Senior Social Work Practitioner

Senior Social Work Practitioner (Approved Mental Health Practitioner) posts within Newcastle Children & Families – Children’s Social Care

Our vision is for Newcastle to be a great place to grow up – for every child and young person to be safe and loved, healthy and happy, free from harm and with the chance to fulfil their potential. We are excited to be able to recruit exceptional Senior Social Work Practitioner (AMHPs) to be part of our important work with the children, young people, and families and vulnerable adults of the core city we are proud to work within.

We are now in our fourth year of embedding a relational and restorative practice culture across our service and we are looking for motivated, child centred Senior Social Work Practitioner (AMHPs) to join our skilled and passionate workforce. If you want to be part of an organisation that is committed to working with families, rather than doing to them, and is rated as Good by Ofsted - then Newcastle Children & Families is the place for you.

The Roles

We are investing in our social work service in Children’s Social Care and are looking for skilled and motivated Senior Social Work Practitioner (AMHPs) to complement those already in the service and ensure we have the right balance of experience across our teams.

We are currently looking to recruit to the following team:

The Emergency Duty Team (Out of hours)

A rare opportunity has arisen for an experienced qualified Social Worker to join the Emergency Duty Team. The team operate outside of normal office hours covering all urgent Social Work needs for Children and Vulnerable Adults in Newcastle over evenings, weekends and bank holidays.

You would be part of a small but highly experienced and supportive team.

You should be adept at working closely with other agencies to assess and manage risk and to take a lead role in decision making where appropriate. You will also be highly motivated, have good communication and IT skills and a clear understanding of needs of vulnerable adults, children and their families.

The post is Temporary (6 months) part time 18.5 hours on a rotating shift pattern. Additional allowances and enhancements are payable for standby, evening and weekend working in accordance with the single status day/ time matrix.

Who we are looking for?

We are passionate about achieving the best outcomes for the children in our city, and you should be too. We are looking for a skilled and experienced Senior Social Work Practitioner (AMHP) to lead by example and support the critical work we undertake with children and families and vulnerable adults out of hours.

We are proud, fair, and ambitious in our dedication to the children and families and vulnerable adults of our city – and we expect all our staff to share these values. We are looking for team players who want to work in an environment that prioritises relationships and champions social work values.

You should hold a relevant Social Work qualification such as the Social Work Degree, DipSW, CQSW or CSS and be registered with Social Work England. You should also have a minimum of 2 years post qualifying experience working in a statutory role with Children or Vulnerable Adults.

You should have Approved Mental Health Practitioner status or be undertaking training.

Why Newcastle Children’s Social Care?

Newcastle as a city has a great past and an exciting future. Working within Children’s Social Care for Newcastle City Council places you at the heart of a core city where we are focused on working for the best outcomes and opportunities for the next generation through our work with children and families.

In February 2022 Newcastle Children’s Social Care was rated as GOOD across all areas by Ofsted: “Social workers are positive about working for Newcastle. They feel well supported through their induction and speak of supportive and available managers.”

We continue to implement our relational and restorative approach across our service and city to transform how we work with children, families, and partners, focusing on putting families first, valuing our colleagues and partners, listening to the voices of children, and prioritising strengths and values. You can read more about the Relational and Restorative practice approach across Newcastle on our Safeguarding Partnership website.

Why we think there is nowhere better

You can hear more about what it is like to work at Newcastle and read our working principles, as well as hear first-hand from our social workers at www.newcastle.gov.uk/csc. Working with us includes:

1. A dedicated 5-day induction
2. Generous annual leave in addition to Bank Holidays with the ability to buy additional leave annually
3. A range of flexible working options, including opportunities for part time working
4. A generous Flexi Scheme
5. Employee Assistance Programme offering confidential advice and support
6. Access to a generous, defined benefit pension scheme
7. Access to a home electronics scheme and vehicle leasing scheme

Whilst access to a vehicle is desirable, being a driver is not essential.

We are committed to protecting and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expect all staff to share this commitment. This post is working in regulated activity – this means that if you are successful, we will undertake additional recruitment checks which will include a check to see if you have had any criminal convictions, a check of police information and we will check the barred list(s). It is a criminal offence for a barred individual to apply for a job in regulated activity.

As this post involves working with children, vulnerable adults and dealing with sensitive information, written references will be taken up and made available to interviewers before the final selection stage.

If you would like to arrange an informal discussion please contact Laura Pallister via Laura.pallister@newcastle.gov.uk or Adele Moore via adele.moore@newcastle.gov.uk