Social Worker / Senior Social Worker - Children Looked After Team

Posted 12th Feb, 2025
Location
Kingston upon Thames
Salary/rate
£41,442 – £50,574
Hours
Full-time
Working arrangements
Blended
Contract type
Permanent
Closing date
9th Mar, 2025
About the role

We’re celebrating an OUTSTANDING achievement across all areas in our latest Ofsted inspection (December 2024) and we’re looking for social workers to help build on this success.

Ofsted praised our services being: “Ambitious for every child in care and celebrate their talents and achievements and the things that matter most to them. The dedication to children in care is exceptional." 

If you’re looking for a workplace where you can thrive, grow, and truly make a difference, this is your opportunity!

We are offering a £3,000 annual market supplement for this role!

All social workers within the Permanency service are offered the opportunity to undertake meaningful direct work such as life story work and the work we undertake can make life long differences to their lives. We are looking for enthusiastic, committed social workers who have the passion and the drive to make a positive difference to children’s lives and can help motivate the networks around our young people to achieve excellent standards of care and support to our young people. 

AfC offers a hybrid way of working with the main office based in Kingston where you will support children and young people aged 0 to 18. Internal applicants will be considered for a secondment.

About the role

As a social worker / senior social worker within the Children Looked After team you will act as a corporate parent to our children and be the lead professional. It will be key for you to understand and champion the views and wishes of our children and young people so that they may be supported to reach their full potential.

You will work alongside other professionals, to ensure that a child and/or young person receives appropriate care, education and health services, and any other support needed to ensure their needs are appropriately met.

Supporting children living with relatives, friends of foster families and prospective adopters or children living in children's homes and young people in semi-independent units. You will be responsible for ensuring the child or young persons safety and supporting them towards independence by:

  • Undertaking regular statutory visits
  • Completing and updating assessments
  • Care Planning
  • Working as part of a professional network to meet the needs of the children and young people

If you wish to have an informal discussion about this role please contact the Head of Service Elzanne Smit on elzanne.smit@achievingforchildren.org.uk

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
About you

About you

We are looking for a candidate who possess the following qualifications and skills:

  • Educated to a degree level with the relevant social work qualification
  • Appropriate understanding of statutory legislation for example the Children Act
  • Planning skills for assessing and reviewing children and young people’s needs and
  • Planning packages of care across a range of cases
  • Experience in managing an allocated case load
  • A passion for Achieving for Children's vision, mission and values to support children and young people to live safe, happy, healthy and successful lives
About Kingston upon Thames

Achieving for Children (AfC) is a community interest company (a not-for-profit social enterprise) created in 2014 by the Royal Borough of Kingston and the London Borough of Richmond to provide their children’s services. In 2017, the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead joined AfC as our third owner.

We deliver the full range of children’s services for the three councils. Achieving for Children is a great place to work for those looking for a new challenge. Our offer to you includes:

  • A role in an organisation that is supportive

  • An induction offer that starts before you join and includes a welcome event on your first day of employment.

  • 29 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days after two years and 35 days after four years

  • Local Government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension)

  • Hybrid or mobile working and the technology and equipment to facilitate this

  • Positions available in three of the most desirable boroughs in the south - discrete relocation packages are available for selected roles

  • Travel assistance package for business use, including car and cycle mileage reimbursement, annual season ticket loan or business Oyster cards

  • Two days accredited Signs of Safety Foundation Training

  • 12 protected Development Days each year for all staff

  • Access to a huge range of additional professional development opportunities as part of our regional Social Work Teaching Partnership

  • On occasions we are in the position to offer some additional financial payments for particularly hard to place roles in selected service areas of AfC.

If you would like to have an informal chat about working with us, please email recruitment@achievingforchildren.org.uk