Location: Middlesbrough
Pay Rate: £31.74 per hour (Umbrella)
Contract Type: Full-time (37 hours per week), Ongoing locum assignment
Working Model: Hybrid (Office-based in Middlesbrough with flexible working and home visits)
Job Purpose
Middlesbrough Children's Services is seeking an experienced, resilient, and child-focused Qualified Social Worker to join a fast-paced statutory Safeguarding Team.
In this vital role, you will deliver robust statutory interventions for children, young people, and families where significant safeguarding concerns have been identified. Managing a mixed caseload, you will hold responsibility for driving positive change, conducting thorough assessments, and coordinating multi-agency protection plans to ensure children remain safe and achieve optimal life outcomes.
Key Responsibilities & Main Duties
- Caseload Management: Hold and manage a complex statutory caseload comprising Child in Need (CIN) and Child Protection (CP) plans, alongside public law outlines (PLO) and initial care proceedings where required.
- Assessment & Risk Management: Complete high-quality, analytical Child and Family Assessments within statutory timescales. Undertake Section 47 child protection enquiries and evaluate immediate risk factors.
- Multi-Agency Leadership: Lead multi-agency Core Group meetings, strategy discussions, and CIN reviews. Drive collaborative practice alongside schools, NHS health professionals, police, and early intervention networks.
- Court & Legal Proceedings: Prepare clear, evidence-based court statements, care plans, and initial court documentation. Attend and present evidence in Family Court proceedings when care pathways escalate.
- Child-Centered Practice: Ensure the voice of the child is centrally represented in all assessment, planning, and review processes using strengths-based and trauma-informed social work methodologies.
- Compliance & Record Keeping: Maintain up-to-date, precise case records and recording metrics on local authority case management systems, adhering to statutory requirements and departmental quality standards.
Person Specification & Requirements
- Professional Qualification: Degree in Social Work (BA, BSc, MA, DipSW, or CQSW).
- Professional Registration: Active registration with Social Work England (SWE).
- Post-Qualifying Experience: Minimum 2 years post-qualifying experience in statutory Children & Families / Safeguarding services.
- Knowledge & Expertise:
- Deep operational understanding of the Children Act 1989/2004, Working Together to Safeguard Children, and relevant legal frameworks.
- Proven competence in court proceedings, report writing, and statutory assessment tools.
- Strong crisis management, conflict resolution, and communication skills.
- Essential Extras: Full UK Driving License with daily access to a reliable vehicle for community visits. Enhanced DBS check (on the update service).
What Is Offered
- Competitive pay rate of £31.74 per hour (Umbrella).
- Hybrid working arrangements providing balance between office presence, community visits, and remote working.
Randstad Care acts as an employment business when supplying temporary staff and as an employment agency when introducing candidates for permanent employment with a client. Randstad Care is an equal opportunities employer and decisions are made on merits alone.
Did you know that Randstad Care have been awarded a place on the National Clinical Staffing Framework for the NHS? This means we will be able to bring you more opportunities within nursing & midwifery and clinical staffing.
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