Social Worker - Supported Lodgings

As a Supported Lodgings Social Worker you will be able to support Dorset's Supported Lodging Host's and help them achieve great outcomes for the children and young people they care for.

By supporting our hosts, you will make a difference to young people who are leaving care, enabling them to be the best possible version of themselves into adulthood and beyond.

• You will be well supported by the Fostering & Supported Lodgings team and feel a strong team ethos of collaborative working, passion and creativity.
• You will have the opportunity to support the Team Manager in shaping the service, to introduce creativity and a dynamic approach to the exciting changes being implemented.
• You will receive monthly, reflective supervision to develop your skills and support our hosts to have a therapeutic approach to the young people that they are caring for.
• You will also be supported to ensure that hosts are maintaining the safety of our children and young people, as well as supporting them to build on their life skills i.e. budgeting, cooking, household duties, education and employment.
• You will have access to full and dynamic training opportunities, Social Work academy,  a induction programme.
• You will have access to 1:1 support from advanced practitioners in the team.
• You will have access to Dorset's staff wellbeing service.
• You will be supported with your career progression in Dorset Council.

What you can expect to be doing:

• We are looking for a dedicated and dependable Supported Lodgings Social Worker with a history of working with children and young people.
• The successful applicant will be supporting Hosts and looked after children/ young people across Dorset.
• You will be expected to undertake thorough and reflective assessments of new Supported Lodgings Hosts and assist with recruitment, retention, assessment and training.
• You will be completing six weekly statutory visits and recording these promptly.
• To co-ordinate support groups for our Supported Lodgings Hosts.
• To be involved with service development as required.
• Ensuring that young people are at the heart of practice, included in their planning, have fair opportunities, that their sense of identity is promoted.
• You will liaise closely with the Leaving Care Team to create the most appropriate pathway, stepping stone to independence for young people, making sure that 'positive endings' and their move on is young person focused.
• The Supported Lodgings team are based in Dorchester, you will be responsible for supporting hosts living across the county.
• You will provide reliable support, supervision, and undertake reviews for Supported Lodgings Hosts. You will also be required to present at the Fostering/ Supported Lodgings Panel as part of your role.
• You must have a passion for children and young people, excellent organisational skills, be able to meet deadlines, have excellent communication skills and the ability to analyse situations accurately and produce detailed written reports.
• This role will include safeguarding our children and young people, and participating in training for our hosts to continue to progress their development.

About you:

• You will be a qualified social worker who is registered with Social Work England.
• Have a clear enhanced DBS check.
• Have a clean, full driving licence, enabling you to fulfil travel requirements of the post able to work flexibly, including some evenings and weekends.
• Have experience of working with children/ young people and adults in a statutory social care environment.
• Have a strong working knowledge of child care legislation, statutory guidance and practice, including Housing and Benefit entitlement for Young People leaving care.
• Have ability to create an environment for social work practice to flourish.

This post requires significant travel. You must have a vehicle (or transport we deem suitable) available for use as needed.

This post involves working with children and/or vulnerable adults and/or having access to significant information about them. It will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check. See our policy on the employment of ex-offenders.

See our policy on safeguarding children and young people.

The friends and family referral scheme applies to this post. If an employee recommended this post to you mention them when asked on your application form. They'll give you all the information you need.

Employees can share this advert by using the button links alongside the job title.

You must:

• have a degree in Social Work
• be registered with Social Work England
• be able to fulfil the travel requirements of the post

See the children’s social worker framework.

We’re passionate about making Dorset a great place to live, work and visit. Working for us should be no exception.

At Dorset Council we:

• provide more than 450 services to over 300,000 residents
• have ambitious aspirations
• are excited about our future
• care about Dorset and all the people who live here
• know that all roles make a difference and that our employees are key to our success

  You will:

• have access to a range of employee benefits
• be part of an organisation that supports each other to grow and succeed
• have access to range of training opportunities which will help with your personal development and career progression

We are challenging ourselves to become a more diverse and inclusive organisation. We recognise that recruitment and inclusion of individuals with diverse skills, perspectives and backgrounds will bring real strength to the council and our communities. We have a commitment to equality and welcome applications from everyone.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We offer an interview to everyone who declares a disability and meets the essential criteria for the role.

We are keen to make our interviews accessible. Let us know on your job application if you have a disability and need any reasonable adjustments.

We also look for applicants who share our commitment to our behaviours. We will ask you to evidence when you have demonstrated them as part of the selection process.

If appointed, the personal information we collect from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected, you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, and your data protection rights, can be found at https://www.cifas.org.uk/fpn.

This role is UK based and we will need to establish your Right to Work as part of the appointment process.

We use generic job descriptions and person specifications. This means the job title on any attachments may differ from the job title in the advert. We may provide specific information in a context statement if relevant.

Find out more about how to apply.