We dropped in on a team meeting of the North 1 children’s services team to get their thoughts on what it’s really like to work as a social worker for South Gloucestershire Council.
Fay: “The best thing about working here is the team ethos and the support available. Last Friday we had a crisis with one of our cases. Everyone has their own cases and priorities, but there is a great team identity where we support each other and so all pitched in to help resolve the immediate issues for the child.”
Ellie: “We’re also a very stable team. All of the team managers and seniors across the service are permanent, experienced and have been in post for some time, which means staff also tend to stick around, including a number of us, like Fay, who having joined as agency have switched to take up permanent positions with us.”
Meet the team at our open day
We’re always keen to hear from talented, ambitious and committed social work professionals, so if you share our passion for delivering the best support for children, we’d love to hear from you.
Visit our recruitment website to hear from more of our staff, or if you’d like to talk to some of them in person, join us at our recruitment open event at our offices in Yate on 13 September.
Ali: “It is a great environment for a newly qualified. Management is very committed to structured supervision with a mentor and manager providing support during first year in employment. Looking ahead there is also good career progression with staff recognised for their efforts.”
Fay: “There are challenges, but I think the management team recognises these and are committed to doing all that can be done to ensure we can focus on the needs of the children and families we work with. This comes from the top, where the Head of Service knows everyone’s name and takes time to talk to us about the issues we face.”
Gemma: “Unlike at other authorities I’ve worked at, here we have a dedicated business support team and we’re very much looking forward to the introduction of new IT systems, which will start to be implemented shortly.”
Petros: “It’s a great place to work; the mixed geography of rural and Bristol fringe means there is variety to our work, but because it is a relatively small council, we get to know the key staff, the independent review officers and the schools and other partner organisations we work with.
“We’re a busy team, but at the same time, our caseloads are manageable and with the strong team ethos, we never feel like we’re on our own.”
Hear from more of our staff
On our new recruitment website a number of staff talk honestly about what it’s like to work in the children’s services team at South Gloucestershire Council. Click on the images to read their stories.
A great place to live and work
With excellent road and rail links, South Gloucestershire is one of the best connected areas in the country.
Our offices are easily accessible from Bristol, Bath, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Wales. As we are situated so close to Bristol, many of our staff choose an urban lifestyle, living in the city, whilst having an easy journey to work, travelling against the flow of commuting traffic.
Equally, South Gloucestershire also has a number of villages and quiet towns providing those looking for a more unhurried pace of life with easy access to countryside and green, open spaces.
And with Bristol, Bath and the Cotswolds all right on our doorstep, there are plenty of activities on offer outside of work, whatever your interests might be.
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
Instagram