PLO Reviewing Officer - Children's Services

Location: Swindon
Working pattern: Hybrid, with two days per week in the office

Caritas Recruitment is looking for an experienced PLO Reviewing Officer to support children's social work teams through Legal Planning Meetings, pre-proceedings and court processes.

This role requires a restorative approach, combining high challenge with high support, to strengthen assessment, care planning and timely case progression.

Key responsibilities

  • Provide social workers with a reflective space to prepare for Legal Planning Meetings, ensuring assessments clearly identify harm.
  • Ensure genograms and chronologies are accurate and fit for purpose.
  • Support the timely progression of cases through pre-proceedings and court.
  • Promote family-led practice, including Family Group Conferences and the involvement of fathers.
  • Lead reflective case discussions, strengthening analysis and exploring the "so what?" within assessments.
  • Progress care-planning meetings and support robust permanence planning, including triple tracking.
  • Quality-assure court statements from an IRO/Children's Guardian perspective.
  • Facilitate pre-CMH meetings with Children's Guardians and social workers.
  • Liaise with the Children We Care For Team regarding post-adoption and foster-care family contact.
  • Ensure effective final care-planning and legal-planning meetings are held, with coherent permanence plans in place.

Essential experience and skills

  • Qualified and experienced Social Worker with at least five years' experience.
  • Previous experience as an Independent Reviewing Officer, Child Protection Chair and/or Children's Guardian.
  • Extensive experience of pre-proceedings and court work.
  • Strong knowledge of Legal Planning Meetings, PLO processes and care proceedings.
  • Excellent organisation, communication and analytical skills.
  • Confident using Excel.

Previous experience of Liquidlogic would be advantageous.

Apply

If you are an experienced Social Worker with strong PLO, court and quality-assurance experience, please contact:

Lisa Hallinan
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 07469 676076

Caritas Recruitment is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.

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