Social Worker Children Looked After in Luton

Connect2Luton are excited to recruit a Senior Practitioner on behalf of Luton Borough Council within their Children Services.

About the Role

To support practice development of our Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSWs) through their assessed and supported year of employment within the Social Work Academy. To continue to promote the academy and career pathways and Luton as an employer. The Senior Practitioners also support the Principal Social Worker to strive for excellence across Children Services by delivering key training on themes drawn from audits.

Responsibilities

• Provide reflective supervision to explore the NQSW’s practice and factors influencing their practice responses (including emotions, assumptions, power relations and the wider social context).
• Develop a shared understanding of the knowledge base informing their analysis and the limitations of their thinking, and use this understanding to inform next steps.
• Guide the NQSWs with problem solving and assisting them with planning and decision-making.
• Co-work complex cases and use advanced professional knowledge, skills, experience and initiative to support the NQSWs to develop assessment skills to identify and analyse risk to children and develop safety and supportive plans.
• Co-work cases in crisis with the NQSWs, directing the social workers and influencing decision making on the case.
• Support NQSWs practice development towards excellence.
• Contribute to the NQSW assessment reviews at three, six and twelve months of their assessed year of employment.
• Support the NQSWs to gather and analyse sensitive and confidential information on families and record on LCS, collating key information relating to children’s safeguarding and protection.
• Support the NQSWs to maintain accurate and up to date records in accordance with the Data Protection Act and GDPR.

Qualifications

• Substantial post qualifying experience including in-depth experience in the field of child and family social work.
• Demonstrable experience of coaching/mentoring including practice teaching.
• In-depth ability to demonstrate a high level of competence in the practice of child and family social work.
• Excellent organisational skills.
• Demonstrable understanding of equality issues relating to the tasks and commitment to the achievement of equality.
• Registered with the Social work regulator.
• Knowledge of current legislation, national guidance and best practice relevant to the post.
• Demonstrable experience of the use of quality assurance processes to ensure that own work is of a high standard.
• Experience of analysing and interpreting data and performance information.

Equal Opportunity Statement

We are an equal opportunities employment agency and business that positively encourages applications from all suitably qualified and eligible candidates.