Oxfordshire County Council

Oxfordshire County Council is committed to improving children’s outcomes and that’s why we have transformed the way our frontline social workers support vulnerable families.

At a time when many local authorities are facing financial cuts, Oxfordshire has made significant investment into children’s social care and in November 2020 implemented the Family Solutions Plus practice model. This way of working is relationship and strengths based, with motivational interviewing at its heart.

Oxfordshire children’s social care supports preventative work with families too, with a well established and dedicated early help service, which delivers a range of evidence-based interventions to families in the localities where they live.

Adult-facing practitioners, working with parents with mental health, domestic abuse and substance misuse support needs, are embedded in our social work teams, so we can provide the right intervention at the right time.

It is important to us that we ensure that our staff feel valued and invested in, by honouring and recognising their commitment, hard work and successes. We understand the impact of trauma on staff and promote a culture of wellbeing and organisational resilience, where people are supported and enabled to do their work and flourish.

Social Care Academy

Our Social Care Academy is for everyone, from students wanting to enter the profession and those who are newly-qualified, to experienced practitioners and those aiming to become managers and leaders of the future.  Our Social Care Academy is designed to make Oxfordshire a centre of excellence for children’s social care, improve outcomes for children and families and make it a place where social workers can excel and grow – just like our two Deputy Directors who started as a social worker and as a team manager at Oxfordshire. You can find out more here:  https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/council/working-oxfordshire-county-council/working-childrens-social-care/social-care-academy

 

Social Work Professional Development Centre

Our Social Work Professional Development Centre ensures our Newly Qualified Social Workers have a scaffolded and supported learning experience. They hold a protected case load and spend increasing time with our Family Solutions Plus social work teams throughout their first year of practice. The Social Work Professional Development Centre will treat each Newly Qualified Social Worker as an individual, with a development plan based on individual learning needs, and regular reviews.

ASYE programme

Our comprehensive ASYE programme offers newly qualified social workers a high-quality induction and probation programme that provides plenty of opportunity to build on the learning acquired whilst studying for their degree in social work. Our programme has been nationally recognised by Skills for Care. You can find out more about our ASYE here: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/council/working-oxfordshire-county-council/working-childrens-social-care/assessed-and-supported-year

We know that working in children’s social care can be incredibly demanding – and rewarding. We are committed to ensuring that our social care workforce has the right developmental and clinical support to enable workers to be safe and well in their work and to continue providing high quality support to children and families.

Our benefits for Social Workers include:

• Manageable caseloads in a service rated ‘good’ by Ofsted. Not only is it important that you love what you do, but it’s also important to be able to manage your workload and devote the right amount of attention to each family. Being one of 16 authorities rated ‘good’ by Ofsted, as a Social Worker, we try to ensure that you get the support you need.
• Flexible working. We do all we can to ensure that every one of our employees has a healthy work-life balance. Our agile working policy means you can work across council sites or from home to suit your needs and we support flexible working hours. You will be provided with a laptop, mobile phone and MS Teams to facilitate agile working.
• Competitive pay and holiday. We know that as a social worker, you do an invaluable job. We offer competitive pay and a generous holiday allowance starting at 29 days per year (plus bank holidays) to help demonstrate how much we value the work you do. We also offer an annual leave purchase scheme.
• Relocation expense. We know moving is expensive, so we offer £8,000 financial assistance to support your move.
• A caring and supportive culture. We are passionate about keeping people safe, well and independent, whilst making a positive contribution. We host regular listening events and have a well at work scheme, which focuses on health and wellbeing. There are also yoga classes, sports teams and more.
• Clinical support; our team of psychologists offer clinical consultation for social workers about families, and reflective practice sessions focused on practice themes and challenges.
• Professional sabbaticals . To encourage and develop excellent practice at Oxfordshire, we offer ‘professional sabbaticals’ of up to six weeks for social workers in our Family Solutions Plus teams to undertake a research project in an area of practice that needs further development. This allows social workers the time for to undertake in-depth research and explore how the findings can be implemented within our services, continuing the cycle of constant improvement and development within our team.
• Other benefits include: Childcare vouchers, cycle to work scheme, staff discount scheme for a range of retailers, holidays, insurance, restaurants, health & leisure activities and rail travel. We also offer a generous pension package of up to 20% employer contribution.

Benefits:  Benefits for Children's Social Workers | Oxfordshire County Council

Latest jobs: Oxfordshire County Council Children’s Social Care Careers

Working in Children’s Services in Oxfordshire:

Working in children's social care | Oxfordshire County Council

Visit us on our stand to find out more about how the Family Solutions Plus model will positively impact on the workload of our Social Workers, learn more about our fantastic AYSE offering and speak to members of our Children’s Services team to find out what it’s like working with us in Oxfordshire!