Cost of Living Support Icon

Children Services Jobs

Now is a really exciting time to join the Vale of Glamorgan Council. Make a change you won’t regret; join Social Services in the Vale of Glamorgan.

 

We have learnt a lot from the experiences of the last two years which have challenged Children's Social Services to do things differently as we have managed the evolving nature of the pandemic. We are using this learning to inform our preferred operating model going forward and see our workforce and those we support being central to this. 

 

Cwm Col-huw

Care Inspectorate Wales’ most recent inspection of Children Services in the Vale of Glamorgan found -  “an Authority with motivated frontline staff who report job satisfaction, good provision of training and good management support at all levels including regular supervision.”

We have a dedicated workforce, skilled and experienced managers and increasing levels of service user engagement which are positively informing how we do things, delivering a service model that is brave and creative at the same time as being safe and effective.


We have always been ambitious and are developing our services to enhance our ability to enable children, young people and families to be at the heart of everything we do, and practice in an innovative and progressive way.


To enable you to be the practitioner you want to be, we need to get the basics right and we are concentrating on building our service to develop strengths-based approaches, with a consistent framework and shared language that means everybody involved with a child, young person and their family knows exactly what the work is trying to achieve. We recognise our workforce as partners and experts in the development of our service. As a permanent member of staff, you will have the opportunity to become involved in our service development in a range of areas depending on your interest. We work ‘with’ not ‘to’ our workforce, mirroring our systemic approach to practice.


Reassuringly, Care Inspectorate Wales’ most recent inspection of Children’s Services in the Vale of Glamorgan found an Authority with motivated frontline staff who report job satisfaction, good provision of training and good management support at all levels including regular supervision. We are an Authority where Children and Young People Services benefits from strong and committed corporate support and we have excellent relationships with partners. This environment ensures that children are central to the work we do, and our staff are valued for the contribution they make. We do not take this for granted and are committed to retaining and developing these positives.


Our service structure is resourced to deliver on outcomes and we have received further investment in response to increased demand. This reflects a service that knows and can articulate its business, is respected for its expertise and supported by its Council to deliver high quality services to children and families in the Vale of Glamorgan. We value the contribution each member of our workforce makes and are committed to achieving a social work service that is both enjoyable to work for and effective in its delivery.

 

If this inspires you to want to make a difference and be part of our journey here in the Vale of Glamorgan, I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Rachel Evans

Head of Children and Young People Services

 

Salary and Benefits

We recognise that our greatest asset is our workforce. Our pay is competitive, and we enable salary progression through our Social Work Career Progression Framework.

  • Competitive Pay

    The following salaries are per annum for 2022/23, based on working 37 hours per week (pro rata if part time): 

     

    • Social Worker: 

      £32,909 – £41,496

    • Practitioner Manager:

       £42,503 – £45,495

    • Team Manager: £46,549 – £49,950
    • To support recruitment and retention into our Intake and Family Support and Care Planning and Proceedings Teams we pay an annual enhancement of £5,000 to the Social Workers and Managers in those Teams.
  • Manageable case loads and time for direct work 

    In partnership with our workforce, we have reviewed our structure to add capacity and resilience across our teams and enhance levels of support to practitioners and managers.

     

    We have added an additional care and support team, created and recruited to 14 new Social Care Officer posts, expanded our Operational Manager complement to three, further resourced our Business Support Team and have plans to add a number of Support Worker posts across our teams to enhance our ability to mobilise support quickly, in and out of hours.

     

    Workloads are carefully monitored to ensure capacity for direct work with children, young peopls and their families / carers, alongside the completion of core tasks.

  • Flexible work / life balance 

    We recognise the importance of a work and home life balance and offer a range of family friendly policies.

     

    We provide IT equipment that supports agile working and enables working from home and have learnt a lot from the experience of the pandemic in informing our preferred operating model.

  • Staff Appraisal and Development  
    Training Session

    Informed by the employee engagement strategy, the Vale of Glamorgan’s annual appraisal scheme supports a meaningful dialogue between individuals and their line managers. All staff also receive regular formal supervision and access to experienced managers.

     

    We are committed to training and career development, offering a rewarding and progressive career pathway that is open and equitable for all. Newly qualified staff are supported to complete the Consolidation Programme as part of the Continuous Professional Education and Learning (CPEL) framework. The framework also provides a suite of programmes designed to support career pathways for Social Workers in Wales as they develop in practice. We encourage our staff to take opportunities to explore working in other teams as part of enhancing their learning and experience.

     

    Social Workers wishing to seek promotion are encouraged to do so and we have a positive track record for succession planning.

  • Employee Assistance Programme 

    Staff wellbeing is of central importance to the Division and to the wider Council and wellbeing is promoted in all service areas through Wellbeing Champions.

     

    Our Employee Assistance Programme offers emotional and practical support for issues at work and at home. 

     

    The services are available both online and through a Freephone number at any time, day or night. 

     

    Support is available in a number of ways:

     

    • A telephone counselling service, providing advice, information and support 24/7, 365 days of the year.
    • Access to free and impartial information, advice and support, to help you find practical answers to real life questions. Common subjects include family and personal issues, finance/debt management, benefits, employment, childcare provision, health, writing wills and consumer matters.
    • An online health and wellbeing service with a vast resource of regularly updated articles and information designed to help you manage a healthy lifestyle.
    • A website and mobile app which provides free interactive health and personal fitness support.
  • Free parking 
    Staff are currently working from home in the context of the pandemic. Our usual office location benefits from a large car park with free parking and direct access to the local train station.
  • Annual Leave Purchase Scheme 

    As part of a continued commitment to help employees to balance their work commitments with their home life, the Vale of Glamorgan operates a scheme allowing employees to purchase additional annual leave. 

     

    Employees can choose to purchase either 5 or 10 days annual leave (pro rata for those who work part-time).

  • Local Government Pension Scheme  

    We offer membership to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).  The scheme is very secure because its benefits are defined and guaranteed in law. The LGPS is contracted out of State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) and must, in general, provide benefits at least as good as most members would have received had they been members of SERPS.

     

    www.lgpsmember.org 

     
  • Help with the cost of relocating 
    We offer relocation assistance of up to £8,000, to help you move to the Vale of Glamorgan (subject to eligibility).This covers specific removal and relocation costs, which can include removals; lodging or travelling allowance; disconnecting and reconnecting utilities; and certain professional fees (e.g. estate agents and solicitors).

"I relocated to the Vale because I wanted to work for a smaller authority, I had worked for big cities before and wanted an opportunity to work somewhere where I could build relationships with the people I was working with, both professionals and service users." - Amanda, Team Manager

 

To enable you to be the practitioner you want to be, we are concentrating on building our service to develop strengths-based approaches, with a consistent framework and shared language that means everybody involved with a child, young person and their family knows exactly what the work is trying to achieve.

 

We recognise our workforce as partners and experts in the development of our service.

 

As a permanent member of staff, you will have the opportunity to become involved in our service development in a range of areas depending on your interest.  

 

No vacancies?

Contact us at any time to express an interest. 

 

Please note: You need to be currently qualified as a Social Worker.

 

Lucy Treby, Service Development Officer