Cheshire East Council are currently seeking a passionate and committed Independent Reviewing Officer to join the Safeguarding and Quality Assurance Service to chair child protection conferences and provide scrutiny and quality assurance of all child protection plans made in respect of children. This service is responsible for supporting, monitoring and challenging Children's Social Care and our partners to ensure that children and young people who require child protection plans are being effectively safeguarded against abuse. This involves monitoring and quality assuring the creation and implementation of plans made in respect of these children and contributing to the work undertaken by various agencies whose job it is to provide services to the children, their families and carers.
We are now seeking one full-time Child Protection Independent Reviewing Officer to join our friendly, innovative team, working flexibly across the county, including working from home.
About the role
The Safeguarding and Quality Assurance Service have a critical role in both over-seeing the effectiveness of multi-agency work in keeping our children safe, reducing harm, achieving permanency and in supporting operational colleagues to achieve best practice and outcomes for children. We are ambitious in ensuring that we co-produce with children, young people and their families.
You will be responsible for chairing statutory child protection conferences within timescales for children and young people who may be at risk of significant harm, facilitating the full participation of agencies, parents/carers and children and young people. You will ensure efficient and effective multi-agency working in respect of the child protection plans; constructively challenging actions and interventions that are not delivering the required outcomes for children and contributing to quality assurance measures and performance management systems.
We will look to you to drive up practice standards and service delivery, supporting high performance across Children's Social Care and our multi agency partners. You will be confident in identifying and constructively challenging any practice that does not keep children safe or put their interests first.
About you
You will be passionate about improving the lives and opportunities for children and young people in Cheshire East.
You will be an enthusiastic, experienced social worker with a clear view about what best practice and outcomes look like for children, young people and their families. You will be able to demonstrate a clear understanding of quality assurance and its role in understanding and developing practice. You will also have an excellent record of multi-agency working to ensure the best outcomes are achieved.
You will be committed to working together with people, and passionate about providing excellence in social work that ensures positive lasting outcomes for children and their families. You will be able to demonstrate that you are a dedicated self-starter, and that you can provide quality practice as well as have the ability to work alongside the wider partnership on shared priorities with appropriate independence, scrutiny and challenge. You will embrace change, be able to inspire people, and effectively support and develop the service.
Social Work England registered; interested candidates may already perform the IRO role elsewhere however experienced social workers or managers, with a minimum of 5 years post-qualifying and supervisory experience, who wish to make a change and take up this challenge, would also be considered. The passion for working with children and young people to safeguard their welfare and improve their outcomes is the key requirement for this post so is the ability to talk to the children and find out what their views are which, in turn, assists the IRO in monitoring and reviewing whether what the children experience is good and whether the plans made for them match their needs and address any present risks.
Good verbal and written communication skills are essential, as is the proven ability to effectively chair child-centred multi-agency meetings involving children and families. Knowledge of restorative practice as an operational model of social work practice is desirable.
Our Independent Reviewing Officers have access to a comprehensive programme of professional development and training and high quality reflective supervision. We have worked hard to ensure that our staff can maintain a good work-life balance and we are confident that with the use of flexible working and smart IT devices, you will have the time to make a genuine difference in the lives of children and their families.
Further information
For an informal discussion about the role and recruitment process, please email Lisa Cook, Child Protection and Child in Need Safeguarding Service Manager, at Lisa.cook@cheshireeast.gov.uk with your contact details and I will call you to discuss the role in more detail.
We are now seeking one full-time Child Protection Independent Reviewing Officer to join our friendly, innovative team, working flexibly across the county, including working from home.
About the role
The Safeguarding and Quality Assurance Service have a critical role in both over-seeing the effectiveness of multi-agency work in keeping our children safe, reducing harm, achieving permanency and in supporting operational colleagues to achieve best practice and outcomes for children. We are ambitious in ensuring that we co-produce with children, young people and their families.
You will be responsible for chairing statutory child protection conferences within timescales for children and young people who may be at risk of significant harm, facilitating the full participation of agencies, parents/carers and children and young people. You will ensure efficient and effective multi-agency working in respect of the child protection plans; constructively challenging actions and interventions that are not delivering the required outcomes for children and contributing to quality assurance measures and performance management systems.
We will look to you to drive up practice standards and service delivery, supporting high performance across Children's Social Care and our multi agency partners. You will be confident in identifying and constructively challenging any practice that does not keep children safe or put their interests first.
About you
You will be passionate about improving the lives and opportunities for children and young people in Cheshire East.
You will be an enthusiastic, experienced social worker with a clear view about what best practice and outcomes look like for children, young people and their families. You will be able to demonstrate a clear understanding of quality assurance and its role in understanding and developing practice. You will also have an excellent record of multi-agency working to ensure the best outcomes are achieved.
You will be committed to working together with people, and passionate about providing excellence in social work that ensures positive lasting outcomes for children and their families. You will be able to demonstrate that you are a dedicated self-starter, and that you can provide quality practice as well as have the ability to work alongside the wider partnership on shared priorities with appropriate independence, scrutiny and challenge. You will embrace change, be able to inspire people, and effectively support and develop the service.
Social Work England registered; interested candidates may already perform the IRO role elsewhere however experienced social workers or managers, with a minimum of 5 years post-qualifying and supervisory experience, who wish to make a change and take up this challenge, would also be considered. The passion for working with children and young people to safeguard their welfare and improve their outcomes is the key requirement for this post so is the ability to talk to the children and find out what their views are which, in turn, assists the IRO in monitoring and reviewing whether what the children experience is good and whether the plans made for them match their needs and address any present risks.
Good verbal and written communication skills are essential, as is the proven ability to effectively chair child-centred multi-agency meetings involving children and families. Knowledge of restorative practice as an operational model of social work practice is desirable.
Our Independent Reviewing Officers have access to a comprehensive programme of professional development and training and high quality reflective supervision. We have worked hard to ensure that our staff can maintain a good work-life balance and we are confident that with the use of flexible working and smart IT devices, you will have the time to make a genuine difference in the lives of children and their families.
Further information
For an informal discussion about the role and recruitment process, please email Lisa Cook, Child Protection and Child in Need Safeguarding Service Manager, at Lisa.cook@cheshireeast.gov.uk with your contact details and I will call you to discuss the role in more detail.