Social Worker (Children's Services) - Intake & Assessment

Vacancy Information

The salary advertised is full time (35 hours per week). Part-time hours will be pro-rated accordingly.

Hourly rate of pay: £21.14 - £23.56
Days/hours of work:
Working 2.5 days a week, days of work are negotiable, flexi time is applicable.
To start asap.

Candidates will be assessed on the basis of appropriate relevant experience and qualifications and salary placed within the advertised scale.

East Lothian Children’s Services have an exciting opportunity for a social worker to join the Intake and Assessment Team. The team consists of 2 team leaders, senior practitioners, social workers, family support workers and administrative support. Our Children's Services Intake and Assessment team is the single point of entry for all children/families referrals to the local authority.

All of Children’s Services is located in open plan office with onsite parking, we promote an open, trusting and communicative culture at all levels.

Applicants should have a sound value base, excellent communication and report writing skills and a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of Child Protection processes, as well as, a knowledge about Children and Families social work legislation, role and responsibilities. In East Lothian our social workers practice is focused on our Signs of Safety assessment framework with an emphasis on relationship based interventions.

Working in a dynamic team in a fast-paced and varied environment, you will undertake assessments when there are child protection concerns, assessments of children-in-need. You will undertake direct, time-limited work with children/young people and their families. You will contribute to the work of the team on a duty-rota, carry an allocated short-term caseload of children and young people.

East Lothian Children’s Services are absolutely committed to keeping The Promise and keeping children, young people and their families’ voices at the heart of everything we do. East Lothian Children’s Services are keen to recruit workers who are passionate about achieving the best possible outcomes for children, young people and their families.

We are committed to promoting an open and trusting culture at all levels of the organisation and prioritise continuous professional development and learning. Our staff are our greatest asset and we strive to be supportive, inclusive and child centred by prioritising effective supervision, manageable caseloads and a healthy work life balance.

Our vision is support children and young people to live with their families when it is safe to do so. We have redesigned our services to ensure that the right support is offered at the right time and our staff are involved in developing services and implementing improvement activity around this goal.

We benefit from access to a clinical psychologist who supports our staff with complex work. We recognise the emotional impact of the role and strive to promote staff resilience.

We have an accessible senior management team who are committed to recruiting the best people to compliment the wide range of knowledge and experience throughout the service.

If you wish to discuss this job please contact the recruitment manager: Robert Marshall: 07929837321

Home Working
Applications for homeworking/hybrid working will be considered, subject to a trial period, in accordance with East Lothian Council’s Home Working and Worksmart Policies which can be found here. Home/Hybrid working options can be discussed with candidates invited for interview. All applicants must live in the UK and will be expected to attend Council offices from time to time as required.

Job Details

To provide an effective service to service users and their families/carers, promoting a high standard of practice, in accordance with statutory obligations, policies and procedures.

Please download the Job Outline/Person Specification (available under 'Job Attachments') for the full range of tasks and duties associated with this job. You will need to refer to these in order to complete the application form. You must ensure you meet every 'essential' criteria stated on the Person Specification to be considered for interview.

The ‘East Lothian Way’– values and behaviours we expect our employees to demonstrate in their everyday work. Should you be invited to interview, you may be asked questions based on these behaviours. Please refer to the document via the link to familiarise yourself with them.

Job Requirements

Education/Qualifications
Essential: Approved qualification in Social Work, and SSSC registration.
Those with international Social Work qualifications should not apply unless they are fully registered with the SSSC.

Driving Licence
Full current driving licence and access to a vehicle*
(*Where a disability precludes you from obtaining a driving licence, ELC will take into account its responsibility to make reasonable adjustments to allow for your disability).

PVG/Disclosure Requirements
This post is considered as Regulated Work with vulnerable children and/or protected adults, as specified in the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007.

All preferred candidates for posts carrying out regulated work with these groups will be required to become a PVG Scheme member, or undergo a PVG Scheme update if they are already a member, prior to any formal offer of employment being made by East Lothian Council.

Please note: PVG member’s records are constantly updated with any new vetting information that arises. Any information that is disclosed on a PVG membership or update check, if relevant to the post being applied for, will be discussed with the applicant and investigated prior to any formal offer being made.

Please note:
If you have spent more than 3 months working or living outwith the UK in the last 5 years then you will be required to present a copy of an overseas criminal record check. Details of how to apply and contact details can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Additional Information

For additional East Lothian Council employment information please click on the following link: www.eastlothian.gov.uk/nonteachinginfo

If you have any difficulties creating an account on MyJobScotland or applying for this post please contact the MyJobScotland support team via this link https://www.myjobscotland.gov.uk/contact-us.

If you require further information about this vacancy, please call 01620 827868, or email us on recruitment@eastlothian.gov.uk

Please note: We do not accept CV's (either electronically or by mail). All our vacancies must be applied for by fully completing the on-line application form. Although there is an ‘import data from my CV’ function on MyJobScotland, this only imports very limited data and should not be relied upon to complete the application form.