Social work jobs Advanced Social Work Practitioner

Fantastic opportunities have arisen for Advanced Social Work Practitioners in Wakefield Council

While 2020 has been real challenge for all of us, together with the permanent senior management team and ever increasing permanent workforce - social work in Wakefield continues to thrive.

We have vacancies in Children’s Locality services, the Children in Care service and a part time vacancy in MASH.

We know social workers are amazing people – working in challenging circumstances to deliver the best support to help children and families thrive. It requires a variety of skills including patience, empathy, advocacy, communication, and passion.

That’s why we need committed and energetic Advanced Practitioners to ensure a workforce of strong and confident practitioners, empowered to make a difference.

At Wakefield we take an integrated and partnership approach to working. We work collaboratively to enact real change and positive impact for our district’s young people, families, and the communities we support.

At the heart of realising this is our staff. That’s why we’ve set you up to be in the best position to flourish, and work with families to realise their potential.

Our Achievements for 2020

Our most vulnerable children were kept visible and safe during the pandemic by working closely with our partners in other agencies and finding creative ways to ensure they were seen regularly.

Our caseloads have continued at manageable levels during the year either remaining the same or reducing.

New services have been launched to support children on the ‘edge of care’ and family time between looked after children and their families.

The outcome of audits and sampling of practice alongside Social Workers has begun to demonstrate significantly higher “good” outturns.

Implementation of quality training and studies, to support our workers to put into place interventions which make a difference.

Our Children in Care are now finding permanent homes more quickly and more regularly.

In our most recent health check (June 2020) 80% of our social workers find their job more rewarding than 12 months ago and 86% would recommend you coming to work in Wakefield.

The DFE have given us excellent feedback around strong partnership working, significant change in culture and leadership and a culture of learning.

The published Ofsted focus visit letter from November identified significant improvements, including a stabilised workforce and improved quality of practice in all areas.

 

What do some of our Advanced Social Work Practitioners say about working for Wakefield?

 

‘…Supportive and flexible employer… Wakefield strives to offer a better and better service to its families whilst supporting staff to improve their own development and performance. Team work is important in Wakefield and I like the emphasis and effort that is put into maintaining healthy and functioning team… I was a very happy agency social worker but having worked in my team for two years I have been delighted to become permanent.’

‘…Making so many positive changes to improve the outcomes for children and their families – the improvement journey is an exciting thing to be part of.’

‘One thing I would say is that the management (in my experience) is very good which helps immensely with practitioners feeling confident in their work supporting children and families.’

‘Wakefield has progressed a long way in bringing their practice forward in the best interest of children and families within the district. Practice is child focused and thresholds are consistent in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children. Wakefield is a supportive authority in the development of their social workers. Advanced Practitioners play a key role in this developing skills and practice of colleagues, newly qualified, ASYE and Students. Advanced Practitioners are recognised for their experience and have reduced caseloads in order to share this to support and develop the workforce. My experience in Wakefield has always been positive, having now been here over two years, the stability of the workforce and consistent thresholds makes me feel confident in carrying out my role’

 

So why choose Wakefield?

• We have strong and supportive teams with effective leadership. We have permanent managers who are committed to promoting your development.
• We provide regular and reflective supervision to enable you to manage your caseload effectively and develop in your practice.
• Competitive pay (with market rate payment as an Advanced Practitioner).
• Manageable caseloads – with us we strive to keep your caseload to no more than 15.
• Comprehensive and innovative learning and development opportunities.
• We promote career progression to enable you to grow with us.
• Benefits include essential car user payments, a minimum of 30 days paid annual leave (rising according to your grade and length of service), plus 8 days paid bank holidays.
• We care about our workers and staff morale is good.
• An AP forum dedicated to supporting the development of the role within Wakefield as an improvement lead from within the teams.
• Wakefield is a fantastic place to live and work. With culture, a plethora of green spaces, historical sites, culinary heritage, leisure opportunities, affordable housing, good transport links at a regional and national level, alongside being an accessible location.

Here we’re looking for only the best – those with the skills, motivation, and passion to help us move forwards. But you also need to be:

• A qualified and experienced social worker, with a proven track record in achieving the highest standards of practice in complex casework.
• Able to carry out your role and responsibilities well whilst holding a complex case load and supporting our growing number of newly-qualified social workers.
• An individual who can develop and maintain highly effective relationships with colleagues in order to co-work cases and assist with their learning and development.
• A team player, passionate about contributing to quality service provision. You will be expected to assist the team manager by providing support and guidance to other team members to promote strong practice and positive change.

 

If you think this is you, apply to join our team. Choose Wakefield.

If you want to find out more about the benefits to choosing Wakefield, visit our dedicated careers page here.

For an informal discussion, please contact Jane Wood on jewood@wakefield.gov.uk or 07920331837.

Closing date: 31^st January 2021

Interview Date: w/c 15^th February 2021

The successful applicant will be required to complete a Disclosure Application Form and to provide criminal conviction information.

To view the details relating to this position click the links below: