People and Place
Head of Social Work Academy (Principal Social Worker Children & Young People)
Ref: 000669
Contract: Permanent
Salary: £53,869 - £57,070 per annum (SM3)
Hours: 36.66 per week
Based: Metropolitan Place, Oldham OL1 1TT
Closing Date: Wednesday 16/04/2025
Interview: w/c Monday 28th April 2025
Informal Enquiries: Kimberley Nield, Acting Assistant Director, Quality Assurance and Safeguarding
Email: Kimberley.Nield@Oldham.Gov.Uk
Why should you work in Oldham?
Officially rated as a ‘Good’ by Ofsted, we are proud of our relentless approach in seeking the very best outcomes for our children and families, and there’s never been a better time to join the team and be part of our success story.
Oldham is a wonderful place of diversity, where people of all cultures come together. This is one our greatest strengths and our social workers enjoy using a breadth of skills and gaining a variety of experiences whilst supporting children and families from diverse backgrounds.
We use systemic practice as our chosen practice model, focusing on building relationships with children and families, understanding the context and family dynamics, and reflectively learning together. 2024 has seen the launch of our new systemic reflective hubs, as our Social Work Academy continues to offer reflective supervisions and tailored support through an innovative 2-year ASYE programme.
We have a strong ethos of ‘Growing our own’, providing a great environment to excel in your social work career.
Our Promises to you:
* A commitment to your continuing professional development through a bespoke learning and development programme
* A variety of career opportunities to progress and develop with us in Social Work
* Regular, quality, and reflective supervision and learning from practice audits with fortnightly training days in each of our services.
* Monthly Group Supervision with your team
* Weekly Learning Spaces to focus on a specific area of learning.
* A permanent and supportive Senior Leadership team
* Full corporate and service Induction
You will be rewarded with great benefits:
* Hybrid working giving flexibility for you to manage your diary and offer a better work/life balance.
* 25 days annual leave with the option to purchase additional days, and which increases after 5 years’ service and 10-years’ service.
* Attractive defined benefit pension scheme with a market leading AVC option for additional retirement savings
* Discounted gym membership
* Staff discount scheme for shopping, entertainment, eating-out, eating-in, travel, motoring and more.
* Salary sacrifice scheme, including Cycle to Work
* Wellbeing support, including an Employment Assistance Programme that provides 24 hours access to advice and support.
* Staff recognition and celebration events
Visit Greater.Jobs for more information on Oldham staff benefits.
Our employees say
“One of the reasons I’ve worked here for so long is because it’s like a family and a listening organisation, where people are encouraged to participate and get involved”.
“Our Social Worker teams are friendly, approachable and professional”.
“We all want to make a difference to the families and children that we work with”.
“Oldham values the person, the families, and the inclusive culture”.
Hear more from our employees and explore our Social Work Academy offer here
Ofsted says
“Children are well supported by social workers, who ensure that their health, education and emotional needs are met”.
“Staff are tenacious”.
“Children and families in Oldham benefit from a comprehensive range of early help services”.
“There is strong partnership working”.
“Senior leaders promote the participation of cared for children and actively seek their voice in developing and shaping service delivery”.
“Relentless focus on improvement by a strong and stable leadership team, with progress made across many areas of practice,”
Read the full Ofsted report here
About the Role:
The post will lead on promoting a learning environment in which excellent social work can flourish, and standards are maintained through a focus on continuous improvement and reflective practice.
You will be responsible for developing and motivating an effective workforce capable of meeting the needs of children and families through their continuing professional development, career progression, recruitment and retention, and promoting Oldham as an ‘employer of choice’.
As the Principal Social Worker you will monitor and report on the effectiveness of social work services for children and young people and share the experiences and impact of social work across all levels of the organisation, including senior managers.
You will lead on the development and implementation of our Quality Assurance Framework ensuring that strategies are in place to routinely quality assure and audit practice including records, assessments and plans, that practice standards and regulations are adhered to and the findings and required actions are communicated effectively at all levels of the Service.
With a thorough working knowledge of Children’s Services best practice, you will successfully manage a budget and be able to actively demonstrate delivery of high performing, efficient services from the Children’s Social Work Academy.
Our objective is that we want all children in Oldham to thrive and therefore if you feel you can support, develop and implement this ambition, we would love to hear from you.
Your responsibilities will include:
* To act as a ‘change agent’ within the Service providing leadership, support, motivation and guidance to social workers.
* To lead and advise on the development and review of practice, systems, policies and procedures relating to the delivery of social work, including Oldham Practice Standards.
* To lead on our Quality Assurance Framework ensuring that strategies are in place to routinely quality assure and audit practice.
* To promote the active participation and involvement of children and families to ensure their views and experiences influence service.
* To represent Oldham Council in a local, regional and national arena, including dialogue with Social Work England.
* To lead and drive our ‘Grow Your Own’ workforce strategy through the Children’s Social Work Academy.
* To effectively manage Consultant Social Workers across the Children’s Social Work Academy and through the Frontline Strategic Partnership.
For full details please refer to the job description and person specification.
What we need from you:
All applicants must meet the relevant criteria, including the right to work in the UK. We are not in a position to accept applications from candidates who require sponsorship.
Oldham Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. All roles require strong commitment to securing good outcomes for children, operating in a supportive environment focused on effective delivery, including identifying and responding appropriately to any safeguarding concerns, ensuring the immediate decision making reflects an analysis of risk and protective factors.
Our Behaviours
Our five behaviours support how we work at Oldham, ensuring we all:
* Work with a resident focus.
* Support our local leaders.
* Take ownership and drive change.
* Stay committed to the borough.
* Drive high performance.
Oldham Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
The successful applicant will be required to register to the DBS Update Service to enable the Council to undertake rechecks throughout your employment. The cost to register is £13 and can be claimed back upon commencement to the role but will not be refunded if you do not accept the offer of employment.
If you would like support with this application, an interview or interested in looking at any courses that could help with this position please get in touch with Get Oldham Working - Get Oldham Working registration form - Oldham Council
NB. - Any candidate that meets the criteria of our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme and meets the essential criteria of the role, will be guaranteed the first stage of assessment (whether that is an interview or another assessment, as appropriate).
Our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme supports candidates with disabilities, have previously been in or currently in care, those that are carers, and those who have served in the Armed Forces as a regular, reserve or cadet.
Diversity and Inclusion:
At Oldham Council, we are committed to creating a fair and inclusive workplace that is as diverse as the communities we serve. We aim to develop a culture of respect, where differences are recognised regardless of background. We aim to be an employer of choice by engaging in fair and open recruitment processes and Applications are encouraged from all communities across the borough to create a workforce that represents the diversity of our population.
About Us:
Oldham is committed to developing a Co-operative future; one where citizens, partners and staff work together to improve the borough. Anyone joining the council is coming into an ambitious organisation with big plans. We are working hard to build a brighter future for our borough and we need people from a wide range of backgrounds to continue delivering the best for our communities.
The Council has a clear set of Behaviours, which outline how we do business and we share these borough wide with our residents, partners and businesses. Internally we have translated these into five cooperative behaviours which outline the priority areas of focus for all staff at all levels. You can view these Behaviours, along with staff benefits on our Greater.Jobs pages Working for Oldham
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Please note that should a vacancy that has been released for internal or external recruitment be deemed suitable for an at risk employee, it can be pulled back at any point up to the post being formally offered to an external candidate or an internal candidate that is not at risk of redundancy.
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