Social Worker Family Safeguarding

Priority Candidates will be considered in the first instance

Wigan Life Centre South

College Avenue

Wigan

WN1 1NJ

Salary: Grade 9, £37,336 - £42,403 per annum.

37 hours per week

Wigan Childrens Social Care are delighted to announce fantastic opportunities for social workers to join our Family Safeguarding Teams.

Do you want to work in a caring, friendly and innovative workplace, with a team and manager who values you? Do your values align with our Be Wigan Behaviours – Be Positive, Be Accountable, Be Courageous and Be Kind, if so, Wigan is for you!

Are you creative, energetic, innovative and wanting to work in an evidence based practice model which has a proven track record of reducing the numbers of children entering the care system?

Through the investment in our new Family Safeguarding practice model, a number of job roles have been created. There is a lot of excitement here at Team Wigan about the positive change and impact our practice model will have on the children and families within our borough.

Here at Wigan, we are about getting things right for children and families, striving to deliver consistently high quality practice, providing the right support, by the right people, at the right time.

Here is what our social workers say:

“Since moving to Wigan Council in 2018 I have never looked back. I have felt supported by my teams, by my managers and the senior leadership team are so approachable and interested in how it feels to be a social worker in Wigan. We have lots of opportunities to provide feedback and this is listened to. My wellbeing has always been as valued as the work I do, and there are lots of training opportunities with professional development being supported. Wigan is a friendly and welcoming place to work with the Be Wigan behaviours shining through”.

Your role:

Family Safeguarding is a whole family approach to working with children and families that supports parents to create sustained change for themselves and their family.

Do you want to work in a Multi-disciplinary team who works holistically alongside each other to effect positive change for the adults to reduce any impairment or harm to their children.

Can you work collaboratively with the multi-disciplinary professionals to make shared decisions and provide purposeful interventions through utilising a strengths-based approach and having multi-disciplinary supervision.

After training can you use Motivational Interviewing in your practice, which is designed to empower and engage parents to make the positive changes needed for children to remain safe at home with their families.

Can you see yourself as part of a team where our Team Wigan behaviours are embedded in practice; where you are valued as a member of the workforce and where your views and ideas are listened to.

Then why not join us now as part of a Wigan Family Safeguarding Team?

The Department of Education evaluation (2020) found that local authorities who use the Family Safeguarding Model experiences a reduction in the number of children who become looked after or subject to child protection plans. Social workers experience improved information sharing and shared decision making across professionals, increased knowledge and skills, and experience reduced pressures with reduced caseloads. Families reported processes to be more participatory and empowering, with an increase in family engagement.

About you:

Our children and young people have told us that they want their social workers to be kind, thoughtful, responsible and flexible; to prioritise them, spend time with them, and strive to help them be happy and safe.  So, this is what we want too!

We are looking for practitioners who are dedicated, innovative, compassionate and enthusiastic. Practitioners who are child focused and committed to relationship-based social work, who have a real desire to ‘work with’ families to achieve positive changes, and who will be committed to learning, developing and delivering consistently good social work practice.

You will need to be a qualified social worker, registered with SW England, and committed to continued professional development.

 About us:

Wigan Council has been voted ‘Overall Council of the Year’ at the APSE (Association for Public Service Excellence) Awards and has recently published The Deal 2030, our ambitious plan for our borough. We are signed up to the Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment ensuring that your service will be continuous or 'unbroken' between the supporting organisations.

We are an improving Local Authority and are proud to highlight that our most recent OFSTED Visit reported that “staff were unanimously positive when speaking with inspectors about working in Wigan… Social workers said that they feel valued and listened to and told inspectors that senior managers collaborate with them to find better ways to improve outcomes for children” (May 2023).

As an employer we like to thank our employees for their hard work and commitment by giving them the opportunity to access a range of exclusive rewards and benefits.

What we can offer you:

•  Flexible working for a healthier work/life balance - including a blend of working from home/remotely
• Free parking
• Competitive salary
• A friendly work environment with caring managers and colleagues, appreciation of our staff through Staff Awards, career development opportunities, encouragement to do things differently and the opportunity to make your ideas a reality!
• Staff rewards and benefits, including Vivup, discounted gym membership, a generous pension scheme, great annual leave entitlement and continuous service as per the Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment.

We want Wigan Council to be a place where we all belong; a place where we feel listened to, valued for our talents and contributions, and celebrated for being the brilliant and unique individuals we are.  We are invested in supporting career development and providing a stable workforce. It is an exciting time to join #Team Wigan, with what we can offer.

We want you to start with us and stay with us!

If you would like to find out more information before completing an application please attend our virtual recruitment event on 24th April at 6pm, should you wish to attend the event please email childrensservicesrecruitment@wigan.gov.uk for further information.

Alternatively, please feel free to complete an application before this date.

Here at Wigan, we are proud to support flexible working patterns, when the service can accommodate this. We also take a blended approach to where we work, depending on the work we do. This may include working from home (My Place), the office (Our Place) or the community (Your Place). We like to thank our employees for their hard work and commitment by giving them the opportunity to access a range of exclusive rewards and benefits click here to find out more about working for #TeamWigan.

Wigan Council prides itself on equality, inclusion and promoting diversity within the borough and aims to recruit a workforce that reflects our diverse communities. We invest in training and developing our staff, in a positive learning environment, and aim to be a consciously inclusive employer. We welcome applications from everybody in the community and would particularly encourage applicants from our underrepresented groups to apply. At Wigan, it is really important to us that applicants demonstrate our Team Wigan behaviours, and we do all we can to make sure that everyone feels like they belong. We have guidance in place to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process.

To be appointable in this role you must be able to prove you have the right to work in the UK. If you are unsure, please visit the below link to check you qualify to apply. Please note, at present we are not a licenced sponsor. Prove your right to work to an employer: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

For further information, please contact Kate Press or Virinder Crawford at Kate.press@wigan.gov.uk or virinder.crawford@wigan.gov.uk

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

Job Specification

DBS Applicant Information

Privacy Notice

Interview date: To Be Confirmed

This position is subject to Enhanced Disclosure Procedures plus child barred list check

The employer is committed to safeguarding