England's Chief Social Worker for Adults visits west Cheshire
Councillor Val Armstrong (right) and Lyn Romeo (left) during the recent visit.
Cheshire West and Chester Council recently welcomed Lyn Romeo, England's Chief Social Worker for Adults, to the borough and showcased the range of support provided by social workers and other professionals to help people enjoy happy and healthy lives.
As part of the visit, Lyn met Council staff training and practising as social workers from across adult social care, hearing how:
- the Council has worked with partners on innovative approaches to social work with homeless people
- social workers have helped people with complex needs access support
- the Council is supporting different routes to qualify as social workers for apprentices and graduate trainees.
The visit followed the annual social work health check, which ranked the Council in the top ten organisations in the country to work for by social workers.
The report, produced by the Standards for Employers of Social Workers using information provided by social workers in west Cheshire, highlighted how it is a positive place for social workers and other professionals to forge a successful career for themselves in adult social care.
It mentioned how staff had said the Council promoted a working environment that upholds ethical practice and quality standards, with words like innovative, supportive and nurturing used to describe working in this area.
Councillor Val Armstrong, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, said:
We were delighted to welcome Lyn to west Cheshire to talk about our amazing social workers and the caring and personalised support we provide for adults with additional needs in our borough. Lyn talked about how the visit was very inspiring and energising, hearing first-hand some of the fantastic things our staff have been doing to support our residents, particularly with the challenges of the last couple of years. We always aim for the support we provide to be as flexible as possible and working more closely with the NHS provides plenty of opportunities to make sure it's as seamless as possible for people to access the services they need. In the recent report, our social workers themselves placed the Council in the top ten organisations to work for and this is an incredible achievement. Our staff stated how positive it is for social workers and other professionals to work for the Council and I'd encourage any residents to consider whether a career in this sector is something for them. Not only is it extremely rewarding as you see first-hand the real difference you make to people's lives, but there's a clear pathway to progress in your career.
There are plenty of opportunities for people to join the Council or one of its partners and make a real difference in adult social care, whether you're looking to start a career in the sector or for a new challenge with plenty of opportunities to develop both personally and professionally.
The Council offers a competitive salary for the sector, an excellent pension scheme with significant employer contributions, ongoing training and development opportunities, reward schemes and much more.