Independent Reviewing Officer

The role

Are you someone who is motivated in achieving good outcomes for children in care?

Do you enjoy building and sustaining relationships with children and young people?

Are you passionate about empowering children and young people to have their voices heard?

Well, Wandsworth Children Services are Recruiting!!!

We are looking for an Independent Reviewing Officer to join us in the Children’s Planning and Review Service.

“IROs allow young people to have a voice and to be able to represent their thoughts and ideas in terms of their meetings.”

16-year-old, CLA

Our goal

In Wandsworth our goal is to hear the voice of every children we look after. We are committed to working creatively with children and young people to truly express how they experience being in our care. Their feedback influences and shapes what we need to do to offer them the very best service.

Participation is the key to the success in delivering the very best outcomes for children in care. Alongside a team of dedicated IROs, Wandsworth has a great participation programme with many of our children engaged with our Children Living in Care Kouncil (CLICK), which has continued to provide a great community for our children even through the recent challenges of working through the pandemic. 

With the support and vision of our new Deputy Director, Nick Pendry, we are developing and introducing new ways of working together with families and recently launched Mind of My Own apps for all children and young people we are working with.

What do our IROs do?

As an Independent Reviewing Officer, you are in a privileged position to encourage and support children and young people to take the lead in how their meetings are held.

An Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) is appointed to review the progress for children for every child looked after.

• We quality assure social work practice and ensure that planning for children is of a high standard.
• We listen to our children so that we can advocate and provide challenge on their behalf. 
• We keep up to date and in touch with our children between their reviews.
• We contribute to permanency planning, placement stability and other key meetings for children as well as sharing our expertise to our colleagues.  
• We promote and develop positive working relationships with Social Workers, Personal Advisors, Managers, and other stakeholders including our designated leads for children who are looked after and CAFCASS children’s guardians.

What are we looking for?

As corporate parents we want all our children to have opportunities so they can thrive.

You will be proactive in promoting their physical health, emotional well-being, education, identity and achieve permanence and support them to transition into successful, independent adults.

You will be involved in helping children to co-produce innovation and change, particularly through the Wandsworth CLICK.

You will need to be a Qualified Social Worker with at least five years’ post qualifying experience, be registered with the SW England and have the following experience and skills:

• Excellent communication skills with children, young people, parents and carers.  
• A thorough working knowledge of the legal framework relating to children who are looked after including Children Act 1989, the Care Planning Placement and Case Review Regulations 2010 and the duties and responsibilities of the IRO as set out in the IRO Handbook (2010) as well as adoption and fostering regulatory frameworks.
• A clear understanding of the key issues and vulnerabilities for children who are looked after
• Extensive statutory experience as a children’s Social Worker and preferably with management experience at Assistant Team Manager or above level;
• Have the ability and experience to effectively challenge to ensure best outcomes for children, including effective escalation. 
• Effectively contribute to children’s meetings, training and provide quality assurance leadership.  

How to apply?

To apply complete an application outlining how you meet the specific requirements of the role. Please refer to the attached full Job Description/Person Specification.

For an informal discussion contact Indeep Sethi on 020 8871 7859 or by email Indeep.Sethi@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk 

Benefits

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working including, working from home, compressed or part-time hours, term time only, job shares and other arrangements. Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore. We also offer a generous holiday allowance of 39 paid days (pro rata) including bank holidays and a wide range of learning and development opportunities.

In addition, we offer a comprehensive range of staff benefits such as membership of the Local Government pension scheme, childcare vouchers, new technology scheme, interest-free loans on annual travel cards, discounts with many leisure activities, restaurants, shops and other establishments.

Indicative Recruitment Timeline

• Closing Date: 11:59pm on Sunday 25^th April 2021
• Interview Date(s): Week commencing 17^th May 2021

Useful Information: The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Please note that the advertised dates for interviews may change due to the current Covid-19 situation. If they do, we will let you know as soon as possible. Your health and wellbeing is our top priority. Should you become unwell due to Covid-19 during the recruitment process we would very much appreciate receiving an update from you as soon as possible.

Equality Statement

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

Important Information

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. It replaces the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).