Social workers play a vital role within our communities, and Bridgend County Borough Council is keen to recruit qualified professionals to join its busy assessment and safeguarding teams.
The council is looking for social workers who will thrive on quickly responding to local children and families, often with complex needs or where there are early child protection concerns.
They will also work closely with existing team members in their support and intervention for those with longer term needs.
Councillor Alana Davies, Bridgend County Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “This authority places tremendous value on its social workers who contribute to making a real and positive difference to children and families in our communities.
“We’ve listened to our service users and our staff to learn what makes our services better for all. We are confident that recent changes we have made will enable us to continue to improve our performance and outcomes for children.”
Lucy Bagnall, age 23, is a newly qualified social worker at Bridgend County Borough Council. She joined the authority last summer after completing her BA (Hons) Degree in Social Work and is enjoying a successful career with one of the council’s four Safeguarding Children teams.
Lucy said: “I’ve been working in Bridgend for just over six months now and the experience has been so valuable. As well as my personal and professional development, it’s really improved my confidence and knowledge.
“As a newly qualified practitioner, I have a protected and considerate caseload, but I’ve also been given the opportunity to work on more complex and difficult cases with the support of more experienced team members. I’ve appreciated that confidence because it’s allowed me to improve my knowledge and experience in a hands-on but managed way.
“Of course there are continuous challenges within children’s social work but with a supportive team I’ve found it rewarding and exciting. I’ve already been on numerous training days funded by the council and I’ve also attended a training programme for newly qualified social workers which gathered feedback on our experience, wants and needs. To Bridgend’s credit it is using that feedback to improve the already positive experience for newly qualified social workers in the future.
“I have found working for Bridgend County Borough Council very positive and enormously interesting. I think the fact that I am making a difference to the community and influencing the lives of vulnerable children in such a supportive and positive way is a wonderful vocation.”
For more information please contact Michelle Brimble on 01656 642346. The closing date for posts 10 February 2010.
To download an application form and job pack, visit www.bridgend.gov.uk/jobs, email [email protected] or telephone the Recruitment Team on 01656 643205 (24 hour recruitment line) quoting the appropriate reference number.
