Isle of Wight Council

We know that the Isle of Wight is a great place to be a great social worker and an amazing place to live. We continue to invest more into our service and our staff. We know money is not the reason why you have become a social worker; it is your passion and commitment to make a positive difference to the lives of children that motivates you.

However, with the rise in the cost of living, renting and affordability of buying a new home, earning a good salary for the work that you undertake is important. We also offer a relocation package of up to £8,000 to help with moving to the Isle of Wight and we have increased our annual leave entitlement to 32 days a year.

You will benefit from five extra days to take during the year to spend time on your own professional development and work a nine-day fortnight which means you get up to an additional 26 days’ time off in lieu a year. Plenty of time to achieve that work/life balance to make the most of everything the Isle of Wight has to offer.

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You will have a state-of-the-art laptop, SMART phone, and an online Social Work toolkit plus we are implementing a brand-new ICS system. We have appointed two new Family Practitioners to each of our child assessment and safeguarding teams to work with child in need families under the supervision of social workers and a senior social worker. You will have a social worker personal assistant to help with your administration and organise your diaries, visits, and recording. Our Resilience Around the Families Team is a dedicated resource for you to draw upon when working with families. We have adult mental health professionals, adult substance misuse professionals, child mental health specialists, a team of trained volunteers, access to a range of early help support services including, parenting and domestic abuse interventions.

We have a really positive, supportive culture and working environment. Even our agency workers don’t want to leave and if they do, they ask to come back as they have said the Isle of Wight is the best children’s social care service, they have worked in. We work to the Isle of Wight Approach which is a strengths-based, multi-disciplinary way of working, focussed on building resilience in individuals, families, and communities, whilst managing risk and safeguarding children.

Ofsted have rated us as a GOOD children's social care following our inspections published in 2019 and 2023.

In 2023, Ofsted found that:

‘The approach of the fostering team provides carers with comprehensive and informed support.’

Our focussed visit in 2021 found that:

‘Social workers benefit from being well supported by available and accessible managers.’

So, as a social worker, is it important to you that children's lived experiences are at the centre of your social work practice? To be part of a team that supports you, with a manager that you trust and respect.

Do you want to work with aspirational and highly competent leaders, who have a clear and shared vision for children's services?

If yes, then please get in touch and take your next step in your professional career to the Isle of Wight today.

For further information or an informal discussion please contact Ashley Schofield Ashley.Schofield@iow.gov.uk or by calling on 01983 821000.

When you join #TeamIWC you'll receive our staff benefits package, including:

-  Annual leave entitlement of 32 days p/a PLUS public holidays!

-  Local Government pension scheme

-  Discounted Solent ferry travel

-  Island bus network discount

-  Cycle to work scheme

-  Staff parking permit scheme

-  Discounted island sports & leisure gym membership

-  National and local discounts & benefits schemes

For some vacancies (subject to criteria)

-  A relocation scheme of up to £8,000 may be available if you are specifically relocating to the Isle of Wight to take up a new role with us

-  If you choose to commute to the Isle of Wight daily, you may be eligible to have some travel costs reimbursed

Find out more about working for the Isle of Wight Council and living on the Island here.

The Isle of Wight Council protects its employees from discrimination and this is supported by the Unacceptable Behaviour Policy, Employee Code of Conduct and Behaviours Framework. We actively promote the diversity of our workforce and we provide flexible working options (where appropriate) to support the different needs of our employees.

The Isle of Wight Council’s Terms & Conditions of employment are available upon request. Please contact our recruitment team via adverts@iow.gov.uk if you would like to receive a copy.

The Isle of Wight Council is an equal opportunities employer, who is proud to encourage applications from all cultures, backgrounds and abilities to better reflect the diversity within our local community. In addition to this, we are also a Disability Confident Employer. Along with a number of other areas of commitments, this means that providing you meet the basic essential requirements of the advertised role and have declared yourself as disabled, you will be offered an opportunity for an interview within the council.

This council and its schools recruit according to the council’s Recruitment, Policy and Procedure and are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share in this commitment.

As our 10-year strategic partnership between the Isle of Wight Council and Hampshire County Council has ended as of 2023 it is worth noting that the employer will be the Isle of Wight Council and employment is on Isle of Wight terms and conditions. Now the Isle of Wight Council will deliver all of its children’s services functions from 2024 onwards.

The Isle of Wight Council is committed to supporting all newly qualified social workers (NQSWs) through the implementation of a robust post graduate competency framework referred to as the Assessed and Supported Year of Employment (ASYE). The ASYE is intended to be the first stage of the continuing professional development for Registered Social Workers, and the framework will be closely allied to the Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF).  You will be therefore, be required to satisfactorily complete the ASYE programme within a 12-month period (or 18 months if part time).

If you have difficulty completing your online application or if you need further information about how to apply, telephone 01983 823134 or email callcentre@iow.gov.uk. Please note only applications completed and submitted online by the closing date will be accepted.

We often receive a high volume of applicants for our vacancies. If you do not hear from the recruiting manager within three weeks of the closing date, we regret that your application will not have been successful on this occasion. If unsuccessful, we actively encourage you to revisit our job pages and apply to alternate posts that may be suitable.