Jobs
We're proud to provide tailored support and guidance to our social workers in Barnsley through our Practice Development Hub.
The hub is made up of a team manager and five advanced practitioners who offer:
Inductions
When you start your career with us, you'll have a two-day induction to help you settle into your new role.
Mentoring and support
Throughout your time with us as a social worker, you’ll receive one to one support, coaching and mentoring around specific pieces of work. We also run regular drop-in sessions at our offices to offer on the spot support as needed.
Training
As part of our continuous professional development offer, we run workshops and training sessions for all our social workers. We also host bi-monthly development forums that include speakers who are experts in their area of practice.
We work with the QA service to make sure that our support and training offer is linked into learning from audit.
Practice guidance
To help you in your day-to-day role we have a dedicated Sharepoint site. This includes good practice examples, assessment tools and policies and practice standards which are regularly updated.
The team are passionate about improving the lives of children. They also strive to ensure you have the knowledge and support you need to deliver on this vision.
Our Practice Development Hub offers consistent support and guidance to all our social workers at all levels and experience throughout their careers at Barnsley Council.
Social work academy
The Barnsley Social Work Academy is delivered by the team in the Practice Development Hub.
The academy is committed to promoting staff wellbeing and resilience, supporting career development, and making sure that all of our social workers are treated fairly in an inclusive workplace which recognises and celebrates diversity.
On Monday 9 September we were proud to welcome 12 newly qualified social workers and 8 apprentices into our first Social Work Academy for 2024.
About the academy
The academy provides a high-quality and consistent programme of learning and development tailored for children’s social workers that are:
- Students on placement.
- Social workers at the beginning of their careers. This includes newly qualified social workers during their Assisted and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE).
- Staff who are mentoring and supporting others.
As a member of our Social Work Academy, you will receive support with:
- Wellbeing and resilience
- Career development
- Equity, diversity and inclusion
- Good practice and learning from feedback
- Training, workshops and development
As part of our offer, we also provide a supportive four-week induction process for those new to the role. This helps the students, apprentices and newly qualified social workers joining us to develop the skills and knowledge they need to confidently get started in their role.
Stories from our members
Read some of the stories of our current academy members to find out why a career at Barnsley Council was the right choice for them.
Jess' story
“I completed my final university placement with Barnsley Council, and felt fully supported and welcomed by the team and all the staff.
“When I first started my placement, I felt nervous at the thought of being a newly-qualified social worker, but everyone at the council helped me to feel at ease and eager to succeed. That’s why I wanted to come back to Barnsley to start my social work career after finishing my qualification. I'm confident about the support being provided and the opportunities to build confidence through the Practice Development Hub.
“As a newly-qualified social worker, my first twelve months will be an Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE), and during this time I’ll be joining the Social Work Academy. The academy has a four-week induction period which influenced my decision to come back to Barnsley as this time will allow me to develop skills, knowledge, and access support in preparation for my first year as a newly qualified social worker.
“Barnsley Council have helped me to achieve my university degree thanks to the thorough support during placement. I hope to give back by working out in the community supporting our children and families.
“I'm really looking forward to being a part of the first Social Work Academy at Barnsley!”
Yasmin's story
“My name is Yasmin, and I have recently completed my final 100-day university placement within the Children’s Assessment Team. My experience at Barnsley Council was extremely positive and has motivated me to pursue a career here.
“I successfully applied for a Newly Qualified Social Worker post and am due to start in September. My decision to return to Barnsley was partly influenced by the support I received from the Practice Development Hub. I’ve experienced first-hand what support is offered through the hub and feel confident that this will continue to help me develop as I progress during my Assessed and Supported Year in Employment.
“A variety of learning opportunities, including group supervision, meeting external partners, and training, were made possible by The Hub and were beneficial to my development on both a personal and professional level.
“There was regular group supervision which was something I found to be most effective. The scheduled meetings created a sense of ‘team’ and allowed us to form positive relationships where we felt comfortable sharing our honest feelings and experiences whilst navigating our placement. The designated team were also extremely supportive, whenever I had any concerns or questions there was also a member of the team willing to help.”
