Social Care Assistant

At Sandwell Children's Trust we strive for excellence to improve the lives of children. Our 'Sandwell Deal', brings together our new improved offering that make Sandwell Children's Trust a great place to work; it also sets out our expectations of you as a member of staff., An exciting opportunity has now arisen within Sandwell Fostering at a very exciting time for our service. If you are passionate about improving outcomes for our children and want to join a stable team with a permanent Team Manager and a stable staff group this is an opportunity you will not want to miss. We are now recruiting for a full-time Social Care Assistant, to work in the Fostering Service with specific focus and responsibility for Special Guardianship Support Plans and Annual Reviews of support plans. This is a fixed term contract until the 1^st April 2025 but will be reviewed and may be extended The post holder will be responsible for: -

• Supporting social workers with implementation of SGO support plans and work with young people and their carers.
• Liaising with other professionals and agencies to achieve optimal outcomes for children and young people.
• Attendance at meetings and be able to provide a verbal overview of work undertaken.
• Holding specific responsibilities for monitoring and supporting completion of financial assessments for SGO, CAO and Adoption Orders.
• Work actively to engage young people, parents, carers and families in decision making processes about their future choices and enable their development into effective adulthood by providing impartial support and guidance.
• Support Development of a newsletter and support groups for Special Guardians.
• To understand and be able to use LCS/CIC/Fostering processes and maintain and keep up to date written records / spreadsheets.
• Assisting the social worker in any relevant tasks within the remit of the role.
• Apply for ASGSF funding to support additional areas of need in the post order support package.
• Complete needs assessments of children and families to inform plans.
• Mediate family time issues and queries that arise post order.
• Signposting and referrals to external services to support placement stability and other needs arising.
• Cross boundary working with other neighbouring authorities to fulfil the remit of SGO Statutory Guidance.
• Support children and families with CP/CIN/TAF
• Working closely with strengthening families.
  
  NVQ Level 3 or evidence of previous similar study
• Experience of direct work with children
• Basic knowledge of child development
• Excellent communication skills both face to face and over the telephone
• Good IT skills
• Good team player, self-motivating, reflective and able to use own initiative
• Able to remain focused despite oppositional challenges from families.
  
  When people join the team at Sandwell they say it feels like they become part of the family…they have #ComeHomeToSandwell. With the work that we have done so far and with the ambitions we have for the future, it's a really exciting time to join Sandwell Children's Trust and to become part of our Family.
So, if you think your future could lie with Sandwell Children's Trust, then we'd love to hear from you., At Sandwell Children's Trust we strive for excellence to improve the lives of children. To achieve this, we know how important it is to retain and attract high performing, forward thinking and innovative people and provide them with all the support they need. With a culture of collaboration, partnership working and the child at the heart of everything we do, it really is an exciting time to join Sandwell Children's Trust. Working for us There are lots of great reasons to work with us in Sandwell Children's Trust. From a generous rewards package to a culture of learning and development. Our 12 reasons to work for Sandwell Children's Trust sets us apart as the place to grow your career and feel part of a great team. Please visit the Sandwell Deal and our 12 reasons via this hyperlink: https://sandwelldeal.co.uk, Sandwell sits in the heart of the West Midlands and has a diverse population of 341,729 people. While Sandwell is the 12^th most deprived local authority in England, it is a community where our families have high aspirations and where we pride ourselves on equality of opportunity and our adaptability and resilience.

What we can offer you:-
• Generous annual leave of up to 31 days, plus 5 additional days for long service recognition.
• Your birthday off paid in addition to annual leave entitlement and 8 Bank Holidays, plus a concessionary day at Christmas.
• You will receive a generous local government career average pension scheme with employer contributions of 21.6%.
• We recognise individual loyalty with service awards from 2, 5, 10 and every 5 years onwards.
• Flexible working patterns that suit you and all of our roles have well-defined career progression.
• We provide competitive expenses for both mileage (55p per mile) and subsistence, plus access to a comprehensive employee benefits scheme.
With the work that we have done so far and with the ambitions we have for the future, it's a really exciting time to join Sandwell Children's Trust and to become part of our 'Sandwell Family'. Please visit The Sandwell Deal via this hyperlink https://sandwelldeal.co.uk/ 37 hours per week Fixed term contract until 1st April 2025 (to be reviewed and may be extended) Salary - £30,559 - £35,235 per annum dependent on experience plus excellent benefits,
• Flexible working patterns that suit you and all of our roles have well-defined career progression.
• Access to our Learning & Development portal offering virtual training programmes, learning & development info bursts, learning events and much more.
• The latest technology enabling more effective and streamlined working.
• Detailed and effective appraisals to strengthen your practice.
• Access to a range of family friendly policies.
Benefits & Rewards
• Up to £6,500 re-location package
• Generous annual leave entitlement, plus 5 additional days for long service recognition.
• The opportunity to purchase up to 10 days additional holiday through our salary sacrifice scheme.
• Your birthday off paid in addition to annual leave entitlement and 8 bank holidays, plus a concessionary day at Christmas.
• Membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme, this is a nationwide career average scheme with employer contributions of 21.6%.
• We recognise individual loyalty with service awards from 2, 5, 10 and every 5 years onwards.
• Reimbursement of Social Work England registration
• 24/7 access to free and confidential employee counselling service
• Access to a range of discounts on products and services
• Salary sacrifice schemes for cars, bikes and technology.
• Refer a friend scheme
• Wellbeing initiatives and forums
• Discounted gym membership
• Eye care vouchers