Social Worker-Case Progression Officer

Location Sefton
Salary £25.11 - £29.20 per hour
Discipline

• Provide advice, guidance and support to Social Workers, Team Managers in relation to individual children and young people relating to pre-proceedings and care proceedings work.
• Quality assure the reports and assessments that are to be filed within the court arena.
• Work closely with, and alongside legal services colleagues to promote consistency of practice across Sefton in doing so providing, advice, consultation and ensuring thresholds are consistently applied.
• In conjunction with legal service colleagues share relevant case law, evidence-based research and key changes in legislation and statutory guidance relating to pre-proceedings and care proceedings to promote a culture of best practice within Sefton.
• Work closely with others including CAFCASS, the judiciary and colleagues within the children’s services system to promote a culture of robust and timely care planning for children and young people.

MAIN DUTIES
• Support the children’s services system by providing oversight of pre-proceedings work, including attendance and contributions at Legal Gateway meetings and contributing to the quality-of-care proceedings work including promoting a consistent approach to permanency planning for children and young people.
• Support the development and delivery of training around pre-proceedings and care proceedings including the sharing and dissemination of evidence-based practice, case law and national policy changes.
• Representing the Local Authority at meetings/forums as deemed appropriate by line manager.
• Participate in the formulation of new initiatives including policy, guidance, and practice principles across the system as appropriate and ensure learning is disseminated and informs practice and service development.
• Develop good working relationships with other agencies including Legal Service colleagues and other Local Authorities and colleagues across the Children’s and Families System.
• Quality Assure and management oversight of the plans and assessments that are to be filed.
• Monitor implementation of the court's requirements in care proceedings cases.
• Escalate to the courts if there is a delay that would require the case to be relisted.
• Identify system issues that lead to delays in care proceedings.
• Provide direct coaching /mentoring support to social workers in their preparation of submissions to the court.