Children With Disabilities Advanced Social Worker Children With Disabilities Advanced Social Worker

We have opportunities to join our Children with Disabilities teams as an Advanced Social Worker.

We currently have positions based in Woking.

When not working with our residents in the community, we are keen to support agile working with a combination of home and office working. We are keen to get the balance right of providing flexibility but ensuring you feel connected to your team and the service., Are you at a point in your career where you want to take on supervisory responsibility whilst utilising your skills as an experienced social worker? Our Advanced Social Worker role enables you to work on complex cases whilst also giving you the opportunity to progress your career through contributing and supporting managers to develop the skills and knowledge within the team, whilst occasionally deputising for the Team Manager. You will also have the opportunity to join Advanced Social Worker colleagues in county wide learning activities organised by the Surrey Children's Service Academy with a clear professional development pathway.

Following our latest Ofsted visit in April, we are pleased to report positive feedback on our service quality for children in need or under child protection plans in Surrey. Ofsted recognized the improved impact of our 'comprehensive improvement programme'. You can read the full report here. We are committed to continuing our progress and are seeking motivated individuals to help us ensure children in Surrey are effectively safeguarded and receive timely support.

About working in Children with Disabilities

Ambitious about Ability - Our Children with Disabilities (CWD) service embodies our Council vision of no one being left behind. Our child-centred approach sees us working closely with the children and their families to ensure the whole family is supported. We are committed to working in partnership with families to achieve the best possible outcomes for children and young people. Our goal is to maximise life chances and opportunities for disabled children and we work closely with our colleagues in adult services to achieve this. We believe strongly in the importance of building positive and consistent relationships between the families we work with and social workers, together with the multidisciplinary team.

Our Review Team comprises a Team Manager, a full-time ASW and Family Support Workers. The team supports children and families who have stepped down from the CWD social work service and who receive a package of care for their child with a disability. Family Support Workers are responsible for reviewing the care package every 6 - 12 months to ensure that this is still meeting their needs whilst responding to needs as they arise, including supporting the transition for a child into adulthood.

About our Advanced Social Worker role

The role of the ASW is to line manage the Family Support Workers, offering personal and professional supervision and offering joint visits with family support workers where there is a concern that the family's needs are escalating and they may need to be referred for further social work assessment and intervention and supporting with more complex reviews.

One Voice

In Surrey, you will have a sense of belonging within your individual team but also the wider service areas and directorate. You will receive high quality supervision, as there is a firm commitment towards dedicating time that focusses on the work you do with children and families, to enable you to work creatively and holistically in providing support and protection to children whilst also paying attention to your wellbeing and career development. This creates a sense of purpose and fulfilment with a clear pathway to achieve your future aspirations.

Wherever you are in your career journey, Surrey is committed to supporting and nurturing you so that you can be the best version of yourself.

Our Surrey Children's Service Academy currently has over 60 courses available and offers a bespoke learning programme so you can be at the forefront of best practice. Modules such as motivational interviewing and our total respect course allow you to feel empowered in having essential conversations whilst still ensuring a child centred approach to your practice.

Our Inclusive Approach
To apply you will need to upload your CV and answer the following questions. No more than 200 words per question:
1. Please tell us what has motivated you to apply for this role?
2. Please tell us about the key skills and experience you will be able to bring to this role.
3. A social worker in the Children With Disabilities Team may work with children for a Child and Family Assessment, Children In Need, Child Protection, Looked After Children and Proceedings. Given the array of skills needed, please tell us about your experience in these areas and how you would manage with this range of processes?

Next Steps
If your application is shortlisted, you will be invited to a short first round virtual interview to explore your answers to the above questions (lasting approx. 15- 20 min). If successful following this, you will be invited for an in person interview, allowing you to meet the team, check out your potential office and get a feel for what your journey might look like.
We are committed to inclusive recruitment. That's why, if you're invited to a face-to-face interview, we'll share the themes of the questions with you in advance. This way, you can prepare and feel comfortable, allowing you to confidently discuss your skills and experiences., Surrey has both urban and rural areas and locality based social workers will be expected to have a valid driving licence to drive in the UK, access to a vehicle and be willing to travel across a wide geographical area. Reasonable adjustments where needed will be made for successful applicants who have a disability or long term health condition to enable them to fulfil the requirements of the job.

The salary range for Advanced Social Workers is £46,399 - £49,588 per annum. We also offer a financial package of up to £6,000 which is payable in 3 instalments across your first 18 months in post. Information about qualifying criteria to receive this payment can be found HERE, with further information available in the attached Total Reward Statement about other financial benefits available to you including professional fees, pension contribution and much more.

Rewards and Benefits

• We pay your Social Worker England Registration fee


• 28 days annual leave, rising to 30 days after 5 years' service (plus bank holidays)


• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave


• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing


• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year


• Paternity, adoption and dependants leave


• A generous local government salary related pension


• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more


• 2 paid volunteering days plus 1 team volunteering day per year


• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources