Completing court directed assessments of alternative permanent carers for children and making recommendations on their suitability as well as supervising and supporting carers providing connected persons placements. With the breathing space to really get to grips with each case, you will support frontline Social Workers in delivering the best care plans for these children and their families – and in doing so, you will make a tangible difference to their life outcomes. With the full backing of a friendly and highly engaged team, you will embrace our systemic approach to delivering exceptional social work – an approach that has seen our people recognised as experts in their field.
Join us in this role, and you will have the scope to explore a different and deeply interesting aspect of social work. As a qualified and registered Social Worker with experience of working with children and families in a local authority context, you will be well versed in the specifics of child protection, children looked after and court work. Bringing an excellent knowledge of child development (both physical and emotional) to the role, you will be passionate about delivering better outcomes for children via risk management, safeguarding and care planning. We’ll expect you to be a team-player with the ability to work autonomously, and you will be capable of working to short timescales. Crucially, you will have excellent analytical report writing skills, with the communication skills needed to build trust with service users.
As a social worker, Kensington and Chelsea presents a unique and rewarding work environment. The borough is home to a diverse community and the demographic make up of our staff reflects this.
We are committed to promoting equality and celebrating the benefits of diversity. We are a Disability Confident Employer – committed to ensuring that our recruitment and selection process is inclusive and accessible.
The borough’s commitment to social care is reflected in its innovative approach to service delivery. For example, the Council has established a Bi-Borough partnership with neighbouring borough Westminster, which allows for the sharing of resources and expertise. The partnership has resulted in improved service delivery and better outcomes for vulnerable residents, which was recognised in our last ILACS inspection which found Kensington and Chelsea to be Outstanding in all judgement areas.
“Children in care and care leavers receive an outstanding service from workers who know them exceptionally well and are caring and ambitious for them. There is strong corporate support from the wider council to provide high-quality social work services for children, including significant financial investment so that the conditions are in place for excellent social work practice to flourish.”Ofsted
“Children in care and care leavers receive an outstanding service from workers who know them exceptionally well and are caring and ambitious for them. There is strong corporate support from the wider council to provide high-quality social work services for children, including significant financial investment so that the conditions are in place for excellent social work practice to flourish.”
Ofsted
Social workers in Kensington and Chelsea can look forward to a package that includes a competitive salary and child protection payment of £2,500 for social worker positions, membership of the Local Government pension scheme, Travel allowance scheme for zones 1 and 2, cycle scheme, reimbursement of Social Work England fees, generous annual leave plus bank holidays and discounts for many leisure activities, restaurants, shops and other establishments. Employees also benefit from an extensive training package, with access to the West London Alliance essential training and to years 1 and 2 of Systemic Practice.
In addition, we offer an annual leave purchase scheme where you can purchase up to 5 days annual leave per annum at 90 per cent of the actual cost. The Council has a staff contributory private healthcare scheme, open to all staff and offers a Dental Insurance Plan.