Become a social work super hero

Our court teams sit within the children in care service at Northamptonshire Children’s Trust. Within our team we provide support to children who are subject to legal proceedings, as well as children with a plan to potentially remain long term in our care. We focus on building meaningful relationships with young people, their families and their carers, to ensure that we plan effectively for the future of every child.

Our teams are committed to working hard and achieve permanence in the shortest time possible. Because our court teams are based in the children in care service, our social workers can focus on good care planning, which ensures that the short- and long-term needs of children are met.

We have 11 teams that work across the county, with focused cohorts of children. Our experienced team managers support and develop our social workers, family support workers and administrators in their day-to-day responsibilities and ensure they are equipped to provide the best quality support that they can.

“I love working in the court team because it places the emphasis on thorough assessment and robust social work analysis.”

“The pastoral care is the best I have ever experienced and the opportunities to do real social work and make a real difference to children’s lives at such a crucial and pivotal time is amazing. We are given the trust and resources to act in the best interests of the children, even if that means innovation or thinking outside the box.”

Social work professionals (at all levels of their careers) within our courts teams have a huge breadth of opportunities. We get to work with the local judiciary and other parties to ensure effective conduct of care proceedings, we support investigation, protection and accommodation and use contingency planning to anticipate complexity and changing circumstances that focus on securing the very best for children.

Our senior social workers work closely with and mentor our social sorkers, developing their management and leadership skills as well as leading the way on more complex cases. This paves the way for our senior social workers’ career development, providing them with clear career pathways for more senior and managerial roles.

Our court team also works with colleagues from various teams and build positive links between the team (and all other parts of the service), to ensure effective multi-professional working.

 “I love working in the court team, because we really make a difference.”

Our team work with families and children during a really pivotal time in their involvement with Northamptonshire Children Trust. We make recommendations, often life-changing, for children and families, which is at the crux of what social work is.

“We have the ability to keep children safe, promote their holistic needs and most of all, the opportunity to motivate parents, drive change and recommend when it’s safe and appropriate, for children to return home. That is the biggest super hero power, if I have ever heard of one!”

To find out more about applying for a role at Northamptonshire Children’s Trust, please click here.