exciting Senior Practitioner opportunitywith you.

You will join the lively and dynamic Disabled Childrens Access and Referral Team who act as the first point of contact for all new referrals for disabled children requiring a social care assessment across Cambridgeshire. We believe in giving young people and their families choice, control and flexibility in how they manage their support needs, and the right to access inclusive services, and be part of their own community.

You will be highly motivated, experienced and committed to working with disabled children and their families. The role offers excellent training opportunities and a chance to play a real part in the creation of something great. This is a fantastic chance for you to work within a diverse and supportive team who will empower you to make important decisions and find creative solutions to challenging situations.

The role is hybrid with a mix of home and office (Scott House in Huntingdon) working however you will need the ability to travel across the county as required.

Interested in finding out more about this exciting opportunity? If so please contact Joanne Reed, Team Manager, on joanne.reed@cambridgeshire.gov.uk or Suzanne Briscoe, Suzanne.briscoe@cambridgeshire.gov.uk or call 01480 372455.

Interviews will be held in person at Scott House in Huntingdon week commencing 11th August.

Appointment to this post will be subject to the outcome of an Enhanced Disclosure obtained through the Disclosure and Barring Service. The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits in addition to the basics like annual leave, sick pay, pension and mileage

• A comprehensive wellbeing package to cover all aspects of wellbeing, both in and out of work, which can also be accessed by your family
• 6 days of protected time each year to support in maintaining your Continuous Professional Development
• A relocation package of up to £8,000 (eligibility applies)
• A pay progression scheme to enable you to accelerate through the pay grade as you gain experience and skills
• ARefer a Friend Schemewhere if you refer another Social Worker to us who is subsequently employed by us as a result of that introduction, well pay you an introduction fee of £350
• Access to our Cambridgeshire Academy for Reaching Excellence (CARE) who will support your development, enabling you to become the best practitioner you can be

For more information and to see our other benefits, take a look at the benefits brochure attached to this advert.

In our team no two days are the same!

You will be responsible for assessing the needs, managing risk and supporting disabled children and young people, identifying the appropriate pathway for them such as access to short breaks through our Disabled Childrens Early Help offer or as children in need and transferring to one of our longer-term Disabled Children's social work teams.

You will manage a caseload and achieve positive outcomes for the countys most vulnerable residents, providing leadership in high complex cases which involve risk, complexity and safety of children, young people, carers and families.

As a Senior Practitioner you will be expected to lead, guide and direct Social Workers and Child Practitioners, supporting with their performance and development, including supervision. You will also assist in with the recruitment and induction of new staff and deputise for the Team Manager in meetings and working groups to support the development of the team and service.

Our team is dedicated to supporting you. The Team Managers ensure you receive monthly case management and separate personal supervisions to ensure we can focus on your development and progression. Plus you will have opportunities throughout the month to share learning and experiences with fellow team members through Team Meetings and Huddles.

We're looking for a confident and dynamic individual whom enjoys building relationships and helping to support the most vulnerable children and young people in our county. To be successful in this role you will have a sound understanding of relevant SEND legislation and policy, along with knowledge of the factors that lead to improved outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

You must:

• Be a qualified Social Worker with a Social Work England registration
• Have the ability to work from a variety of locations and travel countywide independently
• Have considerable experience of Statutory Safeguarding Practice

For a full list of the requirements of the role, please check out the Job Description & Person Specification.

Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes.

Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do.

We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we firmly believe benefits our colleagues, the organisation and our communities.If you dont meet every single requirement in the job role but think this could be you, please dont be put off. We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse, so if you think you could be a good candidate for this role please consider applying and speak to the recruiting manager if you have any questions.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, along with our employee network 'IDEAL' and self-organised peer support groups help us to foster an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment where people feel valued, respected, and empowered. We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We fully support providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, as well as when you join us, and we encourage candidates to contact the Hiring Manager, whose details can be found in the advert, to discuss any adjustment needs. Some examples of adjustments could include additional time to complete an assessment or printing a document on pastel coloured paper with larger font size and line spacing. We would value talking about what might be possible to enable you to join us and thrive, so if there is something that would help you to do your best during your journey with us, please get in touch.

Visit our jobs and careers section to find out more about our wide range of learning and development opportunities; apprenticeships; our wellbeing package; staff benefits; our commitment to equality, diversity and Inclusion.

http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/council/jobs-and-careers

Person Specification

General Requirements

Essential

• Please refer to job description above

Desirable

• Please refer to job description above

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Cambridgeshire County Council

Address

Huntingdon

PE29 3AD

Employer's website

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)