Location: Community Connect Rattray High Street Rattray Blairgowrie, PH10 7DG
Salary: £21,352 - £23,548 per year
Contract Type: Permanent
Position Type: Part Time
Hours: 21.6 hours per week
Main Purpose of the Role
We currently have the following opportunity:
Senior Social Care Officer - PKC12564
£21,352 - £23,548 (21.6 Hours per week)
Community Connect, High Street, Rattray
This is an exciting opportunity to join Services for Children, Young People and Families in one of our statutory Children, Families and Justice Social Work teams. We are recruiting for a part-time Senior Social Care Officer (21.6 hours per week / 3 days which would be Monday-Wednesday). The position is based within the Blairgowrie Fieldwork Team which is located at Rattray Community Connect.
The team works with children and young people between the ages of 0 and 16 (sometimes up to age 18): this can be on a voluntary or statutory basis, depending on the needs of the individual child or young person and the family circumstances.
The focus of the team includes the following:
1. Undertaking assessments of need and risk in relation to vulnerable children, young people and their families.
2. Responding - as a priority, to safeguard children and young people who are at immediate risk of significant harm.
3. Implementing and progressing multi-agency plans to reduce risk, meet unmet needs, improve well-being, and promote positive outcomes for individual children, young people and their families.
4. Keeping children and young people at home with their parents/immediate family where this is possible.
5. Ensuring kinship care is prioritised as the first choice where it is not safe or possible for a child or young person to remain in the care of their parents.
6. Timeously progressing permanence plans for children and young people where it has been assessed that their long-term needs cannot be met in the care of their parents.
7. Overseeing and supporting individual foster and residential care placements to ensure that they continue to meet the needs of the child or young person, provide stability and security, and mitigate any risk of disruption.
The team works in a trauma informed way with children, young people and their families to ensure children and young people’s needs are met through robust assessment and implementation of children and young person’s plans and also Child Protection plans.
The role of the Senior Social Care Officers (SSCO) in the team have a varied role. This includes holding a small number of their own cases and carrying out specific pieces of work with parents to reduce risks and improve their ability to meet their children’s needs at home. This could be in the form of parenting work, support with practical tasks and 1-1 work with children and young people. Additionally, SSCO’s facilitate and supervise family time between children, siblings and their parents and support the case responsible Social Worker during planned, time limited parenting capacity assessments.
Multi-agency working is a key aspect of the team’s work. We come together with local partners to share information and make plans for individual children and young people in various settings, including Child / Young Person Planning Meetings, Child Protection Planning Meetings and Looked After Child Reviews.
Key partners include the local schools, the Educational Psychology service, the Community Mental Health Team, Integrated Drug and Alcohol Recovery Team, the Health Visiting Teams, the School Nursing Team, Housing, Police Scotland, Women’s Aid and Third Sector Organisations such as Turning Point, Aberlour and Barnardo’s.
The team works closely with multi-disciplinary teams to support families in line with ‘Getting it Right for Every Child’ and SHANARRI principles.
Interviews for this post will take place on Friday 9 May 2025.
Skills & Experience Required
You must have an SVQ Level 3 in Social Services (Children & Young People) or equivalent. If you are suitably experienced or qualified in other ways, you must be willing to complete the SVQ3 qualification within a designated period.
Flexibility is key in these roles as no two days are the same and sometimes plans need to change quickly in response to the needs of children and families.
You must have a good understanding of child development and attachment theory, have knowledge of relevant legislation, processes and procedures and issues relating to children and families.
You must be able to communicate effectively with children and families in a warm, patient and empathetic manner, recognising that all families experience difficulties at times. Being approachable, reliable and trustworthy in your work with families is essential to making positive change to children, young people and families.
You must be consistent and persistent in your work with families, recognising that it takes time to build relationships with children and their parents and that it may take several attempts to engage with families.
You must be non-judgmental and open-minded in your approach to working with families. You should be willing to learn more about domestic abuse / violence, substance use and mental health and its impact on children and families.
You should be an organised person who can manage their workload around fixed commitments such as family time arrangements and be able to prioritise competing demands.
You should be able to use computers to a good standard, such as completing entries into our web based recording system, managing an electronic diary system and typing up assessments, forms and short reports.
Candidates will need to promote positive values and anti-discriminatory, non-judgmental practice and treat colleagues and customers with dignity and respect in line with the Employee Code of Conduct and SSSC Codes of Conduct.
You must have a valid UK driving licence and use of a vehicle as this post requires you to travel to a variety of locations across Perth and Kinross. Occasional travel out with Perth and Kinross will also be required.
All activities in relation to work undertaken must be recorded timeously and clearly on Perth and Kinross’ data recording system. The role demands a person who can use IT and write clearly and accurately. The role includes attendance and participation at Child Protection Planning Meetings, Child Protection Core Groups, Looked After Child meetings/reviews, Children’s Hearings and Child Plan meetings.
* 6 days public holiday and an additional discretionary day
We recognise there can be benefits to flexible working and where individual jobs allow, we seek to support this. You are encouraged to discuss potential options with the recruiting manager, if this is of interest to you. A healthy work life balance is important to us and we provide supportive management and, where possible, flexible working arrangements to help you achieve that balance. You will have access to training and support for continued professional development.
This role requires you to be registered with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), if you are not yet registered, you can still apply, as long as you are willing to apply for registration within 3 months of starting with us and be registered within 6 months.
Next Steps
We would love to hear from you and would encourage you to get in touch with Lesley Reilly, Team Leader at LReilly@pkc.gov.uk to find out more.
Click “APPLY NOW”
External candidates are required to provide contact details for 2 referees, including email addresses. One of these must be your current or most recent employer.
We welcome applications from everyone and as a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to interview applicants who declare a disability and meet the essential requirements of the post. Please contact the hiring manager above or the Recruitment Team on (01738) 475555 or recruitment@pkc.gov.uk to discuss any reasonable adjustments. Appointments are based on evidence supplied during the selection process.
Diversity is important to us and although some of our jobs may be perceived to be traditionally gender specific, we welcome applications from everyone and would encourage you to apply if you meet the job requirements. That includes welcoming applications from former armed forces personnel/reservists. Many of the skills picked up during your military career could be transferred directly into a role with local government.
Working with children and/or protected adults is regarded as a regulated role and under the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 you will be required to join the PVG Scheme or undergo a PVG Scheme update check.
If you have lived overseas for a period of 12 months or more (continuous or total) within the last 10 years, an Overseas Criminal Record Check will be required. You will be required to provide this check.
A confirmed offer of employment and commencement in the post will be subject to the outcome of the above mentioned mandatory pre-employment checks (including references) and will also include eligibility to work in the UK, qualifications and fitness to undertake the post.
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