The Service:
We are looking for 4 Social Workers to join our busy, dynamic 16+ and Separated Children Seeking Asylum Service. The Service supports 16-25 year old Children in Care and Care Leavers, with our Social Workers supporting 16-18 year old Children in Care including Separated Children Seeking Asylum. Our aim is to achieve stability and security for our young people in local communities while supporting their aspirations and goals. We focus on supporting all our young people in developing practical and emotional skills in their transition to adulthood and future independence.
As a Local Authority we are focused on meeting our responsibilities as Corporate Parents to our young people. Cornwall’s 16+ and Separated Children Seeking Asylum Service consists of a partnership team between the Local Authority and Carefree. We are a high performing, young person focused team operating an Outstanding service to Care Leavers aged 16 to 25 years old. We are a countywide service and together we aim to improve the life chances and opportunities of young people living in and leaving Local Authority care. The team is multi-disciplinary – some staff are Social Work qualified, others have a housing or youth work background; we also have a clinical psychologist, tenancy support workers and specialist asylum support workers.
All are trained in areas relevant to Children in Care and Leaving Care. Social Workers and Personal Advisors undertake Pathway Plans and Reviews as per the Leaving Care Act 2000 and Care Planning Regs 2010, aiming to prepare young people for the time when they cease to be looked after; thus improving the life chances of young care leavers.
Close multi agency working supports young people in their transition to independence; working with agencies such as Housing, Careers Services, We Are With You, Youth Offending Service, Benefits Agencies (DWP), Early Intervention teams, CAMHS and Adult Services where appropriate, as well as many others.
About You
We are keen to receive an application from you if you are qualified with a Social Work degree, Social Work qualification (Dip.SW; BA Social Work) or equivalent; and you are Social Work England registered.
You will have experience working with children and young people including children in care and/or care leavers. You will be expected to have excellent communication skills with young people; a working knowledge of the issues which effect children in care and care leavers; and an ability to effectively work in the community with young people of differing backgrounds and needs. Knowledge of working with Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children would be an advantage.
You will be expected to work in partnership with a number of different agencies in order to lead on Care Planning; CIC reviews and Pathway Planning. You will be responsible for undertaking a lead statutory role for some children in care and care leavers as well as taking on lead responsibilities in some areas of development within the team; particularly working with partner agencies. You should have the ability to be autonomous and lone work. You should have good assessment and analytical skills which include the ability to risk assess and draw up risk management plans. You will also work alongside Personal Advisors within the team which will involve managing your own diary and caseload. You will be expected to have literacy in IT and be able to drive.
The Role:
We have opportunities for passionate, committed Social Workers across Cornwall in both full and part time roles. We have opportunities available within:
- 16+ and Separated Children Seeking Asylum Service
This is a public/customer-facing role, where the statutory English language requirement for public sector workers applies.
This position will be subject to an enhanced criminal record disclosure check.
Find out more about our social work careers here - Work in Adults or Children's Social Care - Cornwall Council.
Working Pattern:
37 hours per week Monday to Friday.
What you’ll need to succeed:
You will be a social worker registered with Social Work England who will have:
- Previous experience working within a social care environment
- A proven track record of excellent practice that improves the lives of children
- High-level written and verbal communication skills to build effective professional relationships with families and other professionals
- Knowledge and understanding of the legislation, models and theories relevant to children’s social work, and the ability to evidence how you have applied your learning to your practice
- The skills to undertake assessments and to use evidence-based practice tools to devise, implement and review care plans
If your experience as a social worker is within another sector (such as Adult Social Care or the Voluntary sector), we provide additional support to transition into children and families social work through a supported induction period.
Please note: If you have qualified within the last 2 years, but not completed your Assessed and Supported Year of Employment (ASYE) we would welcome your application as a Newly Qualified Social Worker (NQSW) in order to access Cornwall’s ASYE programme which runs twice yearly. You would need to apply for our NQSW adverts which are advertised separately.
Please read the role profile for the full details of this role attached below in this advert
What you’ll get in return:
Cornwall Council’s ambition is to be an employer of choice, a high performing Council and a learning organisation. We commit to providing a reward and benefits package to attract, motivate and reward our employees. We offer a range of flexible working options to our staff. This helps provide our employees with a greater work/life balance. Whilst still ensuring that service needs are met.
Our core employee rewards and benefits include:
- a competitive salary.
- a defined benefit pension scheme, based on your career average earnings. This includes the option for extra voluntary contributions
- a generous annual leave entitlement with the potential to purchase additional leave.
- A national award-winning employee health and wellbeing programme
- Employee benefits scheme giving employees access to a wide range of discounts to local and national goods and services.
Additional Information:
The full role profiles are attached here:
Social Worker (NQSW)
Advanced Social Worker
Experienced Social Worker
For more information or an informal chat about the role please contact Joss Wills on [email protected]
Application Process
Please attach a supporting statement to your application, you can add your Education & Qualifications details manually using the application form timeline or you can upload your CV. Remember to demonstrate why you are suitable against each of the points marked as ‘Application’ on the Role Profile using examples from your experience or transferable skills. This might be through qualifications or descriptive examples from your work / personal experience, which clearly illustrates what you did and the effect it had. Guidance on how to complete your application can be found here – The application process.
Please note that applications cannot be edited after they have been submitted, please contact [email protected] if you have any queries or require assistance with your application.
Cornwall Council deliver services to more than half a million local people and over five million visitors a year. Working here - Cornwall Council
We are happy to talk about flexible working options such as part-time or compressed hours. More examples of our flexible working opportunities can be found here - flexible working options.
Fairness and inclusion are at the heart of our vision for Cornwall. In order to best serve our communities, we are striving to achieve a diverse workforce that is inclusive of all backgrounds, cultures and identities; e.g., race, disability, sex, gender, age, religion and sexual orientation. We are an equal opportunities and Disability Confident employer, and we will assess applicants on their merits.
Cornwall Council is committed to safeguarding and following safer recruitment principles to help make sure our staff and volunteers are suitable to work with children, young people and adults at risk. It’s a vital part of creating a safe and positive environment and making a commitment to keeping all service users safe from harm.
