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Salary range: £33,820 - £40,478 pro-rata, per annum

Work location: Countywide, Oxfordshire

Hours per week: Full and part time - flexible working options considered

Contract type: Permanent

Vetting requirements: This role is subject to a Criminal Records Check.

We are excited to invite applications for Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSW) to begin their Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) in our Social Work Professional Development Centre.

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We have created the Social Work Professional Development Centre because we know that nurturing and supporting our NQSWs to become great practitioners is crucial in developing a strong and stable workforce and delivering outstanding services to the children and families of Oxfordshire.

The role of a children's social worker can be challenging but is also a privilege and hugely rewarding. We know that the right support in your first year of practice will equip you with the skills you need to flourish in your career.

We are seeking newly qualified social workers to join Oxfordshire's Family Solutions Plus (FSP) service for the Assessed and Supported Year (ASYE) programme.

We welcome Newly Qualified Social Workers to apply at any point of the year. For some, starting within our traditional twice yearly cohort (around May and September) will work, but we also recognise that this won’t suit everyone and would welcome your application to discuss a start date that suits your needs.

If you join our Family Solutions Service (FSP), you will be joining a strengths-based service that is focused on supporting families to keep their children safe and to make lasting change. We do this by keeping relationship-based practice at the core of everything we do and using motivational interviewing to engage families. What's more, you will have access to adult-facing practitioners in your teams, who offer evidence-based interventions to support parents with mental health, substance misuse or domestic abuse needs, to optimize their parenting capabilities.

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We want to provide you with a thoughtful, scaffolded learning experience for your Assessed and Supported Year in Employment, in which all those new to practice feel safe and well supported throughout, with a protected caseload and gradual increase in the time spent with our FSP teams as your practice develops. The Social Work Professional Development Centre will treat each NQSW as an individual, with a development plan based on individual learning needs and regular progress reviews, which will enable us to ensure that everyone has the best possible learning experience, tailored to their individual needs. We've designed our own competency framework for our NQSW's development, which is aligned with FSP's guiding principles for strengths-based practice.

Here’s what some of our recent Newly Qualified Social Workers had to say;

"The new Social Work Development Centre has enabled me to start my social work career in a positive, supportive and protected environment. I feel grateful that I have had the opportunity to be part of this team where I can develop at my own pace and where support is available as and when required, rather than being thrown in at the deep end. Being part of this friendly team has enabled me to gain confidence, knowledge and independence without feeling overwhelmed and out of my depth" - Kirsty

"The Social Work Development Centre that is currently being run in Oxfordshire has really helped me feel safe and supported as a NQSW. The Development Centre supports all NQSWs from all backgrounds with varying levels of experience within children's statutory social work. I feel that the Development Centre can really help those whose training and qualification has been impacted by the pandemic" - Patrick

"All the people in the Social Work Development Centre are approachable and supportive, it feels like I'm part of a family. This was one of the most important things to me when looking for a job and I feel grateful to have joined such a friendly and forward-thinking organisation" - Harriet

Successful applicants will:

• Be value-based practitioners with a commitment to strengths-based practice.
• Be qualified and Social Work England registered (or in process of)
• Have good communication skills, with the ability to build relationships, engage with children and families
• Have the ability to produce concise, effective and accurate written work
• Be resilient, with the ability to manage the emotional impact of the work, actively making use of appropriate support
• Be required to travel as part of the role as we cover locations throughout rural parts of the county and therefore should have access to your own transport
• Previous experience of working with children and their families.

In return, we can offer you:

• A competitive salary starting at £33,820 per annum starting salary, with progression up to £40,478 per annum.
• A pension package of up to 20% employer contribution.
• Manageable caseloads; not only is it important that you love what you do, but it's also important to be able to manage your workload and devote the right amount of attention to each family.
• A role in an authority rated 'good' by Ofsted, as a Social Worker, you get the support you need.
• Flexible working. We do all we can to ensure that every one of our employees has a healthy work-life balance. Our agile working policy means you can work across council sites or from home to suit your needs and we support flexible working hours. You will be provided with a laptop, mobile phone and MS Teams to facilitate agile working.
• Generous annual leave allowance. We know that as a social worker, you do an invaluable job. We offer a generous holiday allowance starting at 29 days per year (plus bank holidays) to help demonstrate how much we value the work you do. We also offer an annual leave purchase scheme.
• A caring and supportive culture. We are passionate about keeping people safe, well and independent, whilst making a positive contribution. We host regular listening events and have a well at work scheme, which focuses on health and wellbeing. There's also a social presence, with yoga classes, sports teams and more.
• Other benefits include: Cycle to work scheme, staff discount scheme for a range of retailers, holidays, insurance, restaurants, health & leisure activities and rail travel.

Interested in joining us?

You can apply to join our Social Work Professional Development Centre quickly and easily, by clicking the Apply Now button and uploading your CV and a personal statement to support your application. In your personal statement, please ensure you address each of the essential criteria in the job description on pages 4 and 5. You can also contact us by email; [email protected] if you have any questions. We’ll be holding our assessment day online for those who are shortlisted, date to be confirmed.

Please click here to view the Job Description and Selection Criteria.

Application Procedure

To apply, please complete an online application form by clicking Apply Now. This includes a section asking you to explain how you meet the selection criteria, as specified in the job posting. You may attach a cover letter and/or CV to your application form, however it is not mandatory.

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