QSW – Assessment and Intervention Team – Bognor

Job Description

Job Title : QSW – Assessment and Intervention Team – Bognor
Job Category : Social Care – Qualified
Location : Durban House, West Sussex County Council
Hours Per Week : 37.00
Start Date : Immediate start
Start Time : 09:00
End Time : 17:30
Salary: £30.43

Location: Durban House in Bognor Regis. The office provides a comfortable team space with good onsite parking.

There are lots of flexible working opportunities. Social Workers are on duty 1 in 4 weeks. We require Social Workers to be present in the office when on Duty as our Team Managers want to provide support face to face and value workers spending time together as a team.

The candidate must be able to drive around the Western locality, which covers the Arun (Littlehampton and Bognor) and Chichester area.

Interviews – are being held face to face in most cases for Childrens Services roles at West Sussex County Council now.

Payrate : We are bound by the MoC, which means pay rates are capped. Whist we are able to pay up to £42, this rate is for those deemed to be at ASW level. Please ensure your candidates are aware that the pay rate they request may not be the rate they are offered; managers are assessing skills and competency at interview. If the candidate is being offered less than requested, we will make the reasoning clear whilst providing feedback.

Candidates can start as soon as pre employment checks have passed

Our Assessment and Intervention service is a fast paced and supportive duty team completing Child and Family Assessments and Section 47 enquiries with children, young people and their families. We are looking for team players who are enthusiastic, creative and have a passion for engaging children and young people. We are aspiring to become an outstanding service so are seeking candidates with experience of completing excellent assessments and direct work with children.

The service is developing fantastic relationships with our newly formed Family Safeguarding Service where children subject to Child In Need and Child Protection Plans transfer.

For this role you will be expected to demonstrate relevant theoretical Social Work concepts, practices and detailed organisational knowledge relating to the provision of a professional Social Work service dealing with complex issues e.g. attachment, impact of developmental trauma & child development. An understanding of the therapeutic interventions that can be used e.g. solution focused, systemic and evidence-based programmes and an excellent understanding of partner agencies. There is a requirement to have good verbal and written communication.

The candidate needs:
– To be an experienced worker with at least 2/3 years recent experience.
– Recent Front line – child protection work
– Good assessment skills that are able to identify risk
– Direct work with children to be able to identify their needs – Good multi agency working experience

***Please note that your CV submission will not be reviewed if you have not completed the screening/profile questions with the exact information requested*** Please see attached job description.

An agency worker has provided this regarding her time in A&I Bognor …
“I have worked for West Sussex as an agency social worker for 18 months now, I continue to enjoy my time here. I have felt supported and valued by team managers and built supportive relationships with my colleagues. The support here in West Sussex has been great and despite being an agency worker I have been supported with my ongoing learning and development with assess to training”.

OFSTED UPDATE: In May 2023 Ofsted Inspectors praised West Sussex County Council’s Children’s Services for its ‘relentless approach to improving practice,’ giving the service an overall rating of ‘requires improvement’, with ‘good’ judgements for children in care and leadership and management. The judgements on children needing help and protection and children leaving care are they ‘require improvement to be good’. This rating is up from the last full inspection of Children’s Services back in 2019, when all areas were rated as inadequate.
Inspectors recognised the ‘strong, determined and cohesive leadership team’ who have made significant improvements since 2019 and their commitment and focus to make further improvements.

Agency staff are treated as part of the service and encouraged to attend transformational and other leadership events