HCL Workforce Solutions is proud to be a primary supplier for the recruitment and management of children’s agency social workers for Sandwell Children’s Trust – we are thrilled to be working as a recruitment partner of choice to deliver quality staff for the trust, and are excited to be able to help spread the message about the work that Sandwell Children’s Trust are doing.

The trust are welcoming applications for Senior Social Workers and Team Managers across a variety of teams – these professionals are critical in helping the Trust provide the best possible services and outcomes for children in the Sandwell district of the West Midlands.

12 Reasons To Choose Sandwell Children’s Trust

A new trust, a new beginning 

Sandwell Children’s Trust was launched in 2018, with children’s services in the area previously having been run by Sandwell Council. Being a fairly new trust lends Sandwell Children’s Trust the advantage of being small enough to be a tight knit unit, but large enough to offer fantastic opportunities. The fresh start has enabled the Trust to be brave with their processes and practices, reset relationships with our regulators and developing the relationship with partners to get the very best for the children and young people of Sandwell. 

A Trust with clear vision and purpose

We expect anyone joining Sandwell to live and breathe the mission – ‘improving the lives of children and young people’. Sandwell works with a goal of putting the child’s voice at the very heart of everything they do – they place a particular emphasis on making sure their purpose of ‘improving the lives of children and young people’ is understood and owned by everyone working in the Trust.

Visible leadership and great management

Sandwell Children’s Trust is proud to have a stable, permanent and committed leadership team that knows the organisation well, and have worked hard to develop a strong, supportive and challenging board, with leaders at all levels connected, visible and approachable. The Trust is chaired by Jacqui Smith, who was previously the UK’s first female Home Secretary.

A learning organisation

Sandwell Children’s Trust works hard to make links with partners and institutions to make sure they are always at the cutting edge of social work practice. They have worked hard to develop a learning offering that is totally inclusive, providing development opportunities for everyone working in the Trust, whatever their role! The Trust holds regular learning events, from small courses to large scale ‘need to know’ events.

Manageable caseloads

Sandwell may be a small trust, but have listened to the local and national social work community that we were listening to staff who had raised that case loads was really important those on the front line. They have worked hard to make sure that social workers have an average of 15-18 cases to allow them to focus on the children and families they are working with, and have commited to lower cases for ASYEs and other roles, to allow them to focus on their development.

Excellent career progression opportunities

Sandwell Children’s Trust aims to offer a clear and supported route to progress, supported by innovative programmes like Frontline and Firstline. They frequently offer secondment and acting up opportunities, allowing social work professionals to develop their experience in other areas across the Trust, really boosting your CV!

Stable and permanent workforce

Sandwell have worked to develop a stable and dedicated workforce that is truly committed to Sandwell. They appreciate that flexibility will be key with a target of 20% agency staff – we are proud to be a master vendor for Sandwell and part of helping them with this journey.
Around 44% of the agency staff that have chosen to work with Sandwell Children’s Trust have stayed for a year or more.

User friendly IT systems

The Trust have made significant investments into improving their IT systems, aiming to ensure that social workers have fit for purpose systems to allow for streamlined work. The Trust have implemented tablets to teams such as the Fostering Panel to streamline their process.

Great accommodation

Flagship offices at the Trust have been refurbished and an agile working policy implemented. Changes have been made to best serve staff and service users at the Trust, including creating a family room for children and young people, and the creation of additional blue badge car parking spaces as required.

A good work/life balance

Many social workers choose locum work for the flexibility it gives them, and Sandwell also supports agile and flexible working where possible whilst balancing the needs of the business.  

Competitive Rewards

Sandwell have worked to really understand the social work marketplace and be in a position to tailor their rewards to set them apart from competitors. Sandwell want to make a compelling case for agency staff to consider becoming permanent, something HCL have helped to facilitate. 

If you locum through HCL Social Care, in addition to the benefits that come with working with a trust such as Sandwell Children’s Trust you will get:

  Weekly payroll
  Competitive rates of pay
  Lucrative referral scheme when you refer Social Work professionals to us! (T&C’S apply)
  Full and part time roles available with a steady stream of new work
  Work with a framework approved agency
  Friendly recruitment consultant ready to help you meet your careers goals
  Dedicated registration team to help you through the compliance process
  FREE mandatory training

Well looked after

Sandwell aims to create a culture of appreciation, offering a range of support for when things are tough and ensuring that thank you is part of everyday language! They have established a range of wellbeing interventions and initiatives that put staff first, from regular blog and contact from the leadership team, support ranging from mental health first aid and counselling to physiotherapy, to staff awards night where teams from across the Trust get together to recognise each other’s achievements. The Trust celebrates diversity, and have set up a Heritage, Ethnicity and Diversity group for staff of black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds and are also represented on the council disability support group and recognised as a Disability Confident Employer.

Interested in taking the next step in your career with Sandwell Children’s Trust?

Call one of our friendly recruitment consultants on 020 7861 8777 (ext 3), request a callback or send us your contact details and CV using our Quick CV Drop, to be kept up-to-date with our new Social Work jobs as they become available.

You can also keep us up to date with your availability online – click here to let us know your availability to work!

 

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