Brighter Futures for Children About us Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC) is a not-for-profit company, owned by, but independent of, Reading Borough Council. Although we are independent, we are very much part of the Reading Family. Our people enjoy all of benefits as other Council employees including membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme and continuous service. We work closely with partners in the local community and key organisations including Reading Borough Council, policy, public health and voluntary groups. We are responsible for the delivery of children’s social care, early help & prevention, education services (including SEND). This also includes fostering and adoption, the Youth Offending Service and traded services with schools. Our main aim is to protect and enhance the lives of the children of Reading. We help families find long-term solutions to ensure children lead happy, healthy and successful lives. About the role We have an exciting opportunity for you to join our Children Social Care team. You will lead on the implementation for the BFfC workforce development strategy for Children’s Social Care and also for the delivery of our learning and development offer to managers and social work staff. You will chair Team Managers forums and Practitioner Champions groups to ensure a consistent approach to learning and training across the organisation. You together with the ASYE Coordinator, will support, mentor and coach all ASYE staff to ensure they are supported within their first year of practice and thereafter. You will also commence the development of our agreed Practice Framework and will champion the partnership with Research and Practice and other sector led improvements work in Reading, in the region and nationally where directed. You will need to act as a critical friend to Senior Leaders to ensure the voice of social work staff and Children are heard in all our future planning and Service delivery Your role responsibilities: • Demonstrate the added value of the post by baselining practice, collecting and analysing data to establish the improvements in practice and associated outcomes for Children Young People and their families. • Introduce innovation and implement evidence-informed practice, while being responsive to the local needs of children, young people and families. • Ensure the views and experiences of children, young people and their families influence innovation and service improvement and contribute to organisational decision making. • Provide leadership and manage the introduction of new approaches to social work practice and models of service delivery, delivering evidenced improvements in the delivery children’s social care. • Manage the introduction of the career progression framework for Social Workers, setting standards, specifying portfolios of evidence, arranging panels and providing one on one feedback and remediation programme where appropriate. • Create the right culture and environment, in which excellent practice is expected and celebrated, critical incidents handled with grace and discipline, and public commitment to protecting children and supporting families frequent and authentic. • Provide leadership, professional guidance and support for all Social Work staff across the organisation. • Implement our workforce development strategy across Children’s social care, promoting a workforce culture that creates an enabling learning environment and common practice between professionals, including developing career paths and new roles for social workers and our managers. • Ensure Brighter Futures for Children is fully prepared for the introduction post qualifying National Assessment and Accreditation programme. For more information about the role, please read the job description and person specification. Our offer We offer a supportive environment to grow and develop your career with the opportunity to put your ideas across. Innovation and ambition are strongly encouraged, and you’ll get a great feel for that working in our friendly and collaborative environment. A competitive salary alongside a range of benefits including: • Local Government Pension Scheme with generous employer contribution. • Incremental holidays starting with 26 days plus public holidays (rising to 33 after 10 years’ service). • Discounted Child Care (on site nursery). • Cycle to work scheme. • Season train ticket loans. • Salary Sacrifice Car Lease Scheme. • A range of local shopping discounts. Inclusion and Diversity We want Brighter Futures for Children to be a great place to work and to ensure that our children, young people and families are represented in leadership roles and positions of power. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and those of Other Ethnicities, LGBT, disabled and neurodiverse communities to make a real difference to our children, young people and families so that equalities and justice remains at the heart of everything we do. Asking for Adjustments Brighter Futures for Children is committed to making our recruitment practices barrier-free and as accessible as possible for everyone. This includes making adjustments or changes for disabled people, neurodiverse people or people with long-term health conditions. If you would like us to do anything differently during the application, interview or assessment process, including providing information in an alternative format, please let us know. Closing date: 6 April 2025 Interview date: To be confirmed We look forward to hearing from you