Supervising Social Workers (Fostering Support Team)

PO2 - PO3: £41,967 rising in annual increments to £48,063 pa incl. LW

Children's Social Care

Hybrid Working / Full time / Permanent

In Lambeth, we value and invest in our social workers.  We recognise that our staff are our greatest asset, and we want reflective, talented Social Workers to assist us in giving the best possible, most helpful support to our most vulnerable children, families and carers.

We have lots to offer from our rich learning and development programme and our competitive salaries to our exceptional career progression pathways and manageable caseloads.  Manage your work-life balance through our flexible working opportunities, and work in the heart of Brixton, one of London’s most vibrant cultural centres.

But most importantly, we are looking for reflective, dedicated social workers who want to focus on great practice that makes real and positive difference for children and young people we support.  Lambeth promotes Systemic approaches to working with families and communities. Through our innovative “Children at the Heart of Practice” framework, we are inspiring, resourcing and enabling social workers to undertake great relationship-based social work practice.

The Job: 

An exciting opportunity has arisen for full time Social Workers in the Fostering Support Team.  We are looking for dedicated and dependable Supervising Social Workers in the Fostering Support Team. The successful applicants will be working with foster carers and looked after children.  

A must have is a passion for children and young people, excellent organisational skills, meeting deadlines, excellent communication skills and the ability to analyse situations accurately and produce detailed written reports.

You will be required to support existing and newly approved foster carers and temporary approved foster carers (kinship and Early Permanence carers); Participation in delivering of training for foster carers; Completion of foster carer’s reviews; presentation to the Fostering Panel. 

In addition, be part of a creative fostering service that works with the theories of trauma, attachment and loss, social pedagogy and restorative practice to ensure the best outcomes for our children.  Self-motivated and accustomed to working to deadlines, you will have good IT and communication skills, with experience of establishing and nurturing multi-agency relationships.

The Support:

Social workers in Lambeth can look forward to accessing training opportunities which include:

• A 3-day introduction to systemic practice offered to all staff
• Specialist training in systemic approaches to working with domestic violence and adolescents
  30 places per year for 1st year accredited systemic training
• Funded training to Practice Educator status

In addition to our training offer, all our social workers:

• Are part of a small team of six social workers
• Take part in regular group supervision with their team
• Receive support from their team-based advanced practitioner

Why Lambeth?

Social workers in Lambeth:

• Receive a competitive salary that rises to a maximum of £48,063 per year 
• Can progress into team-based Advanced Practitioner posts earning up to £51k
• Benefit from flexible working opportunities such as working from home and compressed hours (negotiated on an individual basis)
• Are situated in the heart of Brixton (2 mins walk from Brixton Tube) with access to and discounts on the renowned local amenities
• Manage a caseload which is below the inner London average
• Work from a fantastic, modern working environment in the award-winning Lambeth Town Hall and Civic Centre buildings
• Receive 27 days of annual leave (rising to 35 days for those with continuous service of more than five years)
• Have access to a comprehensive benefits package

If you have any queries in relation to this vacancy, please contact Olaitan (Ola) Aregbesola, Service Manager, OAregbesola@lambeth.gov.uk 

We are a Stonewall diversity champion; a Living Wage Employer and we guarantee to interview all disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria of the role. Please click here for a full list of our accreditations.

Successful candidates will be asked to apply for a Standard Certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Further information about the DBS can be found at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/agencies-public-bodies/dbs
Please note we operate an anonymised application process.

You will also be required to undertake a Cifas check.  Further information about Cifas can be found here Cifas

Please note we operate an anonymised application process. If you are uploading your CV or a personal statement, please remove your personal details and replace these with your unique candidate application number.

Interested, click on the apply button and complete an on-line application, explicitly evidencing in the supporting statement field how you meet the shortlist criteria marked with an ‘A’.

Job Description and Specification

Closing Date: Sunday 28th April 2024 at midnight

Lambeth aims for quality services and equal opportunities for all and is committed to safer recruitment