Salary: £46,783 - £48,873 per year inclusive of London Weighting and Essential Car User Allowance (pay award pending). Plus a one-off Welcome Payment of £6,000 subject to T&Cs and an annual 4% Retention Payment after 2 years
Location: Time Square, Bracknell
Contract: Permanent, Flexible Hours/Full Time
Hours: 37 hours per week.
Reference:
People/26/337530Would you like to join an outstanding authority, where you will be a valued member of a team, experience high quality training, supervision and a manageable workload?We are a small, welcoming and friendly local authority where you will have the opportunity to build strong, positive and supportive working relationships with colleagues and peers with an embedded culture and ethos of bettering vulnerable children’s lives. You will experience leaders who are visible, approachable and a service who collectively has unwavering commitment to children.
Our benefits…\n
\n - Welcome Payment £6,000 plus an annual Retention Payment of 4% after 2 years continuous service. (Terms and Conditions apply)
\n - 28 days annual leave increasing to 33 days after 3 years’ continuous service, with the opportunity to buy up to 10 and sell up to 5 days.
\n - Local government pension scheme, with life insurance cover.
\n - Reimbursement of Social Work England registration.
\n - Recognition of continuous service attained within the NHS and UKHSA when calculating some benefits. (Terms and Conditions apply)
\n - Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and fostering leave.
\n - Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support your health and wellbeing.
\n - Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme. (subject to eligibility)
\n - Inclusive and social working environment with a variety of staff networks and a sports and social club.
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About you…You will hold a recognised Social Work qualification and be registered with Social Work England. You will have successfully completed your ASYE and have experience of frontline social work which includes child in need and child protection.You will bring an understanding of the relevant legislation, guidance, policies and thresholds that underpin safeguarding. You will have experience of effective multi-agency working, building partnerships and co-producing needs-led safety plans for children and young people. You will be able to demonstrate your analytical skills, ability to assess information, identify actions and record timely accurate information.
About the team and children’s social careIn December 2025, Ofsted concluded that “since the last inspection, leaders, managers and practitioners have not only sustained outstanding services but have raised the bar even higher”.We use the Family Safeguarding Model in our approach to collaborate with families to keep them together, where it is safe to do so, supported by Motivational Interviewing (MI). Children experiencing neglect or domestic abuse receive exceptional and expert in-house specialist help. They work closely with the family safeguarding team and offer step-by-step help to parents to improve home conditions and strengthen parenting capacity.When risks escalate our conscientious managers take decisive action and with you with focus on the lived experience of children. Permanence planning meetings secure “timely decision-making, enabling children to thrive” and “Social workers consider all permanence options for children and contingency planning is in place so that children are offered the best permanence option”.
Key responsibilities…\n
\n - Develop and implement effective safeguarding plans to protect children from harm.
\n - To work alongside other professionals as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
\n - To manage a caseload of Child in Need, Child Protection, Care Proceedings and Children Looked After.
\n - To take part in the team duty system responding to concerns as and when they arise.
\n - To make effective use of time and be able to prioritise workload, ensuring timeliness in visiting, report writing and other deadlines.
\n - To participate in regular reflective supervision and be able to set clear goals and intervention strategies.
\n - To develop and maintain accurate case records and comply with the department's policies, procedures and guidelines including data protection and GDPR.
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Our values...At Bracknell Forest Council our values define who we are and what is important to us. Our core values are inclusive, ambitious, and always learning. These values influence the way we work with each other and the way we serve our residents and engage with our communities. We make our values real by demonstrating them in how we behave every day. If you are excited about joining a diverse team that celebrates learning and strives for excellence, we would love to hear from you.
Disability confident and inclusive recruitment...Bracknell Forest Council is proud to be an inclusive employer. This means that if you have made us aware on the application form that you have a disability, are an armed forces veteran or you are a care leaver, you will be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification.
Interview dateShortlisting will take place on a weekly basis, and candidates who are successfully shortlisted will be offered an interview at least seven days later. Interviews will be held in person, giving you the opportunity to meet the team and get a real feel for our working environment.Please note AI is prohibited during the interview, any candidate using AI will be withdrawn from consideration. Please include a personal statement with your CV specifying why you are applying for this vacancy. Successful candidates for this role will be subject to a DBS check as part of our pre-employment checks process.We can only accept applications from candidates currently residing in the UK.No agencies please.REF-229 619
