Social Worker - Transition Team

About the Borough

The London Borough of Sutton is situated less than 30 minutes by train from Central London, with direct connections to London Victoria and London Bridge. Found in zone 5 with good transport links in and out of London, Sutton boasts award winning parks and open spaces, low crime rates, affordable housing and great schools. As well as high levels of resident engagement and satisfaction, providing quality services and success in addressing our financial challenges, whilst involving residents in key issues and high street changes.

Sutton is continuously investing in the health, wellbeing and education of our residents and the future generation, as set out in the “Ambitious for Sutton” corporate plan. We are home to the Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research. Together with the development of the London Cancer Hub, Sutton will be the world’s leading life-science district, specialising in cancer research and treatment. Our vision will create around 13,000 jobs while contributing £1.2bn to the UK economy each year, a vibrant community of scientists, doctors and innovative companies intended to deliver real benefits for cancer patients and drive economic growth. With the regeneration of the local areas with new homes and schools, Sutton is passionate about working closely with our residents and vulnerable groups to help them maintain their independence and create a balance between support and independent living.

The Council is seen as a driving force within the South London Partnership of five outer south west London boroughs focused on strategic growth, regeneration and investment. As we strive to improve our services and spaces for our residents as set out in the ‘Ambitious for Sutton’ corporate plan, Sutton aims to shape the future of the borough and adapt to the needs of its residents to make our Borough a great place to live, work and raise a family.

About the Service and Team

The Transition Team in Sutton Service supports young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and eligible Care Act 2014 needs as they move from Children’s Social Care into Adult Social Care. The service works with young people, families, carers and partner agencies to ensure that transitions are planned, person-centred and focused on helping young people achieve their aspirations and maximise independence.

Working within a strengths-based and collaborative model, the team undertakes Care Act eligibility assessments, supports pathway planning and coordination to help young people access the right support, services and opportunities as they approach adulthood. The service works closely with education, health professionals, community organisations and families to ensure young people experience a smooth transition into adult services.

The team is committed to delivering high-quality, outcome-focused practice that promotes independence, wellbeing and inclusion within the community. Transition planning is treated as an ongoing process rather than a single event, ensuring support is tailored to each young person’s individual needs, goals and circumstances.

Our mission is to empower young adults to live independently as possible, and we need your expertise to make it happen. This role will challenge you in a dynamic and diverse environment, helping you expand your skills and knowledge in the practice of social care.

About the Role and Our Ideal Candidate

The role includes the below main responsibilities:

• Conducting new Care Act 2014 compliant eligibility assessments for young people and their carers, to identify eligible social care needs and developing focussed, person centred and strengths based outcomes within the support plans
• Monitoring, reviewing and maintaining up to date support plans, ensuring they meet the changing needs of young people and reflect good value for money whilst advocating for young people's rights, choices, and access to services.
• Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people, adhering to relevant legislation and policies, including being able to identify and assess levels of risk and need (within statutory frameworks) in complex situations and undertake relevant safeguarding investigations to deliver protective and/or supportive services for individuals at risk, including work that may be required by the Court of Protection where necessary
• Hold and effectively manage a complex and varied caseload with ability to make sound professional judgement with appropriate supervision, guidance, and support, reflecting the function of the team in accordance with policy, procedures, guidance and legislation
• Identify young people who have complex and/ or primary health needs and initiate the Continuing Healthcare Process to enable access to NHS funding for individuals who are eligible
• Collaboration with multidisciplinary teams, including children's services, education, healthcare professionals and community partners to enable a holistic approach to meeting the needs of the young person.

About You

• Qualified Social Worker with current registration with Social Work England and eligibility to work in the UK.
• Post qualifying experience working in adult services, assessing and supporting individuals with diverse needs and successful completion of their ASYE.
• Sound knowledge of relevant legislation, including the Care Act 2014 and Mental Capacity Act 2005 as well as social work theories
• Experience in Adult Safeguarding work and Continuing Health Care
• Strong assessment, outcome focussed care planning, and risk management skills
• Ability to travel across the borough to visit individuals, occasionally being required to undertake visits out of borough

Our Offer to You

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits to enable staff to achieve a work life balance, some of which include:

• A generous annual leave entitlement of 26-32 days plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply) depending on service and grade
• Enhanced Maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption and dependents leave
• Two volunteering days per year
• Flexible Working - Smarter Working Scheme (dependent on the role)
• Adjustable and agile working arrangements using Google Chromebooks
• Learning and development portal offering a range of courses
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Electric vehicle leasing scheme
• Confidential health & wellbeing and counselling support

Application Process

Apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application and check your CV details have been uploaded correctly in the relevant sections.

We understand and recognise the benefits of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace and are embracing AI where appropriate, to boost our productivity and streamline how we deliver our Council services efficiently; to provide the best possible outcomes for our residents and communities.
However, we reserve the right to reject applications where it is apparent that AI-generated content has been used in isolation and without personalised responses. At Sutton we value authenticity and are looking for individuals who can clearly demonstrate their own skills, experience and motivation for the role that they are applying for and embrace and demonstrate our PRIDE values.
Here at Sutton we have core values of Transparency and this is to be demonstrated during the application process and completion of the supporting statement and will be further tested at interview and selection stage for those who progress forward.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

As part of our award winning Diversity Programme we anonymise all applications received to reduce conscious and unconscious bias enabling every application to be reviewed on the knowledge, skills and experience shown in your application. We encourage our interview panels to be as diverse as possible (age, cultural, neurodiverse etc.) to reduce bias where possible. We are fully committed to removing barriers and enhancing the diversity of our workforce.

Additional Information

We are proud to be a diverse and welcoming Borough and we strive to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and instil a sense of belonging in our staff. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce, therefore we welcome applications from under represented groups.

To support our workers and their families we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

We are also proud to be a disability confident employer and guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for a role. As an accredited London Living Wage Employer all our employees are guaranteed the London Living Wage regardless of their length or type of contract.

The UK has a points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance. Sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case-by-case basis.