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QUALIFIED SOCIAL WORKERS – CHILDREN’S SERVICES
CHILDREN IN CARE (LAC) SERVICE
£44,951 - £54,083pa (includes £5k market supplement)
Hybrid, Flexible Working, Newham Dockside E16 2QU
Closing date: 04/03/2024 at 23:59 – please apply ASAP as we may interview before the closing date
Job Description
WE ARE NEWHAM
We’re a vibrant, dynamic, culturally rich London Borough with a young population and limitless potential. We’re a challenging yet rewarding place to practise social work, with the networks in place to enable you to be the best Social Worker you can be and make a real difference to our children and their families. Our social Care Services were rated to be GOOD overall by Ofsted, with leadership rated as OUTSTANDING, but we have not stopped striving to be better.
We’ve been working tirelessly to establish a Centre of Excellence for Children’s Services through investment, co-production and by continuously developing our 'Circles of Support' practice model; centring on systemic and restorative practice and a specialist support offer for our practitioners.
Ofsted described Newham as having a positive culture of learning and development and we always try to develop talent in-house. We promoted 30 internal colleagues in 2023 alone, and have put 46 practitioners through further education since 2020. We value your development and at Newham career progression is reality for many.
We understand that social work can be a challenging yet ultimately very rewarding profession that makes demands of you personally and professionally. In Newham we value your wellbeing and ensure that you have the support needed for a better work/life balance through a remote working offer when you are not visiting your children and families, a pleasant, modern office space for when you are in the office, a flexible working policy where all requests are considered, and a clinical offer to support you to do your best work.
ABOUT THE JOB
Social Work in Newham is underpinned by a culture of Systemic and Restorative practice with high quality relationships at the heart of our approach. Our Children in Care teams provide statutory services to children who are in our care and their families and support networks.
Social Workers in Children in Care provide Circles of Support around children to ensure their happiness and safety when Council is acting in its role as a corporate parent - working restoratively and using systemic tools and ideas and drive the development of a team culture where good practice can flourish to the benefit of all.
Working as a Children in CareSocial Worker at Newham provides a unique development opportunity as the service handles the majority of court work relating to care proceedings. You will be fully supported in this by senior colleagues, an Assistant Team Manager and Team Manager in each team, Practice Development Social Workers, a comprehensive CP Chair service and our Clinical Team of experienced qualified Family Therapists.
ABOUT YOU
We welcome applications from qualified Social Workers of varying experience levels; though we do expect applicants to have completed their ASYE and have gained some experience within in the team/service that they are applying for. A firm understanding of working with Children in Care and their families and support networks is essential and needs to be demonstrated in application and at interview. Applicants must have a valid registration with Social Work England.
We’re looking for Social Workers who have a genuine interest in a restorative, relationship based practice model drawing on systemic thinking to inform your approach to building effective relationships with children, young people and their families.
We want to meet energetic, empathetic Social Workers that are keen to reach positive outcomes for children and families whilst taking full advantage of the learning, support and personal development that Newham offers. We’re big on career development and our focus on developing internal talent has made internal progression a realistic possibility for many – we promoted 30 qualified social work professionals in 2023 alone.
WHY WORK WITH US?
We’ve been working hard to make Newham a great place to practise social work.
- We’re a GOOD local authority focused on reaching excellence.
- Ofsted graded our senior leadership as OUTSTANDING.
- Stability: 100% of our Service Managers and 71% of Team Managers are permanent.
- Our firmly established practice model, Circles of Support, was recently nominated for the prestigious MJ Award for Innovation in Children’s Services and allows systemic, restorative practice to flourish.
- We offer genuine flexible/hybrid working as long as children and families are supported.
- Career progression; we promoted 30 internal colleagues in 2023.
- Social Care Academy – 47 Social Workers have studied for systemic higher education with us since 2020. Our Academy offer received significant praise from Ofsted.
- A competitive package for Social Workers of up to £54,083 (includes market supplement).
- Oyster card/parking permit for business use.
- Wellbeing service, leisure and discount benefits (Council scheme).
- Travel season ticket loan, cycle scheme, Local Authority pension.
TO APPLY
To apply please submit your CV through our online recruitment portal. Maingrade Social Worker applications are CV only. Your CV must clearly show that you meet the criteria for this role in the person specification and this advert if you are to be shortlisted.
Closing date: 04/03/2024 at 23:59
Interviews: ASAP – we may interview before the closing date so please apply ASAP
If you have any questions about the recruitment process or want to discuss joining Newham Children’s Services with one of our managers, please contact our Recruitment Team.
Additional Information
We are committed to creating an inclusive, anti-racist environment for all. When you apply for a job at Newham, your application is considered on its merits regardless of your age, disability, ethnicity, faith, gender identity or sexual orientation. If you share our vision and values, and you bring the experience and skills we need, that’s all that matters to us.
The London Borough of Newham has important responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. If you are appointed to a job that involves working with these groups, you may be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
Please attach your supporting statement, explaining in no more than x2 A4 sides why and how you meet the criteria for this role.
We practice anonymised recruitment. Please ensure that you remove all personal information from any documents that you upload.
The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, and your data protection rights, can be found by https://www.cifas.org.uk/fpn.
About Us
The London Borough of Newham is located only 5 miles east of London. It is well positioned with access to all major networks in London and the south east. It is well connected by public transport with, bus, tube and DLR. When the Crossrail service opens it will call at Custom House close to our council offices and also Stratford station and from there to central London. The London City Airport which serves major European cities is located at Royal Albert Dock. Newham has the youngest overall population in the country. It was one of the six host boroughs for the 2012 Summer Olympics and contains most of the Olympic Park including the London Stadium. It has a thriving arts quarter with the Theatre Royal Stratford East offering excellent entertainment for all the family. There is the University of East London which has two campuses in Newham, one in Stratford and another next to the regenerated Royal Albert Dock. It also has a large Westfield shopping Centre in Stratford which has all the major retailers there.
Newham has a large housing regeneration programme that will build over 1,000 new council homes by 2022.
