There's a number of social worker careers available in Stockport offering great career prospects.

Social Worker Careers in Stockport

Whether you’re newly qualified, a seasoned professional or considering a change, there are plenty of Social Worker Careers in Stockport. So what do social workers do, what training or qualifications are required, and where can a career in social work in Stockport take you?

Social workers help protect vulnerable children and adults from harm or abuse, and support people to live independently. Daily duties will vary (depending on whether you work with children, families or adults), but could include:

  • offering information and counselling
  • creating support plans for individuals
  • keeping records and writing reports
  • discussing cases with your team and supervisors
  • supporting clients’ safety and taking the right action to protect them when necessary
  • working closely with community, health professionals and other agencies
  • helping clients to develop and maintain independent living skills
  • meeting with families and individuals to assess and review their situations

You may work in an office, in an NHS or private hospital, at an adult or children’s care home, or in the community.

How to start a career as a Social Worker

Due to the nature of the role, you will need professional qualifications to undertake it, which you can gain via a university course, an apprenticeship or a graduate training scheme.

If you choose the university route, you can do a degree or postgraduate qualification in social work or a 2-year postgraduate degre in social work if you already have a degree in another subject. You’ll usually need 2 to 3 A-Levels or equivalent for a degree, or a degree in any other subject for a postgraduate course.

Alternatively, you can complete a social worker degree apprenticeship (which takes around 3 years). You’ll need 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 4 to 9 (A* to C) and A-Levels or an equivalent Level 3 qualification (like a BTEC or NVQ).

You could also apply to an intensive, work-based training programme for graduates if you’ve got a first or upper second class degree in any subject except social work – such as Frontline for children’s social work, Step Up to Social Work or Think Ahead for mental health social work.

Have you got what it takes to be a Social Worker?

As well as qualifications, you’ll also need to develop relevant skills that will help you be a Social Worker. These include:

  • counselling skills including active listening and a non-judgemental approach
  • sensitivity and understanding
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • to be flexible and open to change
  • knowledge of sociology and an understanding of society and culture
  • the ability to work well with others
  • the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
  • active listening skills
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Plus, you’ll likely need to pass an enhanced background check and a driving license and your own transport will be useful. 

What Social Worker Careers are available here in Stockport?

Stockport Family brings together all the services for children from health, social care, and education from early years to early adulthood into one service. Working in localities, social work teams work side by side with health visitors, school nurses, midwives, early years, early help workers, teachers and education workers so that you can get the help and support you need to make a difference for families. We’re always on the look-out for newly qualified or experienced Social Workers to join our Stockport Family.

In Stockport, we believe that relationships should shape the service delivery model, not the point a child is at in services.  We aim for children and families to have just one social worker whilst they are in Stockport Family.  Social workers gain great satisfaction from being the constant in families lives and opportunities to build new skills and knowledge. We will support you developing these great working relationships by investing in your support, training, and development.

Ofsted has recognised that social work practice in Stockport is good with outstanding features and we are ambitious about wanting to be even better for children and families and you can play a key part in achieving this goal. Innovative practice is part of how we do things day to day – you can read and hear more about some of the exciting pilots and programmes we have here:

What’s it like to work for Stockport Family as a Social Worker?

If you join Stockport Family as a locality social worker, you will have the opportunity to work with children throughout their time with statutory social care services. You will be working from the point of duty at the front door, through assessment, child in need/team around the child support, child protection, pre-court and proceedings work, children in care and adoption through to step down/step out of involvement with children’s social care.

Alongside your allocated children you will also be the link social worker for specific schools within your locality and be a key member of the team around the school.  You will offer advice and support to professional colleagues that enables them to confidently support children and families to receive the early help and support they need with the aim of preventing the need to escalate to statutory social care services. 

Here’s what some of our team have to say about being part of the Stockport Family:

“Working in Stockport makes you love social work again.

 From the moment I started as a Senior Practitioner in Stockport, I fell in love with my job again. This is real social work. If you miss direct work with children, life story work, systemic genograms, family network meetings, reflective practice, relationships, this is the place for you. The term ‘restorative practice’ genuinely means something here and everyone from front line workers to senior management care about keeping families together and management care about their staff”.

Kate, Senior social work practitioner

“Stockport Family really feels like a family. All members of staff including senior leaders are approachable and want the best outcomes for the children and families in Stockport. I started my career as an ASYE at Stockport and progressed to be a senior practitioner. Stockport have been a nurturing family who supported me to flourish and develop to become a confident and restorative practitioner, giving me support at every stage of my career.

I have worked in 3 local authorities. The thing that stands out for me is the morale of the staff. I’ve worked out why, it comes from the top. I also think that people, senior leaders listen to us, again this is something I have never felt elsewhere, and I’ve been in this job for 30 years”

Locality Team Leader

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