Independent Reviewing Officer and Conference Chair

Children's Independent Reviewing Officer and Conference Chair

£51,726 - £54,856 per annum (Salaries include market factor where applicable)

37 Hours Per Week - Fixed term 6 Months

Full reimbursement of Social Work England registration fee

Essential Car User Allowance

Do you aspire to work for an Outstanding' Local Authority?

And can you peel back the layers...?

Children and young people are at the heart of all we do. The qualities that are important to them are:

• Understanding that there are layers to a person, a practitioners ability to see the person as a 'whole'
• The ability to practice care and kindness
• Being able to really listen to children and young people – what are their views, hopes, aspirations and worries?
• The ability to communicate well

Our family are usually the people closest to us, those we care most about. Family life is not just about legal ties – it goes far deeper than that. It concerns our most important biological, social and emotional relationships. We hold the value that children and young people are best cared for by their birth families and extended networks, and this underpins our family first ethos.

Where this cannot be achieved, we seek to ensure that children and young people's relationships are maintained in line with their best interests. Birth parents and extended networks are included within the decision-making processes and we provide alternative care which is nurturing and which fosters a sense of belonging.

There has never been a more exciting time to join our service: alongside making a difference to the lives of individuals and families, we have adopted exciting new strengths-based approaches and are passionate about delivering continuous service improvement.

There has never been a more exciting time to join our service: alongside making a difference to the lives of individuals and families, we have adopted exciting new strengths-based approaches and are passionate about delivering continuous service improvement.

Our Independent Reviewing Officers and Conference Chairs are tasked with ensuring that plans for children fully reflect the individual needs of children and young people and that all planning processes meet regulatory requirements, reflect best practice and maintain a focus on achieving best outcomes.

Here in Telford and Wrekin - we aspire to place relationships at the forefront of practice and whilst ensuring that the child's voice is heard and listened to. As the conference and review chair it is your job to ensure that plans are child focused, robust, and achievable and to challenge if plans are not progressing or meeting a child's needs.

• Social Work qualified and be registered with Social Work England.
• At least 5 years post-qualified and have experience of working with and developing effective relationships with children in care or the subject of child protection plans.
• Knowledgeable of relevant childcare legislation and statutory guidance, including a clear understanding of the IRO handbook, Working Together and the Care Planning Regulations.
• Focused on achieving great outcomes for children and young people, using a solutions-focused approach to challenge and promote best practice.
• Able to work both virtually and in person with children, families and partner agencies.
• Driven to ensure the child's voice is heard and central to planning and decision making.
• Experienced at managing multi-agency meetings.
• Be able to analyse and evaluate information effectively and negotiate with colleagues.

Our brilliant practitioners are at the heart of our ambitious approach to improve outcomes for children and families in Telford and Wrekin: from tailored in-house training to the West Midlands Teaching Partnership, we ensure that our workforce have access to the best development opportunities.

• Children and families in Telford and Wrekin continue to experience exceptional social work practice when they are in care and as care leavers.
• Participation is a real strength and children's and families' involvement is threaded throughout service developments.
• Social workers know their children well and have developed…