Senior Social Worker - MACPT

Bellebrows; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

35-hour week

Hybrid working

London Living Wage employer

Disability Confident employer

Flexible working options

Job summary

Lewisham Council is seeking a Senior Practitioner to join the Multi-Agency Child Protection Team (MACPT) within the DfE Pathfinder project. The role focuses on supporting team development and influencing social work practice across local and national levels.

The post requires frontline safeguarding experience, a Social Work England registration and the ability to work in a multi-agency setting with signficant involvement in PLO and care proceedings.

Qualifications

• Hold a degree in social work and be registered with Social Work England.
• Minimum two years' post-qualifying frontline safeguarding experience.
• Experience of working with families through PLO and care proceedings.
• Experience supervising or developing less experienced staff.
• Strong knowledge of Working Together 2023 and Pan London CP Procedures; Signs of Safety.
• Ability to build cross-agency relationships with health, education and police.

Responsibilities

• Chair or attend all strategy discussions.
• Co-work s47 enquiries and child protection cases with Family Help.
• Chair child protection conferences.
• Providing quality assurance, consultation and advice across all stages of child protection work.
• Co-working all Public Law Outline cases and the early stages of care proceedings.

Skills

Social work degree

SW England registration

PLO experience

Child protection

Team supervision

Signs of Safety

Cross-agency collaboration

Strategic thinking

Education

Degree in Social Work

Job description

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.

An exciting opportunity is available as part of the DfE Pathfinder project. Lewisham is seeking an experienced social worker to become a Senior Practitioner in one of the newly established Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams (MACPT). This role will play a key part in supporting the development of the team and is an exciting opportunity to influence social work practice on a local and national level.

The Senior Social Worker will sit within the Multi-Agency Child Protection Team, working alongside members of the Family Help service where there are concerns regarding significant harm to children. This is a crucial role which requires strong practice knowledge and experience, and a proactive approach to contribute to a positive team culture within a multi-agency staff group. Key responsibilities include:

• Chairing or attending all strategy discussions
• Co-working all s47 enquiries and child protection cases with Family Help
• Chairing child protection conferences
• Providing quality assurance, consultation and advice across all stages of child protection work
• Co-working all Public Law Outline cases and the early stages of care proceedings

The role is primarily based at Laurence House, Catford, London, SE6 4RU. Lewisham operates a hybrid working approach, requiring regular working both in the office and from home.

The recruitment process is anonymous and CVs are not accepted. Applications must be completed in full, with a supporting statement addressing each criterion in the person specification. For an informal discussion about the role and recruitment process, please email [e-mail] with your contact details and a member of the team will be in touch.

About you

Lewisham is looking for a skilled and reflective practitioner with a clear vision of what good practice with children and families looks like. The successful candidate will bring considerable frontline safeguarding experience, strong technical knowledge, and the ability to work effectively across a multi-agency partnership. The ideal candidate will:

• Hold a degree in social work or equivalent qualification and be registered with Social Work England
• Have a minimum of two years' post-qualifying experience in frontline safeguarding practice
• Have experience of working with families through PLO and care proceedings
• Have experience of supervising or developing less experienced staff
• Demonstrate a thorough knowledge of Working Together 2023, the Pan London Child Protection Procedures, and other relevant safeguarding statutory guidance
• Have a track record of working within practice improvement and an in-depth understanding of the Signs of Safety practice framework
• Be experienced in building effective working relationships with key partner agencies such as health, education and the police
• Be able to make effective decisions regarding children's safety and demonstrate strategic thinking embedded in operational practice
• Evidence reflective and creative practice with a child-focused approach, ensuring the views of children are central to service development and delivery

Lewisham Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check.

Lewisham Council is a Disability Confident employer. The council believes 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 reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, or age. Applications are welcomed from all backgrounds.

About Lewisham

Welcome to Lewisham – a vibrant and culturally diverse borough that is bursting with fantastic things to see and do. As a truly international borough with over 170 languages spoken in our homes and businesses, a thriving cultural scene, and a treasure trove of indie shops, bustling markets and more, it’s a great place to start and build a career.

Social work in Lewisham is changing and we have set out our vision and values for how we practice. In Lewisham Children’s Social Care (CSC), we know what good social work looks like and we are passionate about creating the right conditions and culture for good practice to thrive.

Our social workers benefit from working in small, supportive teams with caseloads on average between 15-20 children. Our ‘Signs of Safety’ 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 PSW and workforce team supports professional development across the service so that you will;

be supported through our comprehensive learning and development offer, which includes subscriptions to ‘Research in Practice’ and ‘Making Research Count’.

receive regular supervision and appraisal.

have 1-1 practice development coaching as a case holding practitioner, and professional development coaching as a manager.

have access to regular ‘Signs of Safety’ training and the opportunity to become a practice leader through attending our bespoke practice leader course.

have access to external leadership development opportunities such as Pathways and the Black and Asian Leadership Initiative (BALI).

have a clearly defined career progression pathway with opportunities for professional development at all levels.

We have a strong working relationship with Goldsmiths, University of London as part of the South East London Teaching Partnership so our practitioners have the opportunity to teach on social work courses as teaching consultants. We host ‘Step Up’, ‘Frontline’ and traditional route students and social workers have the opportunity to become practice educators.

Core CSC Staff Benefits include:

We have been awarded the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard – a benchmark for high employment standards. We are also one of the first London Councils to be accredited a London Living Wage employer and are a Disability Confident employer as well as a Timewise accredited Flex positive employer. We offer a 35-hour working week, and:

The opportunity to work in a thriving, diverse and developing inner London borough with a stable management team, manageable caseloads and a workforce group committed to promoting your development and emotional wellbeing

Generous salary for social workers at all levels

Generous holiday entitlement - starting at 27 days a year(pluspublic holidays)rising to 32 and 35 days after 5- and 10-years’ continued service.

Oyster card access for travelling in and around London for work and we are exploring initiatives, including Zip cars

Flexible working policies and a variety of hybrid, and flexible working options – we know how important this is to you

Smarter Working with new modern technology and training to support this

Career average pension scheme

Family friendly policiesincluding maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, and special leave for emergencies.

Variety of support schemes including key worker housing, tax-free childcare scheme, access to Civil Service Sports Club which offers financial discounts and savings on days out and entertainment. KAARP activities and entertainment discounts. We offer a shop local discount scheme, volunteering leave, long service awards, membership of the Crownsavers Credit Union and access to Payroll Giving.

Health and Wellbeing support includes a staff support hub and 24/7 employee assistance programme which incorporates mental health support, counselling services and access to the PAM Assist health and wellbeing app.

We have signed the Menopause Pledge and offer gender specific and gender-neutral health and wellbeing support with access to financial advice. We offer discounted gym and leisure centre membership including free lunch time swimming; interest free loans for season tickets, nursery childcare, and bikes, a “try before you buy” bike scheme and cycle training, smoking cessation, free eye tests and money towards glasses.

Active Employee Groups including the Black and Multicultural Forum, Anti-racist Network Group, LGBTQ+ Forum, Disabled Staff Forum, Climate Emergency Staff Forum, Trade Union Memberships, and a staff-led Change Network

Staff tell us they feel valued and enjoy working in Lewisham and are well supported by their managers with regular reflective supervision and good access to training.

“Lewisham has so much to offer any social worker. I feel supported, respected and valued every step of the way”

Lewisham Social Worker

If you have any questions about applying for this role, or if you are interested in having an informal discussion about working with us, please contact our Recruitment and Retention Manager, Angela Main at [e-mail] or Sara Taylor, our Principal Social Worker: [e-mail]

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