You will provide operational support and practice insight in relation to the work of Bexley S.H.I.E.L.D. (the children and young people’s safeguarding partnership) and in particular lead on specific activities relating to the partnership’s Learning Hub and other subgroups. The Learning Hub activity will involve planning and delivering multi-agency audits and reflective discussions for practitioners, feedback events for children, young people, families and practitioners, reviewing data, case review information and other service information. You will also contribute to developing recommendations from the Learning Hub for the partnership’s decision-making body (the Partnership Board) and the resulting action plans for operational and strategic leads from across the partnership.
You will work closely with the Strategic Safeguarding Lead to prepare papers and verbal updates for the Learning from Practice Group and lead on developing, following up and monitoring multi-agency action plans resulting from individual case reviews by the group. You will support the preparation for and chairing of Rapid Reviews. You will support the recommendation-making by the group in relation to the type and level of review undertaken including seeking advice from the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel as appropriate. You will work with training leads from across the partnership to develop learning events that effectively respond to the practice challenges identified by Bexley’s learning review activity.
Essential qualifications needed:
Maths and English to GCSE standard (A-C)
A relevant social work degree (ie: DipSWA or CQSW or degree in social work)
Registered with the professional regulator for social work (Health and Care Professions Council – HCPC)
Desirable qualifications:
Advanced qualification in Social Work i.e., higher specialist award in working with children and families, practice , or equivalent or evidence of having met the Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF) at the advanced level
Qualification in training adults (e.g. 7303 Train the trainers, City & Guilds, etc.).
Experience require
Has extensive experience working in a statutory child protection setting (ie: child protection, children looked after) including experience of multi-agency working and understanding of the key agencies involved in the child protection system
Has a good understanding of and ability to use IT systems, such as case recording systems (ie: Liquid Logic), word processing (ie: Microsoft Word), Email and Calendars (ie: Microsoft Outlook), Powerpoint, Internet search engines (ie: Google or Bing), computers, mobile phones, and secure remote working systems (ie: Wifi, Citrix or Cisco VPN systems)
Bexley is well connected, there are good transport links to central London, the Kent countryside and the Coast! It is the best of both worlds. Our residents and workers can benefit from the new high-speed Elizabeth Line which goes from Abbey Wood, here in Bexley and all the way to Reading, Southeast England.
We are a diverse and growing borough. By 2030 our population will be over 260,000 and almost 300,000 by 2050. Almost 25% of our population is Black and Asian Multi-Ethnic. Bexley is one of London’s greenest boroughs and has recently been awarded Public Sector Campaign of the year by Sustainable City’s prestigious annual awards.
We believe that everyone in Bexley Children’s Social Care should have the opportunity to grow and develop, in every role and at every stage of their career and offer a wide variety of social work roles, both for qualified and unqualified practitioners. Bexley Children’s Social Care offers the opportunity to develop skills and knowledge in different areas of Children’s Services: we offer a comprehensive range of professional development opportunities and are committed to ensuring that Bexley is a welcoming and enjoyable place to work.
The children and families we work with, are always kept at the centre of our practice. We believe:
children should stay with their families whenever it’s in their best interests and safe to do so
where it’s not, we must act quickly through the courts to help children find a safe space
success depends on positive, respectful relationships with families and with each other
working with families is unpredictable, so we have to create a supportive environment for our teams
the most effective practice is based on ‘showing your working out’ – so that even when things don’t go to plan, the thinking behind decisions is clear and defensible
Working in social care in Bexley is endlessly rewarding. As well as helping some of the most vulnerable people in our borough, we invest in looking after you and your career.
We offer excellent benefits, from competitive salaries and generous leave to flexible working and a wealth of health and wellness programmes.
flexible working - including opportunities for hybrid working, job sharing, compressed hours, and career breaks
a comprehensive range of training and professional development opportunities including access to research, group and e-learning, coaching and group supervision for colleagues in all roles and at every stage of their career
clear career progression pathways, within a nurturing environment, which allows social work to flourish. From opportunities to undertake social work qualification; our dedicated ASYE Academy; to our Leadership Academy offering bespoke development for our aspiring and existing leaders. There are also opportunities for practitioners to be involved in university research & academic delivery with our partner universities and students.
family leave - includes maternity, paternity, adoption and parental leave
mental health and physical wellbeing - including access to our Employee Assistance Programme, help to quit smoking, access to private healthcare, free eye tests and discounted leisure offers
financial wellbeing - excellent pension scheme, charitable giving options
generous annual leave - 25 to 33 days, with the option to purchase extra leave plus an extra bank holiday at Christmas
competitive pay - performance assessments with the opportunity for salary increments and transparent salary scales
transport offers - cycle to work scheme, carpooling, subsidised parking and interest-free season ticket loans
recognition - Thank you messaging to celebrate staff success and sharing of compliments received
professional and personal development - training and workshops to help you thrive and a discount on most Learning and Enterprise College Bexley courses
staff support networks - our networks support and encourage networking between staff with various events throughout the year
employee volunteering - get out of the office and help a local project blossom
MyChoice benefit scheme - your pick of perks from vouchers to car leasing
local authority discount scheme - attraction and theme park discounts and local offers in partnership with KAARP .
We work together in a modern, well-equipped, energising environment that supports team working and collaboration across the service and with partners