Child and Families Social Work Practitioner - EDT R & R allowan

Overview

Who We Are & What We Stand For. Do you want to help make Gateshead a place where everyone thrives? If that sounds like you, keep reading – we might be the perfect match. We’re delighted that you’re interested in working with us. You’d be joining us at a very exciting time. We pride ourselves on our ambitious and forward-thinking approach to taking care of Gateshead and its people, and we passionately believe that our employees reflect that spirit in truly enabling Gateshead to thrive.

At Gateshead Council you’d be a highly valued member of a team that recognises and respects the skills that you bring to your role, encourages creativity and passionately advocates a great work / life balance. Our actions speak louder than words, and with flexi-time and hybrid working available across many of our roles, as well as a full suite of outstanding employee benefits, we’re confident that it isn’t just the salary that attracts our staff.

Our Children’s Social Care team work to provide and further develop services to children and families across Gateshead to offer a focused and joined up approach to offer young people the best possible start in life. This is incredibly important work and includes an excellent early help and prevention service, assessment, intervention and safeguarding supporting children and their families, services for children in and having experienced our care, our fostering, residential and adoption services, support for vulnerable adolescents & those with disabilities and many more.

It can be challenging but very rewarding work, as we passionately pursue our goal of helping Gateshead children to thrive.

Where critical decisions meet professional excellence. The Emergency Duty Team provides critical out-of-hours social work services to safeguard and support vulnerable children, families, and adults in urgent need. Operating evenings, weekends, and bank holidays, EDT ensures that those facing crisis receive timely intervention, protection, and care when regular services are unavailable. Our team works collaboratively across agencies to deliver safe, effective emergency responses and uphold statutory duties.

Step in when others can’t join our Emergency Duty Team. We are recruiting for an Experienced Social Work Practitioner.

• Provide out-of-hours urgent social work services to safeguard the liberty, well-being, and safety of vulnerable children, their families, and adults in need of urgent support.
• Maintain accurate records and ensure timely handovers, demonstrating strong awareness of local policies and procedures. Promote good practice by sharing emerging research, case law, and policy changes across the service.
• Work collaboratively with professionals and agencies to deliver safe emergency responses, partnering with families/carers and key agencies in decision-making and planning.
• Join up with colleagues across Children’s Services, Adult Services, and other Council teams to deliver high-quality assessments and interventions. This includes working with out-of-hours services such as Care Call, housing/homeless services, EDT foster carers, Rapid Response home care, and intermediate care facilities.
• Identify and organise resources creatively to meet assessed needs in emergencies, ensuring welfare and safety until the next working day.
• Participate in mandatory and elective training to maintain professional development, and actively engage in supervision and service meetings.
• Support education and development by mentoring student and sessional social workers, assisting with inductions, and providing professional support to other Council services out of hours. Act as a senior worker on shift, supported by an on-call senior management rota.
• Contribute to the operational delivery of the service, working as part of a rota system covering evenings, weekends, and bank holidays, ensuring full coverage at all times.
• Uphold professional standards when protecting vulnerable adults and children in line with statutory duties. Work agilely and independently, including lone working, using technology securely and confidentially.

• Qualified Social Worker with Social…