Advanced Practitioners
Through 2019 Lewisham Children’s Social Care has been changing, we know
what good social work looks like and our improvement plan is all about
creating the right conditions and culture for good practice to thrive. Our vision
Is….
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 won’t give up on them.
Young people who have been in our care feel confident about their future.
We know that describing good practice is easy, the challenge is making your vision a day to
day reality. This requires inspiring leadership, resources and a clear, realistic plan for how to
get there. That’s why our improvement plan takes a whole system approach and we have
introduced Signs of Safety as our relationship based practice framework. We have made
significant progress in year one which Ofsted recognised when they inspected us in June
- But we know there is a lot more to do and we need more good, creative, energetic
social workers and managers to join our team to get us where we want to be.
We are recruiting to a range of posts in Children’s Social Care. But why choose Lewisham?
There’s lots of reasons and here are just a few; we have an established and committed
management team. Our caseloads are between 15-20 children. We have a dedicated
Principal Social Worker and workforce team developing a comprehensive training offer
including subscription to Research in Practice and close working links with our local
university. We have a variety of career progression options. Our LCS case recording system
is being stripped back because we think its important social workers spend most of their time
with families, not form filling. In our last health check the feedback from the majority of our
staff was… they felt “valued and enjoyed working in Lewisham”, they felt “well supported by
their managers” with “regular reflective supervision”, they had “good access to training” and
their “development was promoted”.
As an advanced practitioner, you will hold a small caseload and take responsibility for
practice development in your team. You will supervise 1-3 members of staff and you will lead
on taking student placements in the team. You will be supported to undertake PEPS 1 and 2
to qualify as a practice educator. You will also deputise for the team manager as required.
You will be supported in your professional development through our comprehensive learning
and development offer which includes the Practice Supervisor Development programme as
well as our in-house Aspiring Managers programme. Advanced practitioners are supported
to access regular Signs of Safety training and have the opportunity to become practice
leaders through attending the 5 day practice leaders course. We have a strong working
relationships with Goldsmiths, University of London and our staff have the opportunity to
work with university colleagues as teaching consultants delivering social work education.
You will also have the opportunity to achieve accreditation by undertaking the NAAS
assessment.
If you want to work in the thriving 2021 London Borough of Culture and our social work
vision connects with your professional values, then we are interested in hearing from you.
We are looking for people to join our team who:
value the importance of communication and seeking feedback
can inspire and motivate those they work with, manage and lead
are committed to developing their skills and expertise to deliver an excellent service
are professionally curious and value thinking slowly and calmly in a balanced way
work inclusively, collaboratively with others recognising their strengths
take responsibility and make a positive contribution by focusing on solutions
are transparent, are appreciative in enquiry, reflect and learn
In return, we’ll offer excellent development opportunities, plus a range of benefits that
includes a career average pension scheme, flexible working, a generous leave entitlement
and the opportunity to make a real difference to our local community.
We have vacancies in Referral and Assessment, Family Social Work and Looked After
Children services.
We are based in two offices in Catford SE6. There are 2 local train stations 5-10 minutes’
walk from both offices, and the train journey from London Bridge is approximately 15
minutes. There are also numerous bus routes that stop right by the offices.
Further information
For an informal discussion about the role and recruitment process, please email
LewishamWorkforceDevelopmentGroup@lewisham.gov.uk with your contact details and we
will call you to discuss the role in more detail.
Lewisham Borough Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of
children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share in
this commitment.
We value diversity and welcome applications from all backgrounds.
The post is subject to a DBS.
To find out more, including a full job description and person specification, and to apply,
please visit https://lewisham.gov.uk/mayorandcouncil/counciljobs and search council jobs
Closing date
Thursday 9 July 2020 at 11:59pm
Shortlisting date: Friday 10th July
Interview and assessment: W/B 13th&17th July
The Council reserves the right to close adverts early if there is a large response.