Children's social care offers a range of teams and services to support children, young people and families to lead healthy and fulfilling lives such as social care practitioners, social workers and support workers.

We use a child-centred practice model. All staff are offered training and support to embed this into their work with children and their families.

Our teams include:

• the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), who work with health and police colleagues to quickly help or refer vulnerable children to the right service
• assessment teams, who assess children and provide short term interventions where appropriate
• the out of hours team, who help children and families in crisis outside of normal working hours
• fostering teams, including recruitment, assessment and training of new carers or assessments of private fostering arrangements
• a child health and disability team
• a team who works with young people between 16 and 25, who are due to leave care
• a family assessment and contact service
• Dorset Combined Youth Justice Service, who work with children and young people who have committed an offence

Along with our employee benefits and support, we offer social care staff:

• a personalised induction with online and in-person training, shadowing, and mentoring
• a safe, manageable workload with continuous support
• continued professional development (CPD) with training and reflective practice, in partnership with Bournemouth University
• regular one to one supervision and reviews for professional growth
• a one-off £3,000 payment (pro-rata) for experienced social workers

Assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE)

It is an exciting time to work for us. We have recently received an Ofsted rating of good for our children’s social care and we are embedding our new practice framework centred upon the principles of restorative and trauma informed practice which is reflected in the training offer.

We are passionate about providing a supportive learning environment for our newly qualified social workers (NQSWs) within children’s services.

Our ASYE programme will guide you through the initial stages of your career journey offering opportunities to develop your practice in a role within one of our varied social work teams. You will join with a cohort of newly qualified practitioners who will travel with you throughout your ASYE journey, providing peer support and group learning.

Each newly qualified social worker can expect:

• mentoring, support and assessment from an experienced consultant social worker within the workforce development team
• a robust, two-week training induction programme covering practical skill development and building understanding of best practice within the council .
• monthly group learning and development days with the wider NQSW cohort
• co-allocations and shadowing opportunities
• a protected caseload (limited to maximum of 10 children/carers during the initial three months)
• 12 study days to complete the portfolio which is assessed against the DfE Knowledge and Skills Statement (KSS)
• At least fortnightly supervision for the duration of ASYE, split between assessor and team manager (weekly during initial six weeks)

Monthly training days

All newly qualified social workers are provided with the opportunity to attend protected development days. These offer an exciting opportunity to share experiences, develop new knowledge, reflect on practice and learn from one another. Guest speakers are also invited to offer input into specialised areas of practice.

Support and assessment

In addition to the support offered through training, managers and team colleagues, NQSWs are allocated to a consultant social worker who will provide mentoring and assessment during the ASYE. The assessor will facilitate regular reviews, undertake direct observations of practice, and provide the overall recommendation on fitness to practice. NQSWs can expect practical support and guidance to promote their skills and confidence.

Consultant social workers provide reflective supervision fortnightly for first six weeks, and monthly thereafter. This is in addition to management case supervision undertaken by line managers. These sessions are tailored to the learning and development needs of the individual, enabling protected time and space to critically reflect and embed the principles of best practice.

Induction

Our comprehensive induction will welcome and orientate you to children’s services before joining your team. The training focuses on developing the skills and knowledge you have gained through your qualifying programme whilst proving you with an understanding of what best practice looks like.

Upcoming recruitment

Our next cohort will start in September 2025 and recruitment will be in March to April 2025. Look out for job adverts in March on our jobs website.

For more information on the ASYE please visit:

• ASYE
• Assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE)