The Islands of Guernsey are considered a Crown Dependency, meaning that Guernsey, Alderney, Herm and Sark are part of the British Isles, but not the United Kingdom.
In Guernsey, parliamentary and governing functions are fused in one body, named the States of Deliberation. In practice, most day-to-day functions are carried out by Committees of the States, each of which is independently responsible to the States of Deliberation. There are seven Committees in total, one of which is the Committee for Health & Social Care.
This is where the Children and Family Community Services Team Directorate sits, which is made up of the following services:
Although there are some differences, much of the Guernsey Children’s Law will look familiar to those with knowledge of, for example, the Children Act 1989 or the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. If you’re joining us from the UK, you should find the transition straightforward.
Guernsey offers a fantastic quality of life. If you join the team, the first thing you’ll notice is that everyone is welcoming, the surroundings are stunning, and the community is safe and peaceful. You’ll quickly get to know the local area, and you'll be pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to travel around. As a social worker, you’ll find this a real benefit because it makes visiting families and connecting with partner agencies that much easier.
As for having a good work-life balance, you really couldn’t get anywhere better. There’s lots to do; from kayaking and sea swimming in the summer to witnessing the changing seasons along country coastal paths. You’ll never be short of things to do and try, especially if you love socialising and eating out.
If you relocate to Guernsey from the UK, one of the first things you’ll realise is that our caseloads are genuinely manageable (averaging 15-20). This means that you have more time to support children and families and make the difference you came into social work for.
We genuinely CARE about the children and families we support, each other, our partners, and the impact of our work. A simple smile, the way we listen, the attention to detail – it’s why we chose social work as a career.
Compassion: Showing compassion to our service users, visitors and each other is one of the most important things we do. Everyone we interact with, whether at the bedside or on the doorstep, should receive the same courtesy from us as we expect from them.
Accountable: We are all individually and collectively accountable for our work and align with professional standards. We have established ways of working, but these help us thrive rather than hold us back.
Respect: Mutual respect is key. We value inclusion and diversity as our differences make us stronger. We communicate thoughtfully, effectively, honesty and courageously and create a positive environment focused on learning and development.
Excellence: We commit to the highest standards of excellence in everything we do, advancing the health and wellbeing of those we support and each other.
The Children and Family Community Services Team is on an exciting transformation journey. We’ve already put in place the building blocks for a child welfare approach that recognises the need for early identification of children’s needs and the provision of the ‘right’ help, at the ‘right’ time in the ‘right’ place – to stop those needs from escalating.
We take a ‘strengthening families’ approach, meaning every interaction we have aims to work ‘with’ the family rather than delivering service ‘to’ them. This is at the heart of our new model of care for the Islands of Guernsey, known as the Partnership of Purpose, where we’re working better together to provide people-centred care.