Social Worker Assessment Team

Social Worker G7/8 - Salarypa

Service Area: Assessment

The vision for our People directorate is Supporting our residents to stay safe and well. At the London Borough of Havering this means delivering highquality relationshipbased social work that makes a meaningful difference to the lives of children young people and families.

Havering Childrens Services is on a clear and positive improvement journey with strengthened leadership improving practice and a strong focus on consistency and quality. Within our Assessment service we are building a confident skilled workforce that undertakes timely purposeful assessments and supports families to achieve sustainable change.

As a Social Worker in the Assessment Team you will play a critical role at the front door of Childrens Services undertaking statutory assessments under the Children Act 1989 to identify childrens needs risks and strengths. You will work directly with children and families to understand their lived experiences ensuring that their voices wishes and feelings are central to all assessment and decisionmaking.

You will complete highquality analytical and evidencebased assessments making clear recommendations that inform next steps including early help support targeted interventions or statutory involvement where required. Your work will be grounded in professional curiosity proportionate risk management and timely decisionmaking to ensure children receive the right support at the right time.

In this role you will work closely with a wide range of multiagency partners including health education police housing and voluntary sector services to build a full picture of childrens circumstances and ensure coordinated responses to safeguarding concerns. You will contribute to strategy discussions legal planning where appropriate and effective handovers to longerterm teams when ongoing intervention is required.

Havering offers a supportive and learningfocused environment with regular supervision strong management oversight and access to continuous professional development through our Social Care Academy. We are committed to manageable caseloads reflective practice and supporting social workers to develop confidence and expertise in assessment practice.

This is an opportunity to join a service that is ambitious for its workforce values good social work and is committed to improving outcomes for children and families through timely highquality assessment and intervention.

About You

You will be a motivated reflective and resilient Social Worker with a strong commitment to safeguarding children and improving outcomes for families through timely highquality assessment practice. You will be childfocused valuesdriven and confident working in a fastpaced statutory environment where early decisionmaking and proportionate intervention are critical.

You will be a qualified Social Worker holding a CQSW Diploma in Social Work or equivalent qualification and be registered with Social Work England. You will have relevant experience within childrens social care with a sound understanding of the Children Act 1989 Working Together guidance and local safeguarding procedures and the ability to apply this confidently within assessment work.

You will have experience of undertaking statutory assessments gathering and analysing information from children families and partner agencies to develop a clear understanding of risk need and protective factors. You will be able to produce analytical evidencebased assessments that support defensible decisionmaking and timely next steps for children.

Strong communication and relationshipbuilding skills are essential. You will be able to engage effectively with children and families ensuring that their voices wishes and lived experiences are central to your assessments while also working collaboratively with multiagency partners including health education police and housing services.

You will demonstrate professional curiosity confidence in managing complexity and uncertainty and the ability to balance empathy with clear professional judgement. You will be comfortable escalating concerns contributing to strategy discussions and legal planning where required and ensuring effective handovers when cases progress to longerterm teams.

As part of Haverings improvement journey you will be open to learning and reflective in your practice valuing supervision feedback and quality assurance as tools to strengthen outcomes for children. You will be organised accountable and committed to contributing positively to a supportive team culture.

Nonnegotiable qualities for this role include:

• A strong commitment to safeguarding children and promoting their welfare
• The ability to undertake timely proportionate and analytical assessments
• A childcentred strengthsbased and inclusive approach to practice
• Professional curiosity resilience and accountability
• A willingness to learn reflect and contribute to continuous service improvement

Please view Job Profile here

For an informal discussion about the post please contact

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

Closing date: 5 April 2026

Shortlisting date: w/c 6 April 2026

Interview date: w/c 20 April 2026

Additional Information

We want everyone to choose Havering. When you apply for a job with us your application is considered on its merits regardless of your age disability ethnicity faith gender identity or sexual orientation. Our residents and service users come from all walks of life and so do our employees. Find out what it means to Choose Havering.

The London Borough of Havering 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.