Early Permanence Case Progression Officer

at  Oldham Council

People and Place
Ref: 000557
Contract: Permanent
Salary: £49,764 - £52,805 per annum (Grade 10)
Hours: 36.66 per week
Based: Metropolitan Place, Oldham OL1 1TT
Closing Date: Sunday 16th February 2025
Interview: TBC.
Informal Enquiries: Head of Service Halima Sadia and Danielle Wilton
Email: Halima.sadia@oldham.gov.uk and Danielle.wilton@oldham.gov.uk

WHY SHOULD YOU WORK IN OLDHAM?

Officially rated as a ‘Good’ by Ofsted, we are proud of our relentless approach in seeking the very best outcomes for our children and families, and there’s never been a better time to join the team and be part of our success story.
Oldham is a wonderful place of diversity, where people of all cultures come together. This is one our greatest strengths and our social workers enjoy using a breadth of skills and gaining a variety of experiences whilst supporting children and families from diverse backgrounds.
We use systemic practice as our chosen practice model, focusing on building relationships with children and families, understanding the context and family dynamics, and reflectively learning together. 2024 has seen the launch of our new systemic reflective hubs, as our Social Work Academy continues to offer reflective supervisions and tailored support through an innovative 2-year ASYE programme.
We have a strong ethos of ‘Growing our own’, providing a great environment to excel in your social work career.

WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU:

All applicants must meet the relevant criteria, including the right to work in the UK. We do not accept applications from candidates who require sponsorship.
Oldham Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. All roles require strong commitment to securing good outcomes for children, operating in a supportive environment focused on effective delivery, including identifying and responding appropriately to any safeguarding concerns, ensuring the immediate decision making reflects an analysis of risk and protective factors.
The successful applicant will be required to register to the DBS Update Service to enable the Council to undertake rechecks throughout your employment. The cost to register is £13 and can be claimed back upon commencement to the role but will not be refunded if you do not accept the offer of employment.
If you would like support with this application, an interview or interested in looking at any courses that could help with this position please get in touch with Get Oldham Working - Get Oldham Working registration form - Oldham Council
NB. - Any candidate that meets the criteria of our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme and meets the essential criteria of the role, will be guaranteed the first stage of assessment (whether that is an interview or another assessment, as appropriate).

ABOUT US:

Oldham is committed to developing a Co-operative future; one where citizens, partners and staff work together to improve the borough. Anyone joining the council is coming into an ambitious organisation with big plans. We are working hard to build a brighter future for our borough and we need people from a wide range of backgrounds to continue delivering the best for our communities.
The Council has a clear set of Behaviours, which outline how we do business and we share these borough wide with our residents, partners and businesses. Internally we have translated these into five cooperative behaviours which outline the priority areas of focus for all staff at all levels. You can view these Behaviours, along with staff benefits on our Greater.Jobs pages Working for Oldham
For details of how we use your data please see our Privacy Notice
Please note that should a vacancy that has been released for internal or external recruitment be deemed suitable for an at risk employee, it can be pulled back at any point up to the post being formally offered to an external candidate or an internal candidate that is not at risk of redundancy.
Right to Work in the UK

ABOUT THE ROLE:

Are you passionate about ensuring timely and effective planning for children and families? We are looking for a Pre-Proceedings and Permanence Tracking Officer to play a vital role in overseeing assessments, care planning, and legal proceedings within Oldham’s Children’s Social Services. You will play a pivotal role in securing early plans of permanence for our most vulnerable children, including key responsibility for tracking all unborn babies to ensure we are progressing assessments and plans in a timely manner.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES WILL INCLUDE:

• Unborn Baby Tracking: Maintain a robust tracking system to ensure parenting, expert, and kinship assessments are completed on time, preventing delays and ensuring all permanence options are explored before birth.
• Track all children subject to pre-proceedings and care proceedings, ensuring timely completion of assessments, final care planning, and court evidence within required timescales.
• Identify potential delays early and provide proactive support to social work teams to keep cases on track.
• Support and deliver training and development across the service to ensure the quality of all assessments and court work to ensure we are providing the highest quality of evidence which will support the most proportionate plan of permanency.
• You will be responsible for leading and attending all Pre Case Management Hearings and provide regular feedback and contribute to analysing the effectiveness through both local and regional groups.
• Represent Oldham Council at the Greater Manchester PLO sub-groups, ensuring compliance with best practices and supporting Pre-Case Management Hearings.
• You will support early identification of all Kinship Carers as part of your robust tracking systems to ensure children are cared for within their family networks where safe to do so.
• You will be required to provide quarterly reports to senior managers which sets out the progress and early identification of permanency planning, inclusive of comparable regional data.
• This role is essential in improving outcomes for children by ensuring decisions are made without unnecessary delays. If you have strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and a commitment to safeguarding children, we’d love to hear from you