Social Workers

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., We are proud to create an environment where our employees are nurtured, caseloads are manageable and continuous professional development is encouraged. With a culture of collaborative working and the child at the heart of everything we do, there's never been a more exciting time to join the Trust. The Sandwell Fostering Service are recruiting to 3.5 Social Work vacancies. One full time post in the Recruitment of new Foster Carers Team, one full and one part time post in the Supervision and Support Team, and one full time post in the Connected Persons Team. Rated as 'Good' in their last inspection, the Sandwell Fostering Service is an Independent Fostering Agency (IFA) who working alongside Sandwell Children's Trust providing quality foster homes for the children they care for. This is an exciting time to join the service who work together as one supportive service, valuing our amazing foster carers and ensuring all that we do has children at the centre. We are keen to hear from social workers who can make a lasting and important contribution to the service and help to grow our fostering family. You will need to demonstrate a genuine interest and commitment to working with foster carers, be a proactive member of the team around the child and foster family, have a strength based and relational approach. You will also bring enthusiasm and a positive attitude, continually seeking to improve the lived experiences of children we care for living with Sandwell's foster carers, and care experienced young adults who Stay Put with their former carers. The Teams. The Recruitment Team work with the Trust's communications team to recruit, prepare, assess, and approve new foster carers. Interested candidates must be able to demonstrate their interest in this area of work, including undertaking community-based recruitment activities, completing detailed assessment of applicants, delivering preparation training, and supporting people on their journey to become a registered Sandwell foster carer. The Support and Supervision Team are committed to providing important levels of support, development, supervision, and training to our mainstream foster carers who look after children at the request of the agency, helping them to provide excellent quality care for the children we care for and improving their lived experience and outcomes. The Connected Persons Team are committed to providing important levels of support, development, supervision and training to our approved connected person foster carers who care for a named child/ren previously known to them, helping them to provide good quality care for the children we care for and improving their lived experience and outcomes.

• You must be social work qualified, registered with Social Work England, and have completed your ASYE programme in a children and families setting.
• Have excellent analytical skills and be able to make informed decisions with information you have gathered, that has a positive impact on the child's journey.
• A skilled listener, you will demonstrate how you have understood and ensured a child's voice is heard.
• You will need to be self-motivated, organised with effective communication skills both written and verbally.
• Be a clear decision maker and good team worker.
• Have an ability to assess risk and the knowledge of the relevant procedures to manage and reduce risk.
• You will need to demonstrate that you have experience of working with children in care, which could have been gained through working in other teams.
• Have knowledge of the relevant legislation and procedures that relate to fostering, looked after children and young people
  
  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. Sandwell Children's Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable groups including children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Completion of an enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check is a requirement for working with children and young people. Please note that pre-employment checks will be carried out in line with the Department for Education KCSIE Guidance 2022., 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:-
• A market supplement of £2,500 per annum.
• Retention bonus of £2,000 in year 1, £3,000 in year 2 and £5,000 in year 3.
• 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., £37,334 - £47,941 per annum and a relocation allowance of up to £6,500 plus, excellent benefits. Additionally, we pay a retention bonus of up to £10,000 over 3 years., 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