Social Worker - Locality Service

London Social Work for Children; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 52,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous annual leave

Flexi-time

Learning and development programme

Season ticket loans

Cycle to work

Eye tests

Job summary

Sutton Children's Social Care is seeking an experienced Social Worker to join the Locality Team in Children’s Social Care at Sutton. The role focuses on restorative practice, safeguarding, assessment, and partnership working to achieve positive outcomes for children and families.

Reporting to the Team Manager, you will work within Safeguarding frameworks, deliver direct work with children, and be part of a flexible diary rota.

Qualifications

• Qualified Social Worker with a Social Work degree or recognised equivalent.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills across partners and families.
• Strong understanding of safeguarding policies and statutory responsibilities.

Responsibilities

• Undertake assessments, planning and interventions with children and families.
• Lead and coordinate multi‑agency partnerships and meetings to safeguard children.
• Ensure children's voices are central to planning and delivery of care.

Skills

Empathy

Interpersonal skills

Communication

Education

Social Work degree

Job description

This role is subject to a Golden Hello and Recruitment and Retention Bonus scheme, paid as follows:

• £1,000 paid in your first month's salary
• £1,000 paid upon completion of your first year in service
• £2,000 paid upon completion of your second year in service
• £3,000 paid upon completion of your third year in service and every year thereafter

Reimbursement of Social Work England registration fees is also included.

About the role

There is an exciting opportunity for confident and experienced Social Workers to join the Locality Team in Children's Social Care at Sutton. The objective is to deliver the best outcomes for children and young people, working within a restorative practice approach and forming strong partnerships with families and multi-agency colleagues.

Reporting to the Team Manager, you will work within the frameworks of Section 17 and Section 47, undertaking assessments, planning, and interventions with children and their families. The role ensures that children's voices, wishes, and views are central to the planning and delivery of care provided, with compliance and safeguarding at the heart of all decision-making. A flexible working model allows social workers to manage their diary to meet the needs of the service.

Key responsibilities include:

• Supporting children and young people through robust assessment, SMART planning, and effective intervention to achieve positive outcomes within their families and communities
• Working within a restorative practice approach to form partnerships with families and multi‑agency colleagues to address both presenting concerns and underlying difficulties
• Leading and coordinating multi‑agency partnerships, plans, interventions, and meetings to ensure children and young people are safe and their holistic needs are met
• Completing direct work with children to keep them safe, ensuring their voice, wishes, and views are central to the planning and delivery of care
• Delivering all aspects of work in accordance with safeguarding policy, procedure, and standards, ensuring children are at the heart of all decision‑making

About you

The successful candidate will be an enthusiastic and motivated individual with a caring and calm approach, bringing insight and experience to the team and to the lives of children and young people. They will demonstrate empathy when dealing with sensitive situations, strong interpersonal skills, and a passion for making a difference.

The ideal candidate will:

• Be a qualified Social Worker holding a Social Work degree or recognised equivalent qualification
• Be registered with Social Work England
• Have a minimum of two years' post‑qualifying practice experience, ideally within a UK regulated authority
• Possess a thorough understanding of the frameworks that underpin social work practice
• Hold the relevant skills, knowledge, and aptitude to safeguard vulnerable people from abuse and adhere to all statutory functions and local policy and procedures in a timely and documented manner
• Be able to assess and record a child's needs through evidence‑based practice to justify decision‑making
• Be able to commit to one full week in the office every four weeks as part of the Duty rota
• Be willing to travel outside the borough to visit clients as part of their caseload

Sutton Children's Social Care is committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion, and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified individuals. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check.

About Sutton

Sutton combines a high quality of life, green and spacious, with distinctive town centres providing access to jobs and culture the capital has to offer.

Ofsted rated us as ‘Good’, with 'Outstanding' leadership, in December 2021. However, we have not rested but continue to strive to do more for families, strengthen practice and bring innovative ways of working across our systems.

Our offer to you

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across - however big or small - will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

In addition, we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff, supported by our IT infrastructure, including Google Chromebooks and Google Apps.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro‑rata if part‑time working hours apply)

Flexi‑time (Please note, this applies to roles at grades 1-9 only)

Comprehensive learning and development programme

Local and national discounts for shopping, eating out and leisure activities

Interest free season ticket loans

Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme

Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses

Confidential wellbeing and counselling support

Subsidised gym membership

Interested in working in Sutton? Hear from our staff below on why they think Sutton is a great place to be a Social Worker.