Social Worker (Adoption)

1) To undertake a range of tasks in relation to Adoption Assessment, as allocated by the adoption Team Manager. This includes holding and managing a full caseload, prioritising all work in accordance with appropriate legislation, regulations, guidance, policies, procedures, standing orders and budgets.

2) To recruit, prepare, assess and train prospective adoptive parents, including non-agency adoptions. This practice should be undertaken in accordance with appropriate legislation, regulations, guidance, policies and procedures. This includes undertaking direct and group work with children and families

3) Through a child-centred approach, match Looked After Children with prospective adoptive parents

4) Provide high quality and timely assessments and reports in the agreed format. This includes preparing assessments and reports for Court Proceedings, Child Protection Case Conferences, Statutory Reviews and any other forum as directed by the Team Manager

5) Maintaining client records (electronic and paper) in line with policies, procedures and guidance of the Together4Children Regional Permanency Arrangement

6) Participating in regular supervision or consultation with the Team Manager, ensuring that they are always made aware of significant issues in respect of Adopters, Children and Families

7) Supervising and supporting the professional development of members of the team, including social work students and non-social work qualified staff on the team when required.
8) Seek to work in Partnership with colleagues across the Together4Children Regional Permanency Arrangement, within individual Local Authorities and outside partners/agencies in order to achieve identified outcomes for vulnerable children in their service area

9) Participate in the formulation of new initiatives, and policy across the Together4Children Regional Permanency Arrangement or within Stoke on Trent locality.,

• Provide high quality support to children and their families delivered through a combination of direct provision and effective Partnerships.


• Provide all children and their families with the right support at the right time through a consistent permanency support offer available across the region.


• Respond to the regulatory requirements in respect of Adoption (including Non-Agency Adoptions and Intercountry Adoption).
  
  Be a qualified Social Worker with significant experience


• You will have expansive knowledge of relevant childcare legislation, including a clear understanding of 'Working Together to Safeguard Children'.


• An ability to build effective relationships with children, young people, and families.
  
  4 Local Authorities, Staffordshire County Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Shropshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council have come together in an innovative and forward-thinking Partnership.


We are working together to improve outcomes for those children who enter care and are not able to return to their families of origin. We aim to ensure that our children achieve emotional, physical and legal permanence; growing up in loving homes with adults who provide them with a strong sense of security, continuity, commitment and identity.

Together4Children operates through a hub and spoke model enabling Local Authorities to benefit from core central functions and networked regional delivery, whilst retaining direct service delivery functions within their own borders. This ensures the Partnership reflects the local context, adapted to meet the needs of local children and families, and maintains clear links to local Children & Families Services.

The Together4Children Partnership provides the Regional Adoption Agency for the partner Local Authorities. By working together, we aim to:

• Make best use of our collective resources to recruit, assess and support prospective adopters and foster carers across the region.


• Improve the quality and speed of matching for children through better planning and by having a wider choice of families., Stoke-on-Trent City Council is a unitary authority employing approximately 4,600 staff who deliver 700 services to more than 260,000 residents. Our city comprises of six towns: Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall. We are a city of strengths, with a proud heritage and bright future. We have undergone significant changes over the last few years. New ways of working have already transformed many service areas and we are determined to continue to develop more innovative approaches to ensure that we can maximise the benefits of transformation.


Our city

Although the 13th largest city in the UK, Stoke-on-Trent is rapidly outstripping a number of parts of the country with our economic growth and recovery.

Stoke-on-Trent is a city with a strong sense of civic pride - we've been voted the kindest city in the UK - and a place where you'll receive a hugely warm welcome. We have a rich and diverse culture, steeped in our prestigious industrial heritage as the celebrated 'world capital of ceramics'. But we don't just want to celebrate our proud past - we firmly believe that Stoke-on-Trent's best years are ahead of it. We are determined to raise aspirations and match them with high-quality education and health provision, as well as improved opportunities to secure fulfilling and well-paid work. Through uniting social and economic opportunities, we are maximising the full power of the city council as a secure and steadfast institution within the city.


• Option to buy extra annual leave


• Flexible working hours


• Hybrid working


• Relocation allowance to £8,000 subject to policy


• Manageable caseloads


• High quality reflective supervision


• Health and wellbeing support


• Access to staff equality and diversity networks, When you work for Stoke-on-Trent City Council you'll be helping to improve the lives and wellbeing of our residents. We'll provide you with support, learning opportunities and flexible working options and some amazing benefits including; a competitive salary, generous holidays, an excellent defined local authority benefit pension scheme, annual leave purchase scheme, cycle to work schemes just to name a few. We also have access to lifestyle benefits which offer a wide range of discounts such as family days out, travel, retail and many more.


Our commitment to you

Vibrancy and diversity are two of Stoke-on-Trent's greatest assets. A city founded on creative endeavour should value and celebrate the multitude of voices, ideas and identities that shape its culture. We are committed to creating a culture which is truly inclusive, where all staff feel valued, listened to, supported and able to do their work to the best of their abilities at all times. And we must ensure that our decisions and policies nurture and empower communities across our city and do not inadvertently disadvantage groups and individuals that we want to help to thrive.

Our approach to Equality and Diversity is an invitation to all our communities to work with and for us so we can continue to improve how we deliver services residents need.

Our employee networks are inclusive, open forums for colleagues with similar lived experiences. They allow staff to meet, support and mentor each other, alongside being a voice for under-represented groups to advise and support the organisation when developing policies and services.