Senior Practitioner - Children Looked After 0-16

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Job Description

Senior Practitioner - Children Looked After 0-16

Salary: Grade 15 (£55,323-£57,402)
Permanent - 36 hours per week
Hybrid working (3 office days / 2 home office)

Job Purpose

The Children Looked After service supports and inspires cared for children, and care experienced young people to become their best, and achieve their aspirations. We take our corporate parenting role very seriously and are committed to supporting our children to be heard, and to flourish. We provide social work support for children and young people aged 0-16. We aim to walk alongside them and enable their plans for permanency to be achieved. We know how important lifelong links are for our children looked after, and we work hard to enable these to be maintained.

Senior Practitioner candidates will need to have significant post qualifying experience, including in a statutory child care setting. Prior experience of working with children looked after is useful but not essential. You will however, be committed to high quality relational practice and have a natural ability in creating trusting relationships with children.

Candidates will need to be able to demonstrate good experience, knowledge and skills of ability to work in front line settings; being able to work with a complex and diverse range of needs and risks; and making effective and timely decisions including those in contextual safeguarding. Candidates will need to demonstrate their ability to working positively with partner agencies and collaborative working relationships with children and their families. Candidates will need to have good knowledge and understanding of legislative framework, relevant research and national developments, and policies relating to children's social work and relevant to the role. The Senior Practitioner roles work with children with complex needs and support the Team Managers in providing leadership of practice. We work from a systemic framework and trauma informed perspective.

You will support staff across the teams to develop their practice and develop expertise. As a Senior Practitioner you will have expertise in:

Engaging children and young people and relationship building

Direct work across the age range

Assessment and Care Planning / Pathway Planning

Safeguarding for children in care including extra familial harm

High standard of report writing and case recording

Ability to analyse complex information and make child centred decisions.

Chair multi-professional meetings and co-ordinate support

Delivering to performance standards consistently across the measures within the journey of the child.

Essential Requirements

Qualified Social Worker and up to date registered with Social Work England
Foundation level systemic practice qualification - desirable
Practice Educator or Practice Teacher qualification - desirable
Knowledge of national policy, strategy and developments regarding children's social care, and areas that impact on children's social care.
Significant experience working with children in care and those who arrived unaccompanied in the UK.
Knowledge of relevant legislation, statutory guidance, standards and procedures.
Knowledge of relevant theoretical frameworks, practice models and research findings.
Knowledge of models of reflective supervision that impact on practice and outcomes.
Able to maintain records that evidence our engagement with children and families, informs the quality assurance framework e.g., quantitative, qualitative and outcome information for the children and families, the views and experiences of children and families.

To view the Senior Practitioner role profile, please click here.

About Us

Croydon Council's priorities

The Council balances its books, listens to residents, and delivers good sustainable services

• Get a grip on the finances and make the council financially sustainable
• Become a council which listens to, respects and works in partnership with Croydon's diverse communities and businesses
• Strengthen collaboration and joint working with partner organisations and the voluntary, community and faith sectors
• Ensure good governance is embedded and adopt best practice
• Develop our workforce to deliver in a manner that respects the diversity of our communities

Key business plan outcomes:

• Croydon is a place of opportunity for business, earning and learning
• Children and young people in Croydon have the chance to thrive, learn and fulfil their potential
• Croydon is a cleaner, safer and healthier place, a borough we're proud to call home
• People can lead healthier and independent lives for longer
• Croydon Council's new ways of working

Equal Opportunities Statement

Croydon Council is an inclusive employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. Subject to business needs, we will be pleased to consider applications from candidates seeking flexible working arrangements and support hybrid working, whereby staff attend the workplace for part of their working week and work from home, or elsewhere, remotely for the rest of the time.

As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the advertised role.

Croydon council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment.
The Successful candidate will be subject to a DBS check, if the role requires one.