Job Introduction
Join our dedicated Children in Care Team at Milton Keynes City Council
Do you want to make a real difference in the lives of children and families? Do you thrive in a collaborative environment where your dedication and professional expertise are valued? If so, we have a brilliant opportunity to join our dynamic Children in Care team.
About us:You’ll be joining a Team Manager, Deputy Managers, Senior Practitioners, Social Workers, Social Work Assistants, a Clinical Psychologist, Looked After Children’s Nurses, and a Primary Mental Health Worker. Together, we support children and young people who cannot remain with their families by providing foster care, adoption and residential care. We also work closely with the Leaving Care Service and Adult Social Care for young people transitioning to adulthood.
What we do:
Support and stability: Our goal is to offer stability and security, helping children in our care achieve their full potential.
Child-centred approach: We prioritise the needs of the child, ensuring decisions are made promptly to promote positive outcomes.
Direct and therapeutic work: Engage in Direct Work, Life Story Work, and Wishes and Feelings Work to help children recover from adversity and understand their circumstances.
Collaborative efforts: Work closely with various services to provide comprehensive support to children and young people.
Why Join Us?
Supportive environment: Comprehensive induction, mentoring and regular supervision, including clinical supervision.
Career development: Access to an established career framework and excellent development opportunities.
A flexible approach: Support for part-time work, job sharing, 9-day fortnights and annualised hours.
Competitive benefits: Attractive salary and benefits package.
Capped caseloads: Capped at 18 for social workers and 14 for Senior practitioners, as there’s an expectation Senior Practitioners will offer a supervisory role to less experienced members of the team and support the managers.
Our team is dedicated to making a significant impact on the lives of children and their families. We offer a challenging and rewarding work environment where your contributions are valued and make a real difference.
We encourage and warmly welcome applications from social workers in all disciplines such as Adult Social Care and Mental Health Services.
Due to the nature of the work, the role requires local and longer-distance travel.
Interviews for this role will be rolling from the 1 April 2025
Milton Keynes City Council is a modern and friendly place to work. Find out more about working with us here: www.mkcounciljobs.org.uk
Main Responsibility
Effective assessments : Carry out assessments by speaking to/observing the child/young person within timescales, ensuring their care needs are clearly identified and recorded. Maintain accurate electronic case records.
Complex case management:Take responsibility for some complex cases, with oversight from a more senior social worker/ deputy team manager.
Childcare plans: Devise, implement and monitor childcare plans in line with care planning regulations for each child/family, conducting regular reviews in line with statutory timescales and legislation.
Workload management: Manage a caseload of 18 children or young people, supporting children within their families or in care settings, taking timely action to protect children, and working with other services to meet their needs.
Agency collaboration: Work closely with other agencies and services, sharing information and planning care together to meet the holistic needs of the child/young person.
Supervisory sessions: Attend regular supervisory sessions with the Team/Deputy Manager and/or senior colleagues to monitor progress and identify development needs.
Court representation: Represent the Local Authority in public and private law proceedings, providing oral evidence in Court, writing Court statements, care plans and complying with Court Orders.
The Ideal Candidate
Social Work qualification : Hold a DipSW, CQSW, Degree in Social Work, or equivalent, and be registered with Social Work England.
Up-to-date knowledge: Stay current with policy, legislation, and developments in professional practice. Use reflection and development tools to continually improve.
Analytical skills: Ability to analyse, summarise, write and record relevant information clearly and concisely, using IT systems effectively.
Communication skills: Able to communicate clearly with children and young people, and colleagues. Question, challenge, solve problems and complete tasks in a timely manner.
Resilience and adaptability: Be resilient and adaptable to working in different situations and environments.
Decision-making: Demonstrate ability to make considered decisions, analyse and evaluate information in high-risk situations, and demonstrate critical thinking and creativity. Work at a fast pace and find cost-effective solutions to meet children's needs.
UK driving licence: For this role you are required to have a full UK driving licence and provide evidence of your vehicle insurance with business cover and use of a vehicle. If you are successful, you will be required to supply evidence of your licence prior to starting the role.
Enhanced DBS: Should you be offered the role, as part of the pre-employment checks an Enhanced DBS will be actioned for you (unless you are on the DBS Update Service).
Package Description
In addition to your salary, we offer a range of benefits including:
* Great holiday benefits - most roles include 28days annual leave every year on top of public (bank) holidays, increasing to 32days after five years.In addition, there is a holiday purchase scheme allowing staff to purchase up to 5 additional days of leave each year.
* Excellent pension – everyone who works for us can join the national Local Government Pension Scheme, widely regarded as one of the best available.
* A full range of family friendly policies including enhanced maternity, adoption and paternity support and a childcare subsidy.
* Access to an award-winning employee benefits programme that includes a health cash plan, a low-cost bike purchase scheme as well as high street discounts and money off entertainment and travel.
* Salary sacrifice car scheme – low-cost leasing of electric and low emission vehicles.
* Blue Light Card - employees working within social care can qualify for an additional range of discounts from national retailers and local businesses.
Our roles are either designated ‘site based’ or ‘home based’. ‘Site based’ roles can include up to two days a week working from home whilst ‘home based’ roles are based at home four days a week. Of course, managers designate which category roles are in based on the needs of the service and the circumstances.
About The Organisation
Milton Keynes City Council is a large, modern and financially stable employer with around 2,500 people working across our eight areas. Together we provide local residents and businesses with a wide range of important round-the-clock services and aim to make our city a better place to live.
We work hard because of the demands placed on us, like protecting children from harm or preventing homelessness. However, working for the city is always rewarding and everyone has the opportunity to make a real difference.
We’re very proud of our diversity and are committed to having a workforce that reflects the community we serve. Whatever your background, you will be welcome here if you share our values of being dedicated, respectful and collaborative.
We offer great training and support and because of the size and scale of the organisation there are always new opportunities to explore when it’s time for a new role.
If you’d like to know more about how we do things and what matters to us, take a look at our short booklet What makes us Milton Keynes City Council.
* Salary £41,511 to £45,718 +Annual £4,000 retention payment + £6,000 Golden Hello Payment – subject to T & C, Social Work England professional membership fees paid
* Frequency Annual
* Job Reference mkc/TP/238/1621
* Contract Type Permanent
* Closing Date 01 June, 2025
* Job Category Children's Social Care
* Business Unit Children's Services- Children's Social Work
* Location Civic, United Kingdom
* Interview Date(s) Interviews for this role will be rolling from the 1 April 2025
Milton Keynes City Council l Civic l 1 Saxon Gate East l Central Milton Keynes l MK9 3EJ
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