Social Worker - Duty & Assessment Team

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Social Worker to join our Duty and Assessment Team, to make a difference to the lives of children and young people. The Duty and Assessment Team is fast paced, the work is immensely rich and varies day to day.

About the team...

The Duty and Assessment Team acts as the front door for Children’s Social Care and carries out short term work. Working alongside and directly with children, young people, and their families. If you are passionate about supporting families to make positive changes and share our commitment to helping to keep more children safely at home with their families, then this could be the role for you.

We are a small, welcoming, and friendly Local Authority. Our leadership team knows that it is essential for Social Workers to have a secure physical and psychological base from which to be the best practitioners they can be. We are proud of our connected and inclusive culture, with a strong focus on wellbeing, which will provide you with a strong sense of belonging.

Come and join us to be part of our journey of further improvement and dedication to the children of Bracknell Forest Council.

We are Ofsted rated ‘Outstanding,’ with Ofsted recognising that at Bracknell Forest Council, “Children who need help and protection in Bracknell Forest receive a consistently high quality service”

Inspectors concluded that Social Workers and other frontline practitioners benefit from manageable caseloads, good training and powerful and highly reflective supervision that ensures children are at the heart of decision making.

In November 2023 our Ofsted monitoring visit highlighted:

• Social Workers receive regular supervision from their managers
• Caseloads are manageable and allow workers to have time to spend with children
• Social Workers are very positive about working in Bracknell Forest
• Staff feel valued and that they can progress in their social work career. They feel well supported by managers and leaders

Everything we do in Children’s Social Care is about improving the life chances of Bracknell’s children, put simply, we change lives for the better.

To further support you to provide high quality consistent social work, we have a comprehensive learning and development offer, driven by our Principal Social Worker. 

Because we’re Bracknell Forest…….. a great place to learn and develop your practice.

Key responsibilities...

• To carry out needs led child focused assessments which include outcome focused plans.
• To work alongside other professionals and partner agencies in assessing children in need and undertaking child protection enquiries.
• To be the allocated Social Worker for duty caseload of single assessments under S17 and S47 investigations, with some short-term work.
• To take part in the duty system responding to child protection concerns.
• To develop and maintain accurate case records and comply with the Department's policies, procedures and guidelines including data protection and GDPR.
• To participate in regular reflective supervision and be able to set clear goals and intervention strategies.

We use the Family Safeguarding Model in our approach to collaborate with families to keep them together, where it is safe to do so, supported by Motivational Interviewing (MI). This approach empowers families, children, and young people, enabling parents to make positive changes that lead to improved outcomes for their children and enhance their own wellbeing.

Our benefits include ...

• 28 days* annual leave increasing to 33 days* after 3 years’ continuous service.
• The opportunity to buy up to 10 additional days* annual leave per year and sell 5 days.
• Hybrid working opportunities to support your wellbeing and work-life balance. 
• An inclusive and social working environment with a variety of staff networks. 
• Local government pension scheme.
• Life insurance cover (linked to the pension scheme)
• Sports and social club. 
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and fostering leave. 
• Career development through internal and external training opportunities. 
• A great office location next to travel links and Bracknell Forest’s thriving town centre. 
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support your health and wellbeing. 
• Staff dental and health plans. 
• Discounted leisure centre and gym membership. 
• Supermarket discount. 

*(pro rata for part time). 

Our Values...

At Bracknell Forest Council our values define who we are and what is important to us.  Our core values are inclusive, ambitious, and always learning. These values influence the way we work with each other and the way we serve our residents and engage with our communities. We make our values real by demonstrating them in how we behave every day. If you’re excited about joining a diverse team that celebrates learning and strives for excellence, we’d love to hear from you. 

We are committed to ensuring an inclusive recruitment process for all applicants. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application or interview, please let us know by contacting recruitment@bracknell-forest.gov.uk.  We will work with you to support you throughout the process.  

Interview date

Shortlisting will be done on a weekly basis, and interviews will be arranged a minimum of 7 days after this for suitable applicants.

Interviews will be conducted in person, providing candidates with the chance to personally meet the team and experience our work environment. 

We will be reviewing applications regularly and reserve the right to close the advert early if suitable candidates are identified. To avoid disappointment, you are advised to submit your application as soon as possible.

Want to ask us a question?

For an informal discussion or to ask any questions about this role, please contact:

Chloe Herniman, Team Manager

Email: chloe.herniman@bracknell-forest.gov.uk

 

At Bracknell Forest we champion equality, diversity and inclusion. At Bracknell Forest Council, we are always learning, ambition and inclusive. Please see our candidate pack for more details.

Bracknell Forest Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults. We expect everyone employed with us to share this commitment. All successful candidates for this role will be subject to a DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) check as part of our pre-employment checks process.

Candidates should be able to demonstrate experience of working within the current Social Care System and Framework.

Social Work England registration fees can be claimed back from the Council. 

We can only accept applications from candidates currently residing in the UK.

Candidates currently residing in the UK who require sponsorship to work are encouraged to assess their eligibility for a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) based on the relevant criteria. Please be aware that sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case-by-case basis.

No agencies please.