Integrated Adolescent Service Senior Social Worker

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 UKs first Borough of Sanctuary for our work in championing the rights of refugees and migrants.

Introduction

Are you a passionate and experienced social worker ready to make a real difference in the lives of adolescents facing risks outside the home

The London Borough of Lewisham is recruiting Senior Social Workers to join our dynamic and dedicated Adolescent Protection Team.

This is a unique opportunity to work at the forefront of contextual safeguarding supporting young people impacted by extra-familial harm including exploitation serious youth violence and peer-related risks.

About the Role

Youll play a key role in safeguarding adolescents by:

• Leading and contributing to strategy discussions
• Leading on Section 47 enquiries
• Leading and contributing to Group Supervision
• Building trusted trauma-informed relationships with adolescents and their families
• Working collaboratively with multi-agency partners to deliver robust safety planning
• Supporting colleagues through reflective supervision and practice development

What Were Looking For

• Qualified Social Workers with a minimum of 3 years post-qualification experience
• Strong understanding of adolescent development and contextual safeguarding
• Confident practitioners with excellent communication analysis and risk assessment skills
• A commitment to anti-oppressive practice and young person-centred approaches

Our Vision -What Good Childrens Social Work Looks Like in Lewisham

In Lewisham Childrens 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 wont 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 Ofsteds report lauds significant improvements in our childrens 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 Councils 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.

Location

The job is primarily based in Lewisham Old Town Hall Catford London SE6 4RU. There are 2 local train stations 3-5 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.

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 (Enhanced)
• Must be 2 years post qualified for this role

Your Application

The recruitment process is anonymous and we dont 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.

For an informal discussion about this job please contact -Chang1@

Please click here to view the Job Description and Person Specification

Salary

50175 - 52269 per annum SSW (SCP 35-37)

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.

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 Council has a dedicated employment support serviceLewisham Works which offers Lewisham residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you want to join Lewisham Works please emailJobsAndSkills@ an advisor will be in touch with you.

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

Lets stay connected follow us on social media:

LinkedInFacebookXInstagram