Job summary

Join our dedicated Child Looked After (CLA) team within our Life Chances service as an experienced Social Worker, helping to make a meaningful difference to the lives of children and young people.

You must have current registration with Social Work England and have experience of working within the legal frameworks that support our work and, where applicable, have successfully completed your Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) within a statutory childrens social care setting.

This role is based at our Time Square offices in Bracknell. You will be required to travel regularly as our children in care can live within placements both inside and outside of the Bracknell area. You must be able to work flexibly and outside of core office hours when required on occasions. This role includes an expectation to work from our Time Square office a minimum of 1.5 days per week out of 3 days, alongside flexible working arrangements.

This is a part-time, fixed-term position working 22.5 hours per week, offered as maternity cover for up to 12 months.

Main duties of the job

• To manage a case load of vulnerable care experienced children and provide effective assessment, case planning, interventions and family support to achieve better outcomes for them.
• Complete and implement care plans for children looked after with progress being seen in a timely manner, so that permanency is achieved for them.
• Work meaningfully with adolescents and effectively plan for their transition into adulthood with multi agency colleagues to identify their care needs early and enable successful transition into Adult Social Care services where required and our Leaving Care service.
• To work with other involved professionals and agencies to promote placement stability for children and young people.

About us

Practitioners in our CLA team have the time to get to know everyone they work with, receive excellent support from managers and colleagues across the department and expert guidance whenever they need it. The work we do is centred around making a difference to each individual child who is looked after, including as they approach and enter adulthood via our Leaving Care service that sits within our wider team. Social Workers work determinedly with our most vulnerable children and young people to achieve permanence in safe and secure forever homes.

Life journey work is an integral part of our service to ensure children understand their lived experiences and the decisions made for them as they grow.

Please note: Children's services are currently progressing its Families First transformation programme. This role may be subject to changes to its responsibilities, reporting arrangements and/or job description. Any proposed changes would be managed in accordance with the council's relevant consultation processes and policies.