Newly Qualified Social Worker posts within Newcastle Children & Families – Children’s Social Care
Our vision is for Newcastle to be a great place to grow up – for every child and young person to be safe and loved, healthy and happy, free from harm and with the chance to fulfil their potential. We are excited to be able to recruit exceptional Newly Qualified Social Workers to be part of our important work with the children, young people, and families of the core city we are proud to work within.
We are now in our fourth year of embedding a relational and restorative practice culture across our service and we are looking for motivated, child-centred Newly Qualified Social Workers to join our skilled and passionate workforce. If you want to be part of an organisation that is committed to working with families, rather than doing to them, and is rated as Good by Ofsted - then Newcastle Children & Families is the place for you.
The Roles
We are looking for Newly Qualified Social Workers wishing to complete their Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) in various teams across our service.
Within Newcastle, we recruit our Newly Qualified Social Workers directly into a social work team; preferences are taken at point of interview and successful candidates are offered jobs in a team with an identified ASYE Assessor within the service area. We feel this is important so you can immediately know where you will be for the whole of your ASYE and beyond in your career as a social worker.
We are currently looking to recruit to the following teams:
1. The Initial Response Service undertakes assessments and intervention when children are first referred to Children’s Social Care, as well as providing some short-term support to children in need.
2. The Long-Term Social Work Service provides support to children and their families when a longer-term plan is required, including longer term Child in Need, Child Protection Plans and Care Proceedings.
3. The Children in Care and Care Leavers Service provides support to children and young people in our care, and those moving on to independence from our care.
4. The Children with Disabilities Team works with children and young people where a disability has a profound impact on them, providing assessment, support and services to ensure they are safe and reach their potential.
5. The Pre-Birth Social Work Team undertakes intensive support during pregnancy with parents, completing holistic assessments of need and risk and providing specific, goal-orientated support to sustain changes so parents can safely care for their baby.
Who we are looking for?
We are recruiting those who wish to begin their Assessed and Supported Year in Employment in 2025. This is open to anyone who will receive their social work qualification and Social Work England registration in 2025. We would also consider the applications of anyone who has a social work qualification and is yet to complete their ASYE.
We are proud, fair, and ambitious in our dedication to the children and families of our city – and we expect all our social workers to share these values. We will have most of our teams based back in one office, and we pride ourselves on our ability to work together in the best interests of children and families. So, we are looking for team players who want to work in an environment that prioritises relationships and champions social work values.
Why Newcastle Children’s Social Care?
Newcastle as a city has a great past and an exciting future. Working within Children’s Social Care for Newcastle City Council places you at the heart of a core city where we are focused on working for the best outcomes and opportunities for the next generation through our work with children and families.
In February 2022 Newcastle Children’s Social Care was rated as GOOD across all areas by Ofsted: “Social workers are positive about working for Newcastle. They feel well supported through their induction and speak of supportive and available managers.”
We continue to implement our relational and restorative approach across our service and city to transform how we work with children, families, and partners, focusing on putting families first, valuing our colleagues and partners, listening to the voices of children, and prioritising strengths and values. You can read more about the Relational and Restorative practice approach across Newcastle on our Safeguarding Partnership website.
Our ASYE Offer
We offer a rolling ASYE programme which means your start date with us is flexible, including the chance to work before Social Work England registration is received in a Child & Family Worker role. The ASYE Programme is run centrally and includes monthly workshops, portfolio drop-ins, Relational Practice Lead co-work and support and a range of other learning opportunities over the Assessed and Supported Year. This is in addition to the support of your allocated ASYE assessor and the wider restorative practice training offer.
Social workers who completed their ASYE in Newcastle in 2024 appreciated “having a supportive team”, “regular ASYE sessions blocked out in advance”, “workshops [that are] helpful in ensuring we have a well-rounded knowledge of all systems in Newcastle”, “protected caseload” and “the high level of support and training”. We listen to feedback and amend elements of the programme to reflect the specific needs and requirements of our Newly Qualified Social Workers.
During and beyond ASYE, we offer a comprehensive range of training and development opportunities. Our Children’s Social Care Academy provides a targeted development programme as you begin your career as a Newly Qualified Social Worker and continues as you progress through your early career and beyond.
Within Children’s Social Care we have dedicated Relational Practice Leads who are experienced social workers who support our restorative approach within social work practice, co-working with Newly Qualified Social Workers and providing additional support when working with complex situations. Therefore, we know that our ASYE Programme will enable you to embed social work practice that focuses on relationships and embodies a high support, high challenge approach to how we are with our children, families, and each other.
We are an inclusive employer, and we may be able to support part-time working alongside completion of the ASYE, depending on service need.
The recruitment process:
Recruitment Day
All prospective applicants are invited to a Recruitment Day on Monday 27 January 2025 from 11am – 1pm. This will be a chance to meet current and recently completed Newly Qualified Social Workers, Team Managers, members of our Senior Leadership Team and other experienced social workers who can share what it is like to work in Newcastle. Lunch will be provided and there will be chance to hear more about what it is like to complete your ASYE within Newcastle.
If you wish to attend the Recruitment Day, please email CSCAcademy@newcastle.gov.uk by Friday 24 January at midday with your name, any accessibility needs and any dietary requirements.
Shortlisting
We will shortlist based on written applications that demonstrate an understanding of the job specification and the knowledge, skills and experiences that meet this.
Recruitment and interview
The recruitment process also involves a competency based interview. There may be some additional elements to the recruitment process which would be shared with you in advance. At point of interview, you will be asked for preference areas in relation to teams, start date and working patterns. We will complete rolling interviews so you may be offered an interview ahead of the closing date of the application; please apply as soon as possible!
Please email CSCAcademy@newcastle.gov.uk if you have any other questions about the posts or completing your ASYE within Newcastle Children & Families.
Apply online at www.northeastjobs.org.uk, select 'Apply Now' and complete our online application form. Any communication sent to you regarding your application will be sent to the email address you have set up on your Northeast Jobs account, so you will need to ensure that you check your inbox.
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