Description Social Workers (2 posts) - Ref: CH11224 G9: £39,513 - £44,711 per annum We are recruiting for a Social Worker to join our Connected Carers and SGO Hub. We want our staff and management teams to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve, and welcome applications from people of all cultures, ethnicities, religions, genders etc. These are exciting times for Walsall Children’s Services. We are committed to achieving the best outcomes for children and families, and doing this through creating the conditions where great social work practice can flourish. We want you to join us on this journey, and are looking for people who have the skills and experience to successfully assess connected families in our area. We are looking for skilled assessors who can assess friends and family carers to enable children to stay in their extended families either through fostering or special guardianship. We have recently introduced the new Form K (Kinship) to replace the current Form C. You will be part of the wider fostering team and may be involved in some Supervising Social Work and support to SGO carers. Experienced Form F assessors / safeguarding practitioners that are good at assessments and understand the needs of children who have come from traumatic backgrounds are all encouraged to apply. We have staff from a variety of backgrounds within our team and support each other to improve practice and do the right thing for Walsall Children. We work closely with the safeguarding teams, doing joint visits, writing court reports etc and we encourage students within the team and for all our staff to have opportunities to develop. We have regular team meetings, reflective sessions on cases and we all support each other. Its a busy team with lots of complexities of exploring extended family to keep children in their family network as children have better outcomes where this is possible. FOSTERING SERVICE All staff in the Fostering Service have recently undertaken Dydactic Developmental psychotherapy training to support us all working in a more trauma informed way. There are lots of opportunities for training and development and we are a very forward thinking team who want to develop services that support children for the future. What we offer you By choosing to join us in Walsall you will receive a package of benefits and support. These include: • A generous annual leave entitlement offering a minimum 27 days leave per year plus 9 concessionary days and in addition to a flexible working scheme that allows up to a further 12 days leave per year • Access to an award winning pension scheme • All staff receive training in Restorative Practice and Motivational Interviewing, as well as other key methods and tools to support family-led decision-making and relationship-based social work. • We are committed to a staff wellbeing programme to recognise and support our staff, recognising that to keep children safe and support families, social workers need to feel safe and supported • We have a career pathway that moves from an ASYE programme recognised as a national example of good practice, to a Core Training offer for all Social Workers, to new Practice Supervisor Pathway and Team Manager Programme to support more experienced Social Workers in their development. • This is part of a focused approach to staff development in our Annual Performance Conversations, and opportunities for individual continuing professional development activities linked to specialisms and interests, as well as the Practice Educator PEPs Level 1 and 2. • We hold regular celebration events, service and practice development days, and staff engagement forums. We want to hear from you and improve and grow based on what you tell us We have a genuine commitment to equality of opportunity for all staff – we aim to employ a representative workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We are proud to be aiming high and looking to do things differently, and to focus on doing the main, fundamental things we need to get right to achieve the right outcomes for children and families, and to make Walsall a great place to do social work. We hope that you will join us on this journey. Want to know more? For further information please contact Mandy Layton by email at: mandy.laytonwalsall.gov.uk Closing date for applications: Friday 21 st April 2025 View Job Description and Employee Specification Important note: When completing your online application form, you will be asked to enter supporting information. You must enter a detailed supporting information statement describing how your skills, abilities and experience meet the specific criteria included in the employee specification. If you do not include a supporting information statement, you will not be shortlisted. Please also ensure that you complete the work history and qualifications sections of your application form. Please do not add a CV as we do not accept them. Please see our Information for Applicants leaflet for further information. We kindly request that recruitment agencies do not contact us regarding this job vacancy. We are not accepting agency applications or referrals at this time. Walsall Council takes seriously the responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all the children, young people and vulnerable adults entrusted to our care and it is our expectation that all staff will share this commitment. We will ensure continuous development and improvement of robust recruitment processes and procedures that promote a culture of safeguarding amongst our workforce. Completion of an enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check is a requirement for working with children, young people and vulnerable adults. Note: Applicants appointed to posts that require an enhanced DBS clearance must declare any periods of time that they have lived, studied or worked abroad and be prepared to provide an Overseas Criminal Records Certificate (OCRC) or a Statement of Good Conduct (SOGC) relating to anytime they were overseas.