Recruitment policy - Entry level into the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment Social Worker

Level 1 - Grade 9 

Professionalism 
 

• you maintain your professional registration by complying with the requirements of HCPC
• you embed in your practice the professional code of conduct
• you demonstrate a commitment to values such as honesty, respect and integrity in your practice and in your communication with children and families, communities, colleagues and other stakeholders
• you consistently provide a high quality service
• you model behaviour that positively promotes best practice
• you present information and confidently in informal and formal meetings including giving evidence in court
• you always positively represent the council
• you have motivation and commitment to practice as a social worker
• you demonstrate an initial understanding of the importance of personal resilience and adaptability in social work
• you understand psychological, social, cultural, spiritual and physical influences on people; human development throughout the life span and the legal framework for practice. You apply this knowledge to your work with individuals, families and communities. You know and use theories and methods of social work practice
• you demonstrate understanding of importance of working as a member of a team and an organisation
• you recognise how your own learning, behaviour and ideas can influence and benefit others and you recognise the impact your own values and attitudes can have on relationships with others
• you understand the importance of seeking the perspectives and views of service users and carers
• you recognise that you will need to deal with conflict and use the authority invested in their role
• you demonstrate an initial understanding of difference and diversity within society and the implications of this for social work practice
• you recognise the contribution of social work to promoting social justice, inclusion and equality

Child centred and outcome focussed approach
 

• you are aware of child-centred approaches and incorporate this widely in your practice
• you have an understanding and application of an outcome focus to your practice and in your planned interventions. You are developing the increasing ability to develop and use SMART outcomes in your planned interventions

Knowledge, critical, reflection, assessment and analysis
 

• you are developing knowledge and practice skills in an evidenced based approach to assessment, support and planning
• you understand and are committed to the need to provide early action
• you recognise behaviours which may indicate disguised compliance, resistance to change, ambivalent or selective cooperation with services
• you are developing the skills to be able to carry out in-depth and on going family assessment of social need and risk to children with particular emphasis on parental capacity and capability to change; effectively using child observation skills, genograms, ecomaps, chronologies and evidence based tools; and ensuring active child and family participation
• you have an awareness of the recommendations from serious case reviews
• you demonstrate an ability to critically reflect on and learn from your own experience (educational, personal, formal and informal)
• you are able to explain how the family justice system works in England and the role of the child and family social worker within that

Workload management 
 

• you carry a caseload of your own
• you demonstrate workload management skills and develop an increasing ability to prioritise your work independently to meet deadlines
  
• you develop a growing understanding of the service and organisational requirements and increasingly accommodate these into your day-to-day practice
• you hold a range of cases supported by your supervisor. These cover a range of categories & are designed to add to your skills, knowledge & experience. No category will be specifically excluded & will match individual learning and development need

Policy and procedure
 

• you gain an increasing knowledge of the policy and procedures that govern practice within your service area by using the council practice standards, Tri.X policies, interagency DSCB policies and procedures
• you demonstrate compliance with these guidelines

Decision making
 

• you gain an increasing understanding about your role and responsibilities within a statutory organisation
• you are aware of your level of delegated authority and that of others
• you use professional judgement in situations that require your action based on risk and jeopardy to children
• you show an increasing ability to develop autonomy in decision-making within your delegated responsibility and clearly and concisely articulate this to others
• you take responsibility for making the decisions you are able to, based on your knowledge, skills and practice experience

Supervision
 

• you have an awareness and understanding of the Directorate Supervision policy, your responsibilities within it, and its role in helping develop your practice knowledge and skills
• you use formal and informal methods of receiving supervision
• you are called upon to work jointly with colleagues and commissioned partners to achieve outcomes and will occasionally provide support to staff in practice areas where you have understanding and knowledge
• you actively prepare for supervision

Record keeping
 

• you have an awareness of the role of recording in your work (e.g. evidence of involvement and decision making, case audits, legal proceedings and use in complaints) and your responsibilities to keep up-to-date records of your work towards children understanding of their own history
• you understand the law that relates to data protection and confidentiality and adhere to these within practice
• your recording is in line with Directorate policy and will impact on children and young people’s understanding of their own family history

Performance management 
 

• you are gaining an increasing awareness of the performance measures applicable to your service area
• you have awareness of your role and responsibility in meeting targets and expectations that are set for you, and can clearly articulate these if asked
• you are open to receiving feedback on performance and positively reflect on and inform your future behaviour
• you understand your responsibility for ensuring that managers are aware of any areas that could potentially impact on the service of children and families

Risk management 
 

• you have an increasing understanding of your role in the assessment and management of risk to children
• you are increasingly developing your knowledge and skills relating to the abuse and neglect of children and be able to recognise the risk indicators of different forms of harm to children including sexual, physical and emotional abuse and neglect; the impact of cumulative harm
• you take account of harmful practices in specific communities such as female genital mutilation and enforced marriage; and the full range of adult behaviours which pose a risk to children, also recognising the potential for children to be perpetrators of abuse
• you are increasingly developing your ability to critically evaluate theory and research findings and demonstrate informed use in practice of: typical age related physical, cognitive, social, emotional and behavioural development, and the influence of cultural and social factors on child development; the impact of different parenting styles on development; and the impact of loss, change and uncertainty in the development of normative resilience
  
• you have an increasing understanding and are able to explain the impact that: mental ill-health, substance misuse, domestic violence, physical ill-health and disability can have on family functioning and social circumstances
• you are developing an understanding of policy and procedures in risk management and are conversant with interventions in managing risk to children. Through informal and formal supervision you will share issues of risk and jeopardy appropriately with your line manager and seek support and guidance in managing this

Interventions and models of care
 

• you have practice awareness and understanding of the models of intervention appropriate to your work role and responsibility
• you are developing skills in building purposeful, effective relationships with children and families
• you demonstrate an appropriate level of skill in evidence based, effective social work approaches
• your interventions are child-centred and outcome focussed
• you are developing your skills to communicate clearly and sensitively with children of all ages and abilities, their families and other professionals in ways which are engaging, motivating and respectfully challenging
• you are developing skills to engage with people even when they are perceived to be angry, distressed, hostile or resistant to change