Independent Reviewing Officer- Quality Assurance in London

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 as we lead the way on national reforms to social work practice through the Families First for Children programme. Lewisham is a young borough. One quarter of our residents are aged 0–19 years old. Our young people have huge talent and potential, and we want them to make the best start in life and grow up well-equipped to take advantage of the opportunities available to them in the diverse and vibrant city they live in.

This post is available for social work qualified professionals who share our high aspirations and ambition to give all children a great start in life, making sure our children’s future is everyone’s business.

As an independent reviewing officer, you will be skilled at chairing complex meetings and building relationships with families, children, other professionals and colleagues. You will enable families to fully participate and make sure the child or young person’s voice is represented and listened to and that they have a good and achieved Care Plan.

As a professional who knows what good practice looks like, you will also support practice development and improvement working as part of the Quality Improvement Service. You will be involved in practice learning discussions and consultation with colleagues across the services.

• To assure the quality of work with Children in our Care in Lewisham, and to ensure performance is maintained.
• To chair statutory reviews of Children in our Care in accordance with Care Planning legislation, and to ensure plans for children progress appropriately.
• To contribute to the development of practice in relation to children in our care in Lewisham.
• To provide advice and consultation to social workers and team managers on specific issues of complexity.
• To be accountable for decision making in looked after reviews.
• To convene and record review outcomes and reports in LCS within statutory timescales.
• To provide a key role in problem resolution.
• To work with complaints officers, and advocates, where necessary, for the resolution of a problem.
• To promote practice that acknowledges that becoming looked after is a final option for children and that the majority of children do best supported within their family of origin.
• To promote and model practice that is respectful of children and of parents, and takes full account of their views, rights and responsibilities.
• To undertake and record mid point monitoring to ensure progress is underway in meeting the child’s agreed plan and any significant changes or concerns are addressed.
• To identify, record and escalate any concerns in relation to planning and achieving outcomes for children in our care.
• To make recommendations regarding the safety of children in our care.
• To represent the department at local practice based fora.
• To contribute, at the request of the IRO team manager or the Safeguarding and Quality Assurance service manager to internal and inter agency planning groups and meetings with regard to planning and development of services for children.
• To be responsible for monitoring, developing, maintaining and improving local quality assurance systems.
• To liaise with operational staff and managers to ensure proactive implementation of decisions from looked after children’s reviews.
• To undertake audits and evaluation of work with children in our care, contributing to cross cutting audits as appropriate.
• To closely monitor the integrity of LCS and Performance related data within the responsibility of the postholder.
• To undertake all related administrative tasks involved in providing and monitoring the decisions and practices related to planning for children in our care to ensure that targets are met.
• To report to the IRO Manager any shortfalls in performance or service delivery, and to actively seek to rectify such shortfalls.
• To actively seek out opportunities for collaborative working with other agencies in the interests of improved planning and service delivery for children.

What’s in it for you? Excellent training and development opportunities, plus a range of benefits including:

• Generous holiday allowance.
• 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.

We’re looking for an experienced and confident social work professional who can bring independence, insight and challenge to practice. You’ll need to have:

• Significant post‑qualifying experience in children’s social work, particularly with children who are looked after.
• Strong knowledge of legislation, statutory guidance and best practice relating to Care, safeguarding, and permanence.
• Experience of overseeing, supervising or quality assuring social work practice, with the ability to identify strengths and areas for improvement.
• Confidence working in complex, multi‑agency settings, building constructive relationships while maintaining professional independence.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to write clear, high‑quality reports and confidently chair review meetings.
• Sound professional judgement, with a proven ability to assess and manage risk and make defensible decisions.
• Confidence to provide professional challenge, including escalating concerns when children’s plans or outcomes are not progressing effectively.

The job is primarily based in Laurence House, 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: A recognised Social Work qualification (DipSW, Social Work Degree or equivalent) and Registration with Social Work England.

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.