Children's Social Worker

Full time, 36 hours per week.

Basic salary up to £50,088 per annum.

Plus for roles in our Assessment & Intervention and Safeguarding & Family Support teams, we are offering for a time limited period a Welcome Payment of £3,000 for joining Southwark, followed by a retention payment of £2,400 per year for your first two years, and £3,600 after three years.

29 days Holiday – rising up to 36 days with continuous service.

We are currently seeking outstanding Social Workers, to join our Safeguarding & Family Support, Assessment & Intervention and Care/Care Leaver services, who have the professional potential and personal attributes that our families need, can share our commitment to improving outcomes for all children and young people and tackling injustice, inequality and racism.

About Us

Our most recent Ofsted inspection was graded as ‘good’ in all areas. The children in our care said we are a “special council and are like a family to them”.

“Staff enjoy working in Southwark. Their morale is high, and they appreciate the high level of support, the career progression opportunities, the learning and development offer and the ambition that the organisation has for them.” Ofsted, November 2022

At Southwark Children’s Services, we pride ourselves on doing our vital job differently. Our systemic, holistic, family-centred approach sits at the core of our values. Our endlessly supportive, collective, colleague-centred culture underpins everything we do to protect vulnerable children across our borough. You can read more about our approach, our offer to staff and our services at our website here

Your Vital Role

We will assign you a manageable number of cases that allow your natural skills and expertise to flourish. You will:

• Work directly with children and provide a clear and accurate assessment of the needs of the child and their family
• Conduct interviews, develop observations and gather information from children, families and other agencies
• Devise, implement and review plans, including the development and management of protection plans within a child protection framework, care and pathway plans.
• Ensure all statutory responsibilities are well managed, including visiting children, arranging reviews and reporting to the court.
  
  

What You Bring

We are looking for impressive experience of direct social work with children and their families. You will also bring:

• The ability to formulate and implement effective social work interventions
• Experience of preparing reports and presenting these in contested court proceedings
• Knowledge and understanding of child development, parenting capacity, environmental issues, and risk and protective factors
• Experience of preparing reports and presenting these in contested court proceedings
• A recognised social work qualification and current registration with Social Work England
• You must have successfully completed your Assessed and Supported Year in Employment
• With recent post-qualifying experience in the UK in a social work role within a statutory setting, working with children and families, and attendance at appropriate training
  
  

This is an excellent opportunity to shine in an ambitious, well-resourced, well-regarded and stable social care environment.

Contact Details

If you would like an informal conversation about this role, please contact Dan Comach (Principal Social Worker) at [email protected]

Additional Information

To apply complete the quick and simple application form on the link below.

For roles in our Assessment & Intervention and Safeguarding & Family Support teams, we are offering for a time limited period a Welcome Payment of £3,000 for joining Southwark, followed by a retention payment of £2,400 per year for your first two years, and £3,600 after three years.

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is required at enhanced level.

Eligibility to work in the UK is required

Recruitment Timeline

• Advert close date: We will be reviewing applications on a weekly basis
• Interview date/s: we have weekly interview slots available.
  
  

We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together initiative . We particularly welcome applications from members of the black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care, or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition
  
  

Attachments

• Social Worker - Job Description & Person Specification