Job summary
- Main area
- Psychological Health Services
- Grade
- Band 6
- Contract
- 18 months (Fixed term contract)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 387-WC9870-DA
- Employer
- University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Bristol Royal Hospital for Children
- Town
- Bristol
- Salary
- £38,682 - £46,580 pa pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 28/09/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Family Support Social Worker
Band 6
As an organisation we recognise the value of a healthy work-life balance. When applying, speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate flexible working, so your work life fits around your home life.
We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates as they are under-represented within the Trust.
Click on this link to find out about our values https://www.uhbw.nhs.uk/p/about-us/our-trust-values
Job overview
We are looking for a flexible, innovative team player to be the Family Support Social Worker for a fixed-term service development project within the Children and Young People’s Gender Service (CYPGS) in the South West. The project involves working with parents and schools to provide NHS guidance in supporting children with gender incongruity or gender-related distress. The role will involve travel around the South West of England to community, school and primary care settings, but not lone working. It will also include data collection and management in line with project delivery protocols. This role will be part of a team that assesses need and provides information and support to parents and professionals. Fixed-term family support is part of the project so the ability to build good working relationships with parents is essential. You will be part of the CYPGS and Psychological Health Services (PHS).
PHS is an award-winning department, recognised for a commitment to leadership and the development of Trust-wide psychological services. As a university teaching trust, research and quality improvement form part of UHBW's mission to support excellence in delivery of patient care, alongside education and applied research of the highest quality.
In order to support individual development, growth of expertise and service priorities, staff can benefit from opportunities to work into other clinical areas through discussion and planning with their line manager and head of service.
Main duties of the job
• To be a competent, knowledgeable, and visible social worker within the CYPGS (SW), and specifically the service development project.
• To provide high-quality evidence-based safeguarding practice, for children, young people and adults at risk.
• Using knowledge of safeguarding legislation, statutory guidance, and policy to ensure appropriate safeguarding support to children and young people, their families and the CYPGS (SW).
• Understand and guide others in the legal frameworks that apply to children.
• Work with the clinical MDT to ensure child-centered holistic support is identified and provided for family support and safeguarding concerns and work with multi-agency teams in other services, as necessary.
• To develop and implement safeguarding processes for the project and operate within the UHBW systems to safeguard children and young people, including direct liaison with patient’s families and staff.
• To facilitate excellent communication and consistency across the project and the service in terms of safeguarding support, including ensuring the regular briefing of the project team and the Deputy Director of Safeguarding (Children) on key safeguarding issues and family support themes.
Working for our organisation
University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is one of the largest acute Trusts in the country, bringing together a combined workforce of over 13,000 staff and over 100 different clinical services across 10 different sites, serving a core population of more than 500,000 people across South West England. UHBW has been rated by the CQC as ‘Good’ overall and our staff are proud to deliver excellent care to the people of Bristol, Weston and beyond. As a forward- thinking multi-award winning Trust and a digital exemplar committed to improving patient care, our world-leading research and innovations are having a positive local and global impact. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone’s throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer. UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
(main duties continued)
• Be able to adjust the support offered considering any learning needs of service users.
• Where appropriate support staff to professionally challenge the analysis of others where safeguarding concerns need further escalation.
• Facilitate good standards of record keeping, report and assessment writing in line with own regulatory bodies and other guidelines.
• Able to provide clear analysis of risk to inform information sharing and referral where concerns are raised for children who are patients or are the children of family members or adult patients.
• Attend as required, strategy meetings, case conferences, core groups, appropriate multi-disciplinary team meetings and any other appropriate meetings, as a support to staff or as a representative of the Trust.
• Share advanced understanding of the additional vulnerabilities of children in care, care experienced and children on Child Protection Plans face and the role of health staff in assessing risk and contributing to safety plans.
• Assist the Clinical Project Lead, as part of the project team and Deputy Director of Safeguarding (Children) in implementing the recommendations of the Cass Report in relation to safeguarding best practice in Children and Young People’s Gender Services.
• As per Working Together 2023, where identified, work as the lead professional at early help and Child in Need level for children receiving a service from the CYPGS (SW).
For a more detailed job description, main responsibilities and person specification, please refer to the job description document attached to this vacancy.
Person specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential criteria
- Registered Social Worker
- Evidence of professional development, which meets regulatory requirements
Desirable criteria
- Training in child development
Knowledge and Experience
Essential criteria
- Knowledge of the legislation, statutory guidance and best practice for child safeguarding and child protection processes
- Experience of working with families and children under statutory processes
- Experience of assessing needs and risks in family settings and relating to risk outside the home, analysing these to develop plans to mitigate harm and improve outcomes for children
- Experience of developing other staff/junior staff and supporting their practice from novice to competent practitioner
- Experience of representing the child’s voice in decision-making processes
- Experience of preparing reports for child safeguarding and child protection processes at Section 17 and 47 of the Children Act 1989
- Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team
- Excellent knowledge of current local and national safeguarding issues for adults and children
- Experience of involvement in research or audit
Aptitudes
Essential criteria
- Flexible and adaptable in a high-pressure environment
- Can translate safeguarding practice across health and community settings
Skills and Abilities
Essential criteria
- Ability to communicate well and build good working relationships with multi-disciplinary colleagues and other professionals
- Ability to analyse assessment information and identify risks of harm and abuse holding the best interests of the child at the centre of all decisions
- Ability to translate research evidence and policy into training and development for a range of staff
- Ability to work for and as part of a team. Clear understanding of autonomy, boundaries and escalation in relation to safeguarding roles
- Ability to manage an unpredictable working day and reprioritise activity at short notice
- Ability to support staff through safeguarding supervision and structured reflective practice to improve the outcomes for children
- Skilled in using Microsoft Office applications to support recording and analysis of service information (i.e. Excel) and development of training material
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Eloise Wyke
- Job title
- Programme Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
If you have problems applying, contact
- Address
-
United Bristol Healthcare Trust
Bristol Royal Infirmary
Marlborough Street
Bristol
Success
BS2 8HW
- Telephone
- 01173425000 (option 1)
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