Senior Practitioner - Referral and Assessment

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About the role

As a Senior practitioner in the team you will work with children and young people, families, carers and communities to help them make informed decisions to help them be safe and happy. Children are the focus of the work we do. You will also support the wider development of the team through the support and mentoring of others, as well as demonstrate and role-model advanced social work practice with children and their families.

We work collaboratively, working alongside specialist colleagues co-located within our team including Family Coaches, Substance Misuse workers and Domestic Violence specialists. We have the benefit of a wonderful array of community and specialist services for families as seen in our Local Offer. You will be supported to work jointly to the benefit of children.

As a Social Worker for Achieving for Children (AfC), you will be responsible for holding a mixture of cases including complex cases and short term Child in Need cases. To investigate complaints of alleged neglect, abuse or ill-treatment of children; undertake assessments and, maintaining appropriate personal/professional boundaries.

As a Senior Practitioner within the Referral and Assessment Team you will Team based experience will include:

• Support and mentoring of others using supervisory experience and supporting Students, ASYE and placement experience such as Practice Educator
• Facilitating and running peer group supervision sessions and developmental opportunities; Commitment to embracing and developing learning, with use of theory and research
• Experience in working with children and families will include: confidence in undertaking child protective investigations, alongside safety and contingency planning
• court work and pre-proceedings experience including report writing, statements and care planning
• child focussed direct work that role models creativity and purposefulness; experience in working with children throughout a journey of statutory services, including becoming 'looked after'; and having the confidence in chairing complex meetings

If you would like to find out more about this exciting role, please contact the following for an informal discussion:

Richmond: Hilary Sutton by email hilary.sutton@achievingforchildren.org.uk

Kingston: Rachael Pateman by email: rachael.pateman@achievingforchildren.org.uk

About you

To be a Senior Practitioner for AfC you will be need the following requirements:

• Educated to a degree level with a relevant professional qualification in social work (CSS/CQSW or DipSw, MA SW, BA Hons SW)
• Postgraduate qualification in a relevant field i.e. social work, leadership and management'
• Active Social Work England registration and proven evidence of continuing professional development
• You will have proven and extensive experience encompassing two main areas - the support and development of peers within the team and the skills and knowledge in working with families
• You will have a passion to demonstrate and promote our values (Trust, Respect and Empower) through professional behaviours and relationships

About our benefits

We are focused on creating a positive supportive environment, where you will have access to a really wide range of resources, as well as a competitive salary and all the perks to enable hybrid working. In AfC you will also have access to:

• 29 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days after 2 years and 35 days after 4 years with an additional day off in your birthday month(Or for term term workers, your leave entitlement consists of the non-working periods in your contract.)
• Tailored induction sessions commencing on the date you start working for AfC
• Local Government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension)
• Flexible working options - helping to keep a good work life balance
• A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme
• A range of staff benefits and discounts
• An excellent learning and development offer to support your career pathway

To find out about all of the breadth of benefits of working for Achieving for Children click here . For our social work offer click here .

Important Information

Start dates: Achieving for Children have set start dates meaning successful candidates join on a set date in each month. Candidates are advised to prepare for this should a job offer be accepted to ensure eligible continuous service is not affected.

Right to work: The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.

Equality: We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams. Achieving for Children are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

Safeguarding: We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

For more information about AfC: Drop in and meet Regina on the first Wednesday of every month at Civic Centre, Twickenham.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.