Social Work in Cornwall

Make a difference – Children’s Social Work in Cornwall

‘Cornwall’s ambitious, outward-facing senior leadership team promotes a strong culture of learning and development. It has made excellent use of learning from research, best practice and peer reviews.’

‘Social workers have a very good understanding of the children they work with; they visit them regularly and ensure that their needs are holistically well considered’

‘Staff development is delivered through an effective and well-targeted workforce development framework. Staff morale is high.’

OFSTED 2019 – OUTSTANDING GRADING

Social workers make a real difference to the lives of children in Cornwall. We believe that the children of Cornwall deserve the very best. We put their needs at the heart of everything we do and we are looking for people who share our determination to improve their lives and make a brighter future. If you believe in humane, relationship-based social work with children and families we offer the opportunity to develop your social work career in an innovative and ambitious children’s service in one of the most beautiful parts of the country.

We are looking for a Social Worker for the Gweres Tus Yowynk (GTY - Helping Young People) Service). The postholder will play a key role in the delivery of this specialist multi-agency adolescent service that works positively to support young people to remain at home and/or with their wider family.

There are three GTY teams based in each of our areas in the West, Mid and East of the county, which are multi-disciplinary teams providing intense support, often when families are approaching crisis. The teams currently include Social Workers, Targeted Youth Workers, Youth Justice Service Officers and Functional Family Therapists. You will undertake all aspects of social work directly with young people, completing social work assessments whilst holding a caseload. You will be responsible for providing high quality interventions to enable young people at risk of care to remain in the community where appropriate. This is a team that is committed to improving standards and continuing the development of multi-agency working.

You must hold a social work degree, social work qualification (Dip.SW, CCSW, CSS) or equivalent, have post qualifying experience and be Social Work England registered. You must also have experience of working with children and young people, excellent communication and assessment skills and be able to accurately record information on a database. You will have a strong sense of the child’s lived experience at the centre of your practice. You will be familiar with critical reflection and you will also be familiar with the need for positive challenge and have a record of achieving good standards of practice.

Cornwall offers a dynamic place to develop your career as a Social Worker. It is judged as an ‘outstanding’ authority by Ofsted with a forward-thinking agenda. With excellent training and development opportunities for staff, the next stage of our improvement journey is about becoming a learning organisation, where every individual takes responsibility for the quality of their own work and expect to be held to account when there are persistent or serious shortfalls in the quality of practice.

This post will be located in the East of the county in Bodmin. Own transport is essential.

This is an exciting opportunity so if you are interested in joining this specialist area of Cornwall’s successful and ambitious Children and Family Services, we look forward to hearing from you. For an informal discussion contact Simon Moss, Team Manager (East):

07483 166902 E-Mail: simon.moss@cornwall.gov.uk

What we can offer you

In recognition of the vital contribution you make, we offer an attractive package of benefits including:

• An individualised induction to meet your specific needs and learning
• A generous relocation package
• Welcome bonus of £4000 for qualified Social Workers who are new to social work in Cornwall and have completed their ASYE
• £3000 Annual Market Supplement for Advanced Practitioners
• An excellent core curriculum to support your ongoing development with a high quality programme of evidence-based learning and development to enhance skills and practice.
• An outstanding career and qualification pathway, recognised by Ofsted as a foundation of Cornwall’s good practice, which will support your progression.
• Support from our dedicated Practice Educators throughout your progression pathway
• Regular, high quality case and reflective supervision
• Supportive management and leadership
• Support to access temporary accommodation if moving from outside of Cornwall
• Access to a Cornwall Council lease car
• 24 days paid annual leave per year (rising with length of service), plus bank holidays
• Flexible working opportunities, including part-time hours and homeworking
• A license to access Community Care Inform and Research in Practice.
• Payment of your Social Work England registration fees.
• Sponsorship for eligible overseas social work applicants
• A competitive starting salary and the opportunity to increase your pay further as you progress

This position will be subject to an enhanced criminal record disclosure check. 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.

This is a public/customer-facing role, where the statutory English language requirement for public sector workers applies.

We are happy to talk about flexible working options.

More information about our social work careers is available here.

More information about working for Cornwall Council is available here.

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.

Whilst the location/work-base for this role has been specified, our evolving ways of working means that the role may require you to also work remotely (e.g. from home/other locations). We will discuss this with you during the recruitment process.

To apply …

Please view the Role Profile for the level of role you are applying for, as follows:

Role Profile (Grade 3 Social Worker)

Role Profile (Grade 4 Experienced Social Worker)

Role Profile (Grade 4 Advanced Social Worker)

Your application will need to demonstrate how you meet the required criteria. Please ensure you answer all of the pre-screening questions in full, within the application form. Guidance on how to complete your application can be found here – The application process

Please be advised that for this role we are accepting uploaded supporting statements and/or CVs to support your online application.