Practice Manager - Children in Need

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Are you interested in professional development opportunities and the ability to practice to the best of your ability within a supportive, innovative Outstanding Local Authority? If so, Islington is looking to recruit an enthusiastic and talented Practice Manager to our Children in Need Service.

Islington was rated as Outstanding by Ofsted in March 2020. Ofsted has reported "Children in Islington benefit from services that have gone from strength to strength ... Senior leaders and members of the council demonstrate an unwavering commitment to improving and enriching the lives of children and their families. This is evidenced by the significant and sustained investment in children's services, and by the wide range of highly successful initiatives that are having a positive impact on children and their families, whatever their level of need. Highly skilled and experienced staff listen carefully to children to understand their needs and ensure that plans are effective ".

As a Practice Manager, you will be responsible for promoting excellent practice by supporting the delivery of services that aligns with the service-wide vision and objectives which includes:

Equity, diversity and inclusion

You will have, and demonstrate a clear understanding of inequities, how they affect different sections of our community, and the role that strategy and improvement can play in supporting better equality, diversity, and inclusion outcomes.

You can influence the development of services, support and/or practice by:

• effectively interacting, working with, and developing meaningful relationships with people of various cultural backgrounds
• interpreting issues and concerns from a cultural perspective and addressing situations or challenges from the points-of-view of multiple cultures
• recognising and advancing equity, diversity and inclusion in your team through your actions

Supporting children achieving their best through access and education attainment

• You will have and demonstrate a clear understanding about how children's education impacts on all areas of children and young people's development.
• You will be instrumental in developing practice within your team that promotes children's attendance at school and promotes children's learning opportunities outside of school.
• You will be able to identify and support families in being able to prioritise children's relationship with learning.
• You will work to create conditions for excellent practice in a safe, calm and well-ordered environment for all staff and utilise reflective spaces such as coaching and supervision where the welfare and the safety of children and young people are paramount.

What is Motivational Practice?

Motivational Practice is Islington's Practice Model. There are core elements that underpin the practice framework that provide a set of skills around how to communicate in a helpful way with workers that you supervise, the professional network as a whole and families we work with, supporting a process of change.

Main duties of the job

The Practice Manager is responsible for the case monitoring and supervision of all cases in their supervision group and will play a crucial role in developing a reflective and supportive supervision environment. You will ensure the delivery of high-quality assessments, care planning and case progression for children in need and child protection cases whilst assisting the team manager build effective and meaningful relationships with key partners. You will be accustomed to employing social work principles such as dignity, respect, empathy, and strength based, collaborative approach to service delivery.

Motivational interviewing skills with a Trauma Informed lens are the cornerstone of social work practice in the Children in Need Service. In order to help us select the best candidate's Islington have developed a two-stage interview process with the first stage being an opportunity to test out applicants Motivational Interviewing (MI) compatibility.

Candidates are not required to have advanced MI skills, rather we are seeking to identify those who have the capacity to develop these skills with the advanced training and coaching. Further details will be provided to all candidates who are shortlisted and offered an interview.

Those candidates who are successful following Motivation Interview will have a written test and panel interview.

Closing date: 5th December 2024 at 23:59

Proposed Interviews: To be confirmed

What Islington Offers:

• Protected caseloads and reduced bureaucracy will allow more intensive work with families, more frequent visits and the opportunity to build transformative relationships and undertake more direct work,
• A specially designed core training package to deliver goal-based interventions, use evidenced based tools, develop reflective and thoughtful risk assessment, and to measure progress,
• Availability of an intensive multi-disciplinary service to enhance social work intervention where the concerns for the child are high risk ,
• Social workers and managers receive regular reflective supervision and practice development opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of their interventions and develop their skills.
• Zone 1 & 2 Annual Travelcard Payment
• Retention bonus scheme
• Comprehensive Employee Benefits Scheme
• Modern office facilities located on Islington's Upper Street N1 .
• Generous annual leave and flexible working opportunities

We take pride in providing a learning environment where staff can develop, with controlled caseloads, safe working practices, a culture of strong supervision and excellent training opportunities enables a supportive working environment for all staff. What makes Islington a great place to work (youtube.com)

For further information or to arrange to have a chat about this vacancy, please contact

Charles Lepretre, Team Manager

[email protected]

About You

Working for the team, service and our organisation

Islington is a place rich with diversity and culture. As a council our sense of purpose couldn't be clearer: we serve. It's in the logo. We are committed to challenging inequality in the borough and as one of the largest employers we know that to look after the place and the planet, we have to look after our people. Together we can change the future.

We are determined to create a more equal Islington, where everyone who lives here has an equal chance to thrive.

To do this, everyone who works at Islington Council lives by a set of values which guide us in everything that we do: collaborative, ambitious, resourceful, and empowering. They spell out 'CARE', which is what we think public service is all about.

Our offer to you

We are committed to challenging inequality in the borough and as one of the largest employers we know that to look after the place and the planet, we have to look after our people. Our staff benefits include:

• Up to 31 days leave per year, increasing to 36 days after five years of local government service
• A range of flexible working arrangements to maintain a healthy work-life balance, as well as a 35-hour working week
• Learning and development opportunities to maximise your potential
• Competitive pay and a commitment to paying all staff the London Living Wage at minimum
• Excellent local government pension scheme
• Cycle to Work scheme and discounted gym memberships
• Local discounts from restaurants, shops, health and beauty therapists, and more!

Recruitment information

It is the policy of Islington Council that no user of service, present or future employee or job applicant receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of their sex, perceived or actual sexual orientation, marital status, race, religion or belief, age, creed, colour, nationality, national origin, ethnic origin, or disability, or on the grounds of their association with someone in one of these groups; nor is disadvantaged by any conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justified. We welcome applications from Black and Minority Ethnic candidates and acknowledge our responsibility to mitigate against racial discrimination.

Islington Council operates a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria and we are committed to providing support to applicants who request reasonable adjustments to be made during the recruitment process and throughout their career with us.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expects all staff, and volunteers to share this commitment. Some posts are subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

The post is subject to an enhanced DBS check with children's barred list, Social Work England registration, qualifications check and 5 years referencing.

Please note: Priority will be given to those at risk of redundancy within Islington Council. Current employees who are part of the redeployment pool must meet the essential criteria for shortlisting to be prioritised.