The posting
Position Title: Social Worker
Main Purpose of Post:
Social Workers are one group of staff within the social care sector. It is principally through Social Workers that Local Authorities meet their statutory obligations under Child and Family Legislation, Mental Health Law and the NHS and Community Care Act and others.
The overall purpose of the Social Work role within Childrens Services is to assess, risk assess and provide a service to children and their families, where possible maintaining children in their families. In situations where risk cannot be managed, to develop plans which keep children safe and able to achieve their full potential. In doing this, the Social Worker must adhere to the relevant legislation and regulation, as well as Powys County Council Policies and Procedures.
Principal Responsibilities:
To provide a social work service to individual children and young people with a view to keeping them safe and enabling them to achieve to their fullest potential within a setting that provides legal permanence.
To work as part of a team, undertaking tasks on a duty rotational basis, and providing cover for absent colleagues.
To foster and maintain good working relationships with colleagues and partners that enable the team to work effectively.
To identify risk issues in relation to the circumstances of individual children, and to ensure that there is safeguarding in place in order to minimise risk.
- Ensure that the needs of individuals and their carers are assessed holistically, packages of care negotiated, monitored and reviewed.
- Risks to individuals and others are assessed and balanced in a way that promotes independence of service users and their carers.
- Decisions about allocating scarce resources are made.
- Equal opportunity and respect for diversity and difference is promoted.
- Social inclusion of isolated and vulnerable people is promoted.
- Abuse of vulnerable adults and children is investigated.
- Collaboration and multi-disciplinary working with other agencies is strengthened.
- Accountability for their actions through effective, accurate recording of decisions.
TASKS, FUNCTIONS AND ACTIVITIES
- Enabling access to Social Services
Engaging in a structured discussion with those making initial enquiry of the service and evaluating any information given.
- Giving information, advice and/ or signposting to other services.
- Applying service threshold criteria to make a judgement on whether a referral is appropriate.
- Evaluating urgency of response required to a referral and ensure that issues that may constitute significant risk of harm are immediately escalated to the Team Manager.
- Prioritising referrals.
- Making initial enquiries e.g. other agencies, contacts.
- Accurately and fully recording referral information in accordance with departmental procedures.
- Ensuring the timely transfer of referral information in accordance with departmental procedures and time scales.
- Safeguarding the welfare of a vulnerable person at immediate risk of harm.
- Assessment of need
- Evaluating the nature of possible needs based on referral information and previous records.
- Making enquiries e.g. interagency contact.
- Safeguarding the welfare of a vulnerable person at risk of harm.
- Making arrangements for an appointment and/ or visit for assessment in a timely way
- Engaging in direct work with service user and carer/s to carry out an assessment.
- Develop sound relationships with service users that enables the understanding of their views and their full involvement in the development of plans.
- Ensure that significant risk issues that cannot immediately be managed by the implementation of a plan are escalated to the Team Manager for further consideration.
- Undertake investigations under s47 of Children Act 1989 (Wales) and to put in place plans in order to manage the outcome of those investigations
- In working with service users and carers, Social Workers seek to enhance their problem solving capacities in a way that support maximum independence and choice.
- Agreeing the range of needs with service users and carer/s.
- Considering with service users and carers options to best meet agreed needs and assist in making informed decisions.
- Adopting a creative and holistic approach whilst exploring options.
- Seeking to maximise the financial and material resources available to service users from all possible sources.
- Recording unmet need.
- Collating the findings of the assessment and completing assessment documentation in accordance with statutory guidance, legislation and departmental procedures and timescales.
- Preparing court and other specialist reports in the required format.
- Ensuring the case file recording is completed in accordance with departmental policy and procedures.
- Convening and/or attending interagency meetings/ liaison e,g, case conferences.
- Planning and managing care
- Agreeing desired outcomes with the service user and carer/s.
- Agreeing range of services to meet needs with service user and carer/s.
- Obtaining managerial agreement to plan, and recording this on WCCIS.
- Agreeing resources with service providers to meet needs.
- Recording and disseminating the Care and Support plan or Pathway Plan in accordance with statutory requirements, legislation and departmental procedures.
- Completing commissioning/ contracting documentation in accordance with departmental policy and timescales.
- Ensuring that electronically held records are completed and/ or updated in a timely way and in accordance with departmental policy and procedures.
- Convening and/ or attending interagency meetings/ liaison e.g. case conferences, planning meetings, Legal Planning Meetings, Looked After Child reviews.
- Participating in statutory processes and visits to promote and protect the well being of vulnerable children and/ or adults, and doing this within the required timescales.
- As well as managing care on an individual casework basis, having an important role to play both directly and indirectly in shaping services.
- Ensure that a permanence plan is actively considered at an early stage and continually until a clear permanence plan is arrived at and agreed.
- To ensure that issues such as Child Sexual Exploitation, Modern Day Slavery and any other relevant issues are kept under constant review in relation to individual children to ensure that plans can be put in place to manage any arising issues.
- To convene and chair regular multi-agency meetings to review plans for children and ensure that they are effective in reducing risk and improving the childs circumstances.
- To take part in an effective transfer process to include a verbal discussion, to move case responsibility to another team.
- Undertake assessments of Connected Persons in respect of Regulation 26 or a possible Special Guardianship Order application.
- Monitoring and reviewing provision
- Liaising with other professionals and contacts to ensure continuing appropriateness of the care plan.
- In the event that the plan is not making a difference, to actively consider further steps in order to ensure that there is no drift and delay for the child
- Engaging directly with service user and carer/s to update assessment of need.
- Ensuring that case file recording is completed in accordance with departmental policy and procedures.
- Arranging and co ordinating review of the Care and Support Plan or Pathway Plan.
- Engaging directly with service user/ families/ carers/ in the review of the Care and Support or Pathway Plan and agreeing changes where necessary.
- Negotiating and agreeing changes to the plan with providers and other agencies involved.
- Completing review documentation in accordance with departmental policy and time scales.
- Ensuring that case file recording is completed in accordance with departmental policy and procedures.
- Ensuring that service users are aware of complaints procedures and the Active Advocacy Offer.
- To encourage the active participation of children and young people in their statutory Looked After review, or in Core Groups.
- Ensure that all plans and case recordings are reflective of the views and feelings of this child or young person.
- Contribute to the professional development of others by acting as an on site supervisor or assessor for students undertaking professional training.
- Managing workload
- Timely administration of all aspects of caseload to ensure that the recorded caseload fairly reflects work done.
- Preparing for and engaging in professional supervision with Line Manager.
- Establishing and maintaining good working relationships with colleagues.
- Identifying and addressing areas for professional development and training.
- To work flexible hours, within reason, and according to the needs of the service.
- To comply with the appropriate health and safety policies, promote safe practice and manage risk at work.
- Maintaining professional development
- Demonstration of Continual Professional Development including meeting the requirements of the Care Council for Wales for continued registration as a Social Worker.
- To ensure that registration as a Social Worker under Social Care Wales remains current and up to date
- Share skills and knowledge with colleagues in other specialisms.
- To have the ability or be prepared to learn within a reasonable time period, how to pronounce Welsh personal and place-names correctly, and give and respond to basic greetings on the telephone or in person.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Experience
Post qualifying experience.
Experience of undertaking assessments of needs and identifying risks.
Knowledge
Understanding of the needs of service users.
Knowledge of current legislation, national guidance and best practice relevant to the post.
Knowledge of social care needs of children and families.
Registrations, Qualifications &Training
Appropriate social work qualification (i.e. Degree in Social Work, DipSW or equivalent).
Registration as Social Worker with CCW/HCPC.
Skills
Good communication skills, written and verbal.
Good IT skills.
Ability to organise, prioritise and manage a caseload.
Ability to demonstrate a commitment to equal opportunities and no-discriminatory practice.
Commitment to the principle of confidentiality.
Must have knowledge and commitment to the principles of social care as embodied in relevant legislation.
Other requirements
Current driving licence and ability to travel extensively around the county.
