SHiFT Bexley is an innovative collaboration between SHiFT (a Charity that partners with public services to drive systems change) and Children’s Services at the London Borough of Bexley. SHiFT Bexley works intensively and flexibly with children caught up in, or at risk of, the destructive cycle of crime and associated behaviour, doing whatever it takes to set them on a course for success. It is part of our Specialist Adolescent Services, sitting alongside the Youth Justice Service and our Targeted Youth Service.
SHiFT Bexley is expanding its multi-disciplinary practice to include new SHiFT Guide roles for social workers - colleagues who will case-hold statutory interventions and support children for whom there are concerns around extrafamilial harm, including criminal or sexual exploitation. As a member of SHiFT Bexley, you will work intensively with low numbers of children, getting alongside them, their friends, families, and communities, and working with them collaboratively and systemically, to develop high trust, culturally competent and strengths-driven relationships that catalyse positive change. You will share an unwavering commitment to anti-racist and anti-oppressive practice and put this at the centre of all your work.
Are you a highly skilled Social Worker who’d love the chance to work intensively and flexibly with a small group of children who are caught in cycles of exploitation and extra-familial harm? Are you a tenacious problem solver, ready to do whatever it takes to set all children up for safe and bright futures? Do you go for gold in your practice, holding high aspirations and expectations and believing in children until they believe in themselves? Are you laser focused on improved outcomes and progress for children and families and do you thrive in a culture of high trust and high expectations? If so, then SHiFT Bexley – an innovative collaboration between SHiFT, a national systems change charity, and the London Borough of Bexley’s Children’s Service – is growing and we’d love you to join us.
Bexley is on a mission to put relationships at the heart of all its work with children and is investing in the intensive support that we know is needed for children caught in cycles of exploitation and related harms. An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Bexley SHiFT Practice as a Social Worker, where you will work systemically with a small number of children and families over 6 to c. 12 months. You will have time to invest in relationships with children and their families and undertake high quality direct work. You will work with children and families flexibly, whenever and wherever they feel safest. You will work collaboratively with everyone important in the child’s world, including partner agencies, to intervene effectively in the spaces where children are experiencing harm.
You will be part of an expanding team and a dynamic and forward-looking wider adolescent service that is continually evolving and looking for opportunities to innovate.
You will be provided with 16 days of systemic training in your first year with the team, alongside Bexley’s wider Children’s Services training and development offer. You will benefit from clinical supervision as well as weekly, reflective Child and Family Practice Discussions with your team, supported by a Systemic Psychotherapist.
Bexley Children’s Services has adopted Signs of Safety as its practice model. This strengths and solution focused ethos of working with families and colleagues is threaded throughout all areas of Children’s Social Care. As part of your role, you will work alongside this practice framework.
Please refer to the Job Description for more information.
For an informal discussion about the role please contact Hannah Porter, Team Manager, on 0203 045 3175 or Hannah.porter@bexley.gov.uk.
You will be a qualified social worker, registered with Social Work England. You will be passionate about working with adolescents and have significant experience in undertaking direct work with young people. You will have experience of delivering successful change through evidence-based approaches with children affected by extrafamilial harm and their families. You will be skilled and experienced in working in a multi-agency context.
For the full list of essential and desirable criteria for this role then please refer to the Person Specification within the Job Description.
Appointment to this post will be subject to the outcome of an Enhanced Disclosure obtained through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
This post is considered by the authority to be a customer-facing position; as such it falls within scope of the Code of Practice on English language requirement for public sector workers. The council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English sufficient for the effective performance of the
Additional Information
Anticipated Interview Date: week beginning 20th January 2025
As a disability confident employer Bexley welcomes applications from people with all disabilities, including hidden disabilities and mental health conditions. We will interview any disabled applicant who meets the minimum criteria. If you require reasonable adjustments to be made to any part of the recruitment process due to your disability, please contact us on recruitment@bexley.gov.uk
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