Senior Social Worker - CLA 16+ UASC And Leaving Care

Job Description

Discover yourself in Lewisham where what you do makes a difference to our vibrant and culturally diverse communities! We have a rich history of welcoming people from all over the world and are proud to be recognised as the UK’s first Borough of Sanctuary, for our work in championing the rights of refugees and migrants.

It's an exciting time to join us - Lewisham is a wave 2 Pathfinder authority and is leading the way on national reforms to social work practice through the Families First for Children programme.

INTRODUCTION

Lewisham are seeking dynamic and dedicated Senior Social Workers to provide an accountable statutory social work service to children, young people and their families/carers, to include assessment, intervention, case planning and review, appropriate to the work of our Children Looked After (16+), Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children and those Leaving Care.

This post offers the opportunity to provide supervision, as appropriate, to social workers, students and/or personal advisors. To undertake such project work as appropriate to the post holder’s service, undertake cases with complex risk levels, and take responsibility for decision making on duty on a day-to-day basis as appropriate.

The role is based within the Corporate Parenting Service and works closely with other CLA Teams, Independent Reviewing Officers, specialist services and external agencies to provide an accountable statutory social work service to children, young people and their families/carers, and a statutory leaving care Service to our Care Experienced young adults, to include assessment, intervention, case/pathway planning and review, appropriate to the work of the overall service.

You will be responsible for undertaking all social work on allocated cases, to maintain accurate records on behalf of the Directorate, and to ensure that service users are aware of their right to see such records, and of their right to complain about the service they receive.

What’s the role?

As a senior social worker, you will be a key member of our team and contribute to the development of the service. You will take a curious and wholistic approach to supporting children and young people, to keep safe and well.

You will undertake direct work and other activities with children, their Carers and young people. The service is made up of specialist social workers, and personal advisors, working in collaboration with a dedicated CLA and a Leaving Care Nurse, Career Coaches and a Mentoring service; all co-located at our CLA/Leaving Care Hub.

As a senior social worker in the CLA (16+), UASC and Leaving Care Service, your expertise will play an important part in delivering statutory social work and our leaving care responsibilities, where you will undertake appropriate interventions and work that enables us to deliver against our Corporate Parenting and other relevant strategies.

About You

We are looking for someone to join our service, who has knowledge and experience of working with Children Looked After, Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children, and Care Leavers/Care Experienced young people. You will be confident in delivering effective practice and have in-depth knowledge of all aspects which relates to these groups and be curious about the complex issues faced by Lewisham’s children and young people.

You will understand the benefits of regular supervision, practice that is evidenced, partnership working, and clear decision making in Lewisham, and embed these as a core part of your work within the service.

You will have:

• A strong background in safeguarding and statutory social work, including knowledge of current childcare legislation and practice
• Expertise in understanding work to support unaccompanied minors and asylum seekers
• Proven leadership skills and experience in supervising students/newly qualified social workers
• Confidence in taking a curious and trauma informed approach to work with children and young people
• A commitment to promoting best outcomes for children and young people

What’s in it for you?

Our Vision - What Good Children’s Social Work Looks Like in Lewisham

In Lewisham Children’s Social Care, we know what good social work looks like, and we are passionate about creating the right conditions and culture for good practice to thrive.

• Families are respected and supported to stay together, whenever there is safety.
• Families will tell us they understand why we are involved.
• Children will tell us their social worker has made a difference to their lives.
• Children who are in our care know we care, and we won’t give up on them.
• Young people who have been in our care feel confident about their future.

We have taken a whole system approach to improving our services to children and young people in our borough using Signs of Safety as our practice model. Ofsted recognised the progress we have made noting that:

• Staff talk positively about their manageable caseloads, regular supervision, team meetings and access to a range of training, including the social work model of practice.
• Senior leaders demonstrate a clear focus on hearing the voices of children to develop and improve services.
• Leaders know the service well. They have a clear understanding of areas for development that are being appropriately addressed.

In January 2024, Ofsted's report lauds significant improvements in our children's services. Praised areas include strong leadership, high-quality support for families and children, and positive outcomes across all criteria.

• The Executive Director for Children and Young People and his team are credited for driving these improvements, with particular focus on enhancing workforce stability, early help services, and partnerships with stakeholders.
• Noteworthy practices include creative life-story work and culturally sensitive social work approaches, crucial in a diverse borough like Lewisham.
• The Council's anti-racist practice network and safe space platform also garnered praise for supporting staff from black and global majority backgrounds.
• Overall, the report highlights a commendable commitment to improving outcomes for vulnerable children and young people in Lewisham.

Why choose Lewisham?

“Lewisham has so much to offer any social worker. I feel supported, respected and valued every step of the way” (Social Worker).

Our social workers benefit from working in small, supportive teams with caseloads on average between 15-20 children. Our Signs of Safety family-led practice framework means we are committed to working in a relationship-based way with children and families, focussing on strengths in the family network to effect change. A positive learning culture which promotes opportunities for reflection and relationship-based practice is important to us. We are committed to developing our practice using reflective practice spaces such as case mapping, thinking spaces and group supervision.

Our permanent and stable senior management team are visible and approachable. Our dedicated workforce team supports professional development across the service so that you will:

• be supported through our comprehensive learning and development offer, which includes subscription to ‘Research in Practice’.
• receive regular supervision and appraisal.
• have 1-1 practice development coaching as a case holder, and professional development coaching as a manager.
• have access to regular Signs of Safety training
• have access to external leadership development opportunities such as the Black and Asian Leadership Initiative (BALI).
• have a clearly defined career progression pathway with opportunities for professional development at all levels.
• opportunities to become a practice educator and work with students and newly qualified social workers.

What we’re looking for

If you want to work in a thriving borough and our social work vision connects with your professional values, then we are interested in hearing from you. We are looking for people to join our team who:

• value the importance of communication and seeking feedback
• can inspire and motivate those they work with, manage and lead
• are committed to developing their skills and expertise to deliver an excellent service
• are professionally curious and value thinking slowly and calmly in a balanced way
• work inclusively, collaboratively with others recognising their strengths
• take responsibility and make a positive contribution by focusing on solutions
• are transparent, are appreciative in enquiry, reflect and learn.

In return, we’ll offer excellent development opportunities, the opportunity to make a real difference to our local community plus a range of benefits including:

• Generous leave entitlement
• Local Government Pension scheme
• Flexible working and family friendly policies
• Season ticket and bicycle loans
• A range of staff discounts including local subsidised gym memberships
• Supportive staff networks

Location

The job is based at 43 – 45 Bromley Road, Catford SE6. There are 2 local train stations 7-10 minutes’ walk from the office, and the train journey from London Bridge is approximately 15 minutes. There are also numerous bus routes that stop right by the office.

We operate a hybrid approach where you will be required to work both in the office and from home on a regular basis.

Creating an Inclusive Lewisham

A core value of Lewisham Council is to 'draw on the diversity of our communities to create a more inclusive Lewisham'. We believe that freedom from discrimination and equality of opportunity are fundamental rights, and that each person should be valued regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, gender re-assignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, or age. Social inclusion lies at the heart of everything we do as a Council in our roles as an employer, a provider of services and a community leader.

Diversity

Lewisham Council is a Disability Confident employer. We welcome and encourage job applications of all abilities. If you require any reasonable adjustments in the application or interview, please contact the lead contact on this advert. We will make reasonable adjustments to make sure our disabled applicants and those with health conditions are supported throughout our recruitment process. We support the access to work scheme; further details are available at www.gov.uk/access-to-work/apply

The Council has a dedicated employment support service, Lewisham Works, which offers Lewisham residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you want to join Lewisham Works, please email JobsAndSkills@lewisham.gov.uk and an advisor will be in touch with you.

Your application

The recruitment process is anonymous, and we don’t accept CVs.

Applicant handbook - please read the guidance in this handbook when applying. It is essential that you complete the application fully and that your supporting statement covers how you meet each of the person specification criteria listed.

Special conditions

• The post holder must have a social work qualification and be registered with Social Work England
• The job is subject to a DBS check (Basic/Enhanced)

For an informal discussion about this job, please contact sharon.chambers@lewisham.gov.uk

Please click here to view the Job Description and Person Specification

Salary

£50,175 - £52,269 per annum (SCP 35-37 / SSW)

All appointments will be offered at the minimum spinal column point (SCP) for the grade of the role. The only exception to this will be when matching current salary (up to the maximum of the scale), which is subject to evidential proof.

The Council reserves the right to close adverts early if there is a large response.

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