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Return to Practice - Social Worker, Children and Families

Employer
Essex County Council
Location
England, Essex, Chelmsford
Salary
£32408 - £36101 per annum
Closing date
12 Feb 2025
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Job Details

Return to Practice - Social Worker, Children and Families

Permanent, Full Time or Part Time

£32,408 rising to at least £36,101 post re-registration (pro-rata for part-time roles)

Location: Various locations across Essex

Working Style: Community-based worker

Closing Date: 9th February 2025

Building on the success of our previous Return to Practice programmes, Essex County Council (ECC) are excited to announce that applications are now open for our 2025 Return to Practice Programme.

The programme is specifically tailored for qualified Social Workers aiming to return to practice within our Children and Families (C&F) function. Whether you've been out of practice or your registration has lapsed, this programme could be the perfect opportunity for you.

We are committed to fully supporting your return to Social Work, allowing you to tailor your work schedule to fit your current lifestyle, whether you prefer part-time or full-time hours. Your expertise, passion, and skills as an experienced Social Worker are immensely valued. There's no better time than now to come back to the profession you love!

The support you'll receive will enable you to return to practice with confidence.

  • Roles available in various locations across Essex to suit you, whether you are looking for full-time or part-time.*
  • You will undertake a 6-month training and coaching programme, offered by our award-winning Essex Social Care Academy (ESCA) to gain your re-registration evidence.
  • You will receive the support you need from work buddies, mentors and Practice Educators during the training period.
  • You will have a guaranteed role within ECC upon successful completion of the training programme and probationary period.
  • We will pay your restoration and registration fees with Social Work England.
  • You will have access to our bespoke wellbeing service specifically designed for those working in Social Care.
  • You will be in paid employment and enrolled into the Essex Pension scheme from your first day.

*The availability of roles will depend on business need. If we are unable to meet your preference, we will do our utmost to find you a suitable position.

Our Return to Practice Programme is crafted to help qualified Social Workers regain their confidence, experience, and knowledge, enabling them to make a meaningful impact on the residents of Essex once again. You will receive operational work placements, comprehensive coaching, mentoring, and the support needed to rebuild your skills and return to work. As part of this programme, you'll collaborate with skilled and dedicated colleagues who share your commitment to empowering people to achieve and maintain maximum choice and control over their lives.

You can find more information about the programme and hear from some of our previous Returnee's and our Executive Director of Children & Families by clicking here .

If you are looking to Return to Social Work or Occupational Therapy for our Adult Social Care (ASC) function, please click here .

With us you can:

  • Make your career work for you with flexible working options.
  • Access the support you need with employee support and wellbeing services.
  • Access a wide range of learning and development opportunities.
  • Enjoy 26 days annual leave + bank holidays (and the option to purchase extra!)
  • Join the generous Local Government Pension Scheme.
  • Join our Employee Support Networks.
  • Make the most of our employee reward scheme with discounts for hundreds of well-known brands.
  • Contribute to the Essex community and be proud of the impact of your work.

To be eligible for our Return to Practice Programme, you must:

  • Be qualified and previously registered as a Social Worker, either with Social Work England (SWE) or their predecessor, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
  • Be an experienced Social Worker and have completed your Assessed and Support Year in Employment (ASYE).
  • Not have been removed from the register due to one of the offences listed in SWE's registration rules.
  • Not have been subject to a removal order within the last five years - If you were removed from the register more than five years ago, you must not have made an unsuccessful attempt to re-register in the past 12 months.
  • Meet the eligibility criteria as set by Social Work England. Further details can be found at: Restoration guidance - Social Work England .

The role requires you to be mobile throughout a wide operational area including travelling around the county of Essex and beyond, transporting service users and their belongings and to be able to do so in an emergency. Driving licence and car or ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means is essential.

We are a Disability Confident Leader: we are committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process.

What to do next:

To register your interest in our Return to Practice Programme, please click on the 'Apply' button to upload your CV. Once we have received your application, we will be in contact to discuss your requirements and answer any questions you may have.

Alternatively, if you would like to find out further information or request a call, please contact Hayley Bincalar at work.placements@essex.gov.uk .

About Children and Families within ECC:

To hear more about us, please visit: Children and Families .

Please take a look at our 'No Magic' Children & Families video.

Why Essex?

Essex County Council (ECC) is one of the largest and most dynamic local authorities in the UK and we look after a large and diverse geographical region of the country.

Essex covers over 1,420 square miles and has over 1.8 million residents in a range of coastal, rural and urban communities. ECC has a very successful track record of delivering transformational change in the public sector and has worked hard to deliver better quality at lower cost. We have an ambitious transformation agenda - one with the scope to reach every part of the council. We are changing the way we think, the way we work, and the ways in which we deliver our services to support our residents.

We are committed to becoming a place where individuals, partners and communities feel proud to play their role and genuinely want to belong. We're immensely proud of our flexible working options. Read more about us here.

We're also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service .

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

Additional Information:

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community .

Follow us on Facebook , X, Instagram and LinkedIn . Further details can be found on our careers page .

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Pay and Reward | Our Ways of Working | About Us | Organisation Behaviours

Company

Why Essex?

Essex County Council covers 1,300 square miles from Constable Country to the Thames Estuary. From the dynamic M11 corridor to the traditional seaside resorts of Clacton and Walton. England’s oldest town, Colchester, and two of its newest – Basildon and Harlow – are right here. Along with the City of Chelmsford, the county town, they form our major population centres. It means real choice and makes Essex the ideal place for your career.

We celebrate difference and work to ensure that no one is disadvantaged when accessing services, employment or public life in Essex. We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interviewing all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. We’re also committed to interviewing all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Free to deliver big

We recruit creative, ambitious, talented people, and free them up to think – and deliver – big.

We’ve made substantial changes in recent years, reorganising how we’re structured and how we work, so we can protect the most vulnerable and enable our economy to grow. Join us and you’ll be trusted to take control, manage change and make a lasting impact. You’ll be able to call upon external partners and suppliers to help you deliver. More importantly, talented, trailblazing colleagues – including many industry-leaders – will be right by your side to share ideas, knowledge and experience.

Find out how Essex County Council is changing, and how you’ll fit in.

Employee Recognition & Engagement

Here are some of the things we have in place to give our employees a sense of belonging, involvement and recognition. 

Employee Networks:

  • Ethnically Diverse Employee Network (EDEN)
  • Carers Forum 
  • Christian Network 
  • Disabled Employees Network 
  • Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Network
  • Parents Network 
  • Women’s Network
  • Men’s Network
  • Young People and Apprentice Network. 

You Make The Difference’ Awards - giving employees the opportunity to nominate individuals or teams who go above and beyond for our residents.

Employee Surveys – where we listen to the voices of our people and take action on what we hear.

Employee Panels – giving you the opportunity to feed back on a range of policies and initiatives, network with colleagues and influence far-reaching changes.

Learning and Development

We have developed diverse learning opportunities to support our people to grow both personally and professionally. This includes:

  • A large suite of online training and tools
  • Dedicated learning events such as ‘LearnFest’ – our flagship annual celebration of learning
  • Apprenticeships for both new and existing colleagues
  • Financial support to achieve professional qualifications
  • Support from subject matter experts 
  • The opportunity to share your own expertise to up-skill colleagues
  • Leadership and executive coaching
  • Learning on demand
  • Career pathways

Rewards and Benefits

  • Family Friendly flexible Working
  • Generous holiday and special leave allowances (including the option to purchase extra holiday)
  • Local Government Pension Scheme
  • Life Assurance of three times annual salary
  • Volunteering leave (up to 4 days per year)
  • Employee wellbeing and counselling
  • Travel discounts & season ticket loans
  • Learning and Development opportunities/coaching & mentoring
  • Payment of professional fees for approved professions
  • Eye care vouchers
  • Lease car scheme (dependent on business needs)
  • Up to £8,000 relocation package (subject to terms and conditions)

You’ll also have access to MyReward, a unique platform for Essex County Council employees to gain various discounts and savings.

Your Wellbeing

At Essex County Council we are committed to supporting the wellbeing of our people. We work closely with our employees to provide wellbeing support based on their needs. We strive to enable the right environment, conditions, and behaviours so individual and organisational wellbeing is embedded in everything we do.

Join us and get Inspired to do More.

Company info
Website
Telephone
0845 743 0430
Location
County Hall
Market Road
Chelmsford
Essex
CM1 1QH
United Kingdom

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