Working Pattern: Full time

InterviewType: In person

SMART Working: We aim to offer flexibility wherever possible. Many of our colleagues work from home one or more days a week and/or adjust their hours. We call this SMART working - giving you the freedom to shape your working pattern around your life, whilst still delivering great outcomes. Speak with the hiring manager about the range of flexible working options available for this role.

About the Role

Here in Trafford Children’s Services our vision is that our teams are offering the right help at the right time, and that at all levels our interventions make life better for children and families. We are ambitious for our children and for our practitioners - and our core value is ‘would this be good enough for my child’?

We want to have practitioners and managers who are confident and brave in their practice and are supported by strong leaders at all levels. As a relatively small local authority, we pride ourselves on our friendly teams, manageable caseloads, creative approach and colleagues who support each other. We were pleased to see this recognised in the Ofsted report that followed our ILACS inspection in late 2022, which highlighted that “social workers in Trafford are overwhelmingly positive about both the local authority and the support they receive.”

In Trafford our approach is strengths-based, using relational and restorative practice. Our recent Ofsted report referred to our "relational model of social work practice, which is well regarded by the wider workforce, has been successfully implemented.”

We believe that a culture and environment in which our managers and social workers can thrive is an essential element of improving outcomes for children and families. Our 2023 Ofsted report recognised this, noting a “cultural shift (that) has been underpinned by a strong training offer to support social workers to develop the skills they need to provide a better service to children”.

Family Support Service

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a service that works closely with children and families to offer them the right help t the right time, from the right professional. You will provide targeted support to children and families to build upon their and address any areas of need. You will work closely with multi agency partners to deliver family plans and improve outcomes for children and families. We would encourage any applicant who have specialist knowledge in mental health, domestic abuse, harmful substance misuse or complex family dynamics to apply.

Our commitment to you

We know that when you come to work in Trafford, we have a responsibility to provide you with the right tools and support to flourish in your new role.

Induction

We have recently updated our induction programme for new colleagues joining us at all levels. During your first two weeks you will have protected time to get to know your team, our systems and other parts of the service.

Workload

We are absolutely committed to ensuring that your workload is manageable. We believe that manageable workloads are critical, and managers will support you and confirm priorities through discussion and supervision. We have performance management reporting of workloads and therefore at all levels we are responsible for monitoring workloads across the service.

There will be times where there is a level of flexibility required to meet the needs of the service or for individual children you work with, particularly in times of crisis. We will ensure that you are able to take additional hours back quickly to give you balance between your work and home life.

Supervision

One of our practice-led improvements has been to refresh our supervision framework, which has been a really exciting piece of work. We commit to offering monthly formal supervision that is both reflective and supportive and provides you with clear advice, guidance and direction. We also offer peer supervision as part of our refreshed framework, with practitioners involved in deciding the topics of discussion.

Opportunities for progression

A number of Trafford colleagues have been supported through the apprenticeship scheme to progress with recognised qualifications including coaching and social work.

It is always wonderful to see colleagues progress within the service and we are keen to support all colleagues to reach their full career potential here at Trafford.

A note from Pamela Wharton, Director of Early Help and Social Care.

“Thank you for showing your interest in a role here in Trafford. I hope that you find the information we have provided helpful and that you feel that Trafford is somewhere you want to come and work.

“Trafford is a great place to work and we are striving to make it even better. We believe the service structure we now have in place is working well and is enabling children and families to get the right help at the right time. You will find more information directly from colleagues about working at Trafford on our website. We hope you will like what you see and hear - and will be inspired to join us.

“I look forward to receiving your application. I firmly believe together we can truly make a difference.”

Additional Information

This advert may close early if we receive a high number of applications, so please apply as soon as possible.

• Enhanced DBS required
• Car user/full driving license required

Find Out More.

For the full details of this opportunity, please refer to the role profile linked below.

If you have any questions or would like an informal chat you can get in contact with the hiring manager, Rachel Scott at Rachael.scott@trafford.gov.uk