Organisation: Leicestershire County Council
Work Location: Various locations across the county
Worker Category: Hybrid Worker
Salary: £29,784 until Social Work England registration is approved, increasing to £32,004 (plus Market Premium of £3,283) once full Social Work England registration is granted.
Working Hours: 37 per week
Contract Type: Permanent
Closing Date: 19th May 2024
Interview Date(s): 12th June 2024
Are you due to qualify as a Social Worker in 2024? Do you want to work with children and families in Leicestershire? We are welcoming applicationsfrom candidates with the enthusiasm to learn and a passion for working with children and families.
About the Role
We value and support our Newly Qualified Social Workers. We believe the foundations of the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) are paramount to building confident Social Workers and so we are really proud of our ASYE Program and the support we offer to Newly Qualified Social Workers in helping them develop and advance their careers with us.
As a Newly Qualified Social Worker on our ASYE Program, you will receive:
1. Pay at entry level of Grade 9 (£29,784) until full Social Work England registration is granted.
2. Pay increase to the top level of Grade 9 £35,287 (inclusive of Market Premium of £3,283) once full Social Work England registration is granted.
3. Protected and reduced caseloads during the ASYE year.
4. Dedicated support from the ASYE Co-ordinator, regular network meetings with other ASYEs.
5. Monthly reflective supervision with a practice mentor, in addition to supervision with your team manager.
6. Intensive induction and tailored ASYE training sessions.
7. Working as part of the social work teams to increase knowledge and understanding including co-working with experienced colleagues.
8. Clear career progression pathway for social workers after the ASYE including specific training and practice education award.
Skills for Care feedback for Leicestershire: “The NQSW programme was well established and robust thus an impressive well-rounded and well delivered programme. There was clear evidence of a drive to support NQSWs and a commitment to ensure NQSW’s had a good experience throughout the year. NQSW’s were supported by passionate and committed mentors/ assessors/ supervisors who were very experienced. There was clear engagement and commitment from senior team which was evident across the organisation and very much felt by the NQSWs. NQSWs felt central to the programme which spoke volumes about the quality of the programme. The organisation should be commended for the support provide to NQSW’s during the pandemic.”
We currently have vacancies across various services areas, which will be discussed with you at interview.
In all service areas you are expected to work closely with colleagues across team and agency boundaries to ensure that families get the most appropriate level of support. Staff workloads are manageable and are monitored and managed closely. Managers and staff all have regular monthly supervision, and you will be supported in your practice by an experienced management team.
As an organisation, we are committed to a strong and skilled workforce providing high quality services to the children and families of Leicestershire, following our relationship-based Signs of Safety practice approach.
We are committed to doing our very best for vulnerable children and families; working to make a positive impact on their lives so they can achieve their potential and flourish.
We are proud of our continuous improvement plan - ‘Achieving Excellence through Purposeful Practice’ which sets out our key values, behaviours and ambitions. We have embedded the Signs of Safety approach throughout our services and this approach mirrors our values of Aspiration, Being Curious, and Collaboration. We are focused on working with families and the networks of family, friends, and professionals around children, to work in collaboration to achieve shared goals.
We are committed to our vision of becoming a trauma informed responsive department where we believe we are “ ” .Our culture is one of partnership, where we look for solutions and recognise the potential impact of trauma on the children and families we work with and on our staff. We will strive to create a safe, compassionate, healing environment demonstrated through relationships based on trust, respect, hope, and empathy. We will achieve this through a spirit of curiosity, by nurturing connections through relationships, making a deliberate effort to know and understand people, and by providing hope for growth and recovery.
We support and empower our staff to be the best that they can be. We will give you the support and resources that you need to work in collaboration with children and families.
We want all our staff to be inspired to go the extra mile. We are doing our best to create a culture where practice excellence can flourish. We want to learn from what works, as much, if not more, than from when things go badly. We are ambitious to create a true learning organisation, so….
9. We run several conferences each year for staff to come together, reflect and learn.
10. Every team sets aside time for team learning each month.
11. You will receive consistent, regular, and reflective supervision including group supervision support.
12. Twice a year our senior leaders take a week out and spend time with Social Workers, observing practice and talking to young people, parents, and carers about their experience of services.
13. All Social Work England registered workers have three extra Continuous Professional Development days each year.
14. Our highly valued training offer supports career progression and includes Practice Educator Awards and Aspiring Managers Program.
15. We have an experienced team dedicated to supporting practice excellence.
16. Our Practice Development Group is well established for practitioners to collaborate on practice development.
17. We have a Critical Incident Response service for staff which provides independent therapeutic support within 48 hours.
18. We have an excellent Wellbeing Service providing specific support to staff when needed, but also offer events throughout the year.