Community Mental Health Social Worker | East London NHS Foundation Trust

East London NHS Foundation Trust; Leighton Buzzard; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 38,000; Full time

Job summary

A health care provider in Leighton Buzzard is seeking a Social Worker to provide quality social care services to adults experiencing mental ill-health. The ideal candidate will be registered with Social Work England and possess relevant experience, contributing to a multi-disciplinary team. Responsibilities include assessment, care planning, and liaison with various health care units. This role offers a supportive environment with training opportunities for career development.

Qualifications

• Qualified Social Worker registered with Social Work England.
• Experience in a multi-disciplinary environment.
• Willingness to travel between Trust sites.

Responsibilities

• Provide high quality social care services to adults experiencing mental ill-health.
• Maintain a caseload of adults with diverse needs.
• Liaise with various health and social care services.

Skills

Team player

Self-motivated

Ability to work flexibly

Education

Degree level or higher

Relevant post qualifying training

Job description

Overview

Dunstable Community Mental Health Team provides compassionate person-centred interventions to people experiencing mental ill-health in the Towns of Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard.

Social Workers in the mental health team have access to a host of brand new facilities at the newly opened Grove View Health and care hub. The new hub strengthens ELFT’s award winning social care presence and ethos.

Click on the link below to see our exciting new base for South Bedfordshire Social Workers!

https://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/info/18/health_and_social_care/726/grove_view_integrated_health_and_care_hub_and_grove_view_apartments

At the Hub the team Senior Social Worker provides intensive support to ensure that bespoke professional supervision is readily available for all our social workers. ELFT has a dedicated Social Care Lead locally in Central Bedfordshire. The Social Care Lead offers regular reflective practice sessions, Care Act training. The excellent work of the Social Work Learning and Development Project Lead ensures that continuous learning is at the heart of Social Work in Bedfordshire. The Trust offers an established ASYE programme for newly qualified social workers. CPD pathways beyond the ASYE include AMHP/Leadership Academy/AMCP/Practice Educator/ASYE Assessor training structures. Bespoke training opportunities are available as part of your yearly appraisal. In short; now is a good time to be working as a social worker for ELFT in South Bedfordshire!

We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated Social Worker to work as part of our team. You will be registered with Social Work England and ideally have one year of post qualifying experience in a relevant health or social care setting; however with our new ASYE programme we would be happy to work with a newly qualified social worker who is able to demonstrate how their pre-qualifying experience and value base would benefit our team.

As a Social Worker, you will work as a member of the multi-disciplinary team, providing high quality social care services to adults experiencing mental ill-health. The core functions of the role will be to provide assessment, care planning and coordination of care from a social perspective to adults accessing the service.

You will hold a caseload of adults experiencing a wide range of mental health and social care needs. You will ensure that you maintain constant reflection and development of your practice and will ensure your continuing professional development in line with the standards set out by the professional regulator, Social Work England.

We have Social Workers who are also Practice Educators and ASYE assessors and are currently promoting this training. ELFT are currently part of a pilot programme for ASYE training of newly qualified social workers. ELFT and Central Bedfordshire Council offer training opportunities to support Social Workers to maintain their professional registration with Social Work England. We believe the natural progression for a Social Worker within Mental Health Services is to strive towards completing their Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) training and this is something that we will expect and you will be supported to do.

We are proud to work with the diverse communities of Bedfordshire and want our workforce to reflect this diversity, which we believe is beneficial for our employees, the organisation and the communities we serve. It is an exciting time to be joining Mental Health Services as a Social Worker in ELFT and the Social Care Management team are committed to supporting your continued development

In the role, you will liaise with acute inpatient units, the Crisis Team, Primary Care services, the Voluntary and Private Sector and contribute to providing a recovery focused model of care. You will play an active role in the discharge of our service users from hospital and will commission health and social care services as required. Partnership working is a key component of this post and you will need to be innovative in ensuring that there is a range of appropriate services locally to support individual recovery journeys.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated Social Worker to work as part of our team. You will be registered with Social Work England and ideally have one year of post qualifying experience in a relevant health or social care setting; however with our new ASYE programme we would be happy to work with a newly qualified social worker who is able to demonstrate how their pre-qualifying experience and value base would benefit our team.

Responsibilities

• Work as a member of the multi-disciplinary team, providing high quality social care services to adults experiencing mental ill-health.
• Provide assessment, care planning and coordination of care from a social perspective.
• Maintain a caseload of adults with a wide range of mental health and social care needs.
• Engage in regular reflection and ongoing professional development in line with Social Work England standards.
• Participate in supervision and support for newly qualified Social Workers and ASYE assessors.
• Support progression towards AMHP training where applicable.
• Engage with training opportunities to maintain professional registration.
• Promote inclusive practices and reflect the diversity of Bedfordshire communities.
• Liaise with acute inpatient units, Crisis Team, Primary Care, and voluntary/private sectors; contribute to recovery-focused care and discharge planning.

Person specification / Qualifications

• Essential criteria: Qualified Social Worker registered with Social Work England; experience in a multi-disciplinary environment; willingness to travel between Trust sites; full driving licence; ability to work flexibly.
• Desirable criteria: Post-qualification experience in mental health services; previous AMHP/BIA experience.
• Knowledge/Skills: Undertake comprehensive Care Act assessments and reviews; promote safeguarding; commission appropriate health and social care services; promote Direct Payments; conduct risk assessments; maintain accurate records on the Electronic Patient Record; attend reflective practice; provide supervision to others; support ASYE with opportunities to become an ASYE assessor; undertake AMHP duties or AMHP training; participate in regular supervision and reflective practice; adhere to Trust policies; undertake additional training as required; be willing to perform other delegated duties.
• Additional requirements: Car driver essential; must be able to travel; full driving licence; flexible working.
• Educational/Qualification: Essential: Qualified Social Worker registered with Social Work England. Desirable: Degree level or higher; relevant post qualifying/post graduate training.
• Personal qualities: Team player; able to work independently with initiative; self-motivated; committed to equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice; committed to core social work values and human and civil rights; leadership and change management skills.

This advert closes on Sunday 21 Sep 2025