At Bradford MDC, we want every child to have the best possible start in life. To achieve that vision, we have made significant changes to our Children’s Services in recent years. The aim is to help social workers in Bradford do the job they were trained to do – safely, securely and with specialist support.

Do you want to join us on our ongoing improvement journey?

Right now, our Problem Solving Court Team are looking for highly experienced Level 3 Social Workers who can bring commitment, kindness, emotional engagement, respect and, most importantly, heart to Bradford.

Where you can make a difference:

We aim to put children at the heart of all we do – which is only possible if we put children’s social workers at the heart of all we do.

That’s why we guarantee you a manageable caseload and good work-life balance.

We also operate an open-door policy and provide monthly reflective supervision and access to well being support. You will receive a good salary and a comprehensive set of benefits that include parking, pension, payment of professional fees and other council employee incentives. 

Your development as a social worker is important to us too. Progression opportunities within Bradford are excellent, and we’ll make sure you get all the training and support you need to keep moving onwards and upwards in our career.

Above all, we give you the opportunity to bring your skills to one of the most diverse areas of the UK and do the kind of social work you always wanted to - varied, complex, challenging and highly rewarding.

About the role:

The West Yorkshire Problem Solving Court (WYPSC) is an innovative approach to assessing and supporting parents during care proceedings.

The Problem Solving approach is based on a model of practice where designated judges in the WYPSC seek to engage with parents to help them overcome their difficulties and break the destructive cycles of behaviour which impact upon the quality of their parenting and the safety of their children. 

The social work practitioner will become a keyworker for the parents and will be required to co-ordinate and implement intervention plans and complete detailed assessments in relation to their capacity to overcome the problems identified as having a negative impact on parenting capacity.

Early findings from similar models suggest that this approach to care proceedings can be successful in getting parents to engage with and stay in key services leading to more children being able to return home. Where parents do not engage and children cannot return home, quicker decisions are made about permanent placements for them and a greater proportion of parents remain engaged with services than might otherwise have been the case.

The Bradford Problem Solving Court Team is staffed by four dedicated social workers and team manager, managed by the Court Work Service Manager. Together these dedicated workers will advise the Court, devise Intervention Plans and link parents into relevant local treatment and support services.

Objectives of the Service:

• A higher proportion of children will be successfully reunited with their parents compared to established service delivery methods

• Parents are able to access and maintain engagement with services for their identified problems.

• Parents are successful in achieving and maintaining change from their destructive behaviours and lifestyle choices.

• Parents are successful in addressing related psychosocial difficulties (Improved mental health; reduced exposure to domestic abuse; safer and secure housing; improved family planning; reduced parental criminal activity and violence; engaged in work, training or community activity)

• Parents are successful in making safer choices and are less likely to follow a pattern of having successive children removed in recurring care proceedings

• Social Workers within the Problem Solving Court Team will:

• Be passionate about excellent social work practice;

• Hold a DipSW or equivalent qualification and are registered with Social Work England as a qualified social worker; 

• Have at least 2.5 years Social Work experience; 

• Will have an excellent working knowledge of relevant safeguarding legislation and care planning regulations, as well as keeping up-to-date with changes in policy, guidance and research relating to court work and permanence for children; 

• Have excellent verbal and written communication skills and be able to make good decisions based on the information available, ensuring effective relationships with other professionals;

• Be able to provide assessments of parents, their willingness and capacity to engage in therapeutic work, their parenting capacity and, of paramount importance, the safety of their children to the court on a regular basis and work closely with Problem Solving Court colleagues and partners.

• Will have a breadth of experience in working with families within court proceedings, including experience of writing and giving evidence in court’

Closing date: 20th February 2023

Interviews will take place: w/c 27th Feb 2023

Please contact Lauren Thompson or Kelly Davison (Team Managers, Court Team) at lauren.thompson@bradford.gov.uk or kelly.davison@bradford.gov.uk for a confidential discussion. 

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is at the heart of what we do as a Council and the people we support. We have a number of self-directed Staff Networks (Disability, LGBTQ+, Race Equality, Women’s Voice, Working Carers and Young Persons) which assist in providing a voice and support mechanism to colleagues.

The RESPECT Allyship Programme is also available to all staff, which offers opportunity to learn more about the diverse communities & groups, and provides additional benefits and resources to its members. This is part of the RESPECT Campaign, which is the Council’s Internal Equalities Vision for staff and its ambition to build a truly inclusive workforce, where everyone can be their true selves at work.

 An enhanced disclosure check with the Disclosure and Barring Service will be undertaken for this post.

The Code of Practice on the English language requirement for public sector workers, Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016, requires that Councils ensure that all candidates applying for customer facing posts must be assessed in order to establish their fluency in English.

Experienced Social Worker - Problem Solving Court Team: Job Profile