Pay Rate: £34.45 per hour

Gateshead Council is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Qualified Social Worker to join our dedicated Children's Social Care team as an Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO). This is a pivotal role, offering the opportunity to champion the voices and rights of children in our care, ensuring their plans are robust, child-centred, and lead to the best possible outcomes.

As an IRO, you will provide independent oversight and challenge to ensure high standards in care planning and child protection. You will work at the heart of our service, ensuring children's voices are heard, their plans are robust, and their safety and wellbeing are prioritised.

Key Roles and Responsibilities:

• Chair statutory reviews for children in our care, ensuring plans are child-centred, outcome-focused, and in line with the IRO Handbook and relevant legislative requirements.

• Develop positive and meaningful relationships with children and young people, ensuring their views and wishes are central to decision-making and planning.

• Oversee and scrutinise care planning from the point of entry into care, promoting stability and permanence for children.

• Act as a Conference Chair for Child Protection Conferences, ensuring plans to protect children are realistic, timely, and effective.

• Hold partner agencies to account in their corporate parenting and safeguarding responsibilities, promoting best outcomes for children.

• Provide robust challenge where necessary to ensure that services and interventions meet the needs of children, and evidence the impact of your interventions.

• Monitor the effectiveness of plans between conferences and reviews, identifying and addressing any drift or delay.

• Maintain clear, comprehensive, and analytical records using the council's IT systems.

• Contribute to the wider development and high standards of social work practice, promoting relational and trauma-informed approaches across the service.

• Act as a consistent and trusted point of support in a child's life, advocating for their interests.

• Follow formal escalation processes to raise concerns with senior managers or Cafcass if significant failures in the care plan are identified.

Key Requirements:

• You must be a Qualified Social Worker.

• Social Work England registration is essential.

• An updated Enhanced DBS is required.

• Significant post-qualifying experience in Children's Social Care, particularly within Child Protection and Looked After Children services.

• Extensive knowledge of relevant legislation, statutory guidance (including the IRO Handbook), and best practice models in children's social care.

• Strong leadership, communication, and analytical skills.

• Proven experience in chairing complex multi-agency meetings and managing professional challenge effectively.

• Current driving licence and access to a vehicle (or suitable mobility support).

This is an exceptional opportunity to join a high-performing and supportive team within Gateshead Council, playing a central role in delivering excellent outcomes for children and young people.

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.