Advanced Practitioner, Children Looked After, Corporate Parenting

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 UK’s first Borough of Sanctuary, for our work in championing the rights of refugees and migrants. It's an exciting time to join us - Lewisham is a wave 2 Pathfinder authority and is leading the way on national reforms to social work practice through the Families First for Children programme.

An exciting opportunity is available for a social work qualified Advanced Practitioner. This is a unique opportunity for a skilled and reflective practitioner who is creative and can work with children and their families in an innovative way to ensure they receive the right help at the right time. We are looking for applicants who are motivated, knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and who have the experience and confidence to work with Children Looked After and Care Proceedings.

What’s the role? You will work in a diversified team including advanced practitioners and social workers. This pivotal role offers the opportunity to manage a focused caseload and oversee duty responsibilities, while actively deputising for the team manager.

About You: We are looking for someone who is an experienced practitioner to help lead our efforts in working with and support children and their families. You will play a crucial role in overseeing and supporting our team of social workers and family practitioners. You will be responsible for ensuring the delivery of high-quality services, providing supervision and guidance to team members, and working collaboratively with other professionals and agencies. We are looking for a confident, dynamic and forward-thinking practitioner with the expertise and passion to help shape our service and drive positive outcomes for children and their families.

Key Responsibilities:

• Work directly with children and families where children are in our care; this includes children and families who are in care proceedings and progressing care plans for children where their care plan is one of permanence; including adoption work.
• Work collaboratively with other professionals and agencies to ensure a coordinated approach to supporting children in our care.
• Deputise for the team manager and provide leadership and support to a team of social workers, ensuring the delivery of high-quality services to children and young people in our care.
• Support the team manager to monitor the performance of the team, identifying areas for improvement and implementing necessary changes.
• Line supervision for AYSEs in their assessed year, social worker apprentices, supervise and mentor team members, offering guidance and support in complex cases.

The ideal candidate should possess strong leadership skills and be able to inspire, motivate and support the team. You will have excellent technical knowledge and experience of statutory safeguarding practices for children in need of help and protection and children looked after, in the context of corporate parenting.

What’s in it for you?

• Local Government Pension scheme
• Flexible working and family friendly policies
• Season ticket and bicycle loans
• A range of staff discounts including local subsidised gym memberships
• Supportive staff networks
• Generous leave entitlement

Our Vision – What Good Children’s Social Work Looks Like in Lewisham: In Lewisham Children’s 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 won’t 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, Ofsted's report lauds significant improvements in our children's 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 Council's 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.
• become a practice educator and work with students and newly qualified social workers.

What we’re looking for: If you want to work in a thriving borough 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, appreciative in enquiry, reflect and learn.

In return, we will offer excellent development opportunities, plus a range of benefits that include a career average pension scheme, flexible working and the opportunity to make a real difference to our local community.

Location: The job is primarily based in Laurence House in Catford SE6. There are two 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.

Your Application: The recruitment process is anonymous, and we do not 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.

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 (Basic/Enhanced). The recruitment process is anonymous and we do not accept CVs.

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 www.gov.uk/access-to-work/apply.

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