We are seeking a qualified Team Manager experienced in family and friends assessment and court work to join us and support our extremely talented team of Social Workers to drive the service forward. You will lead and manage performance of the Family and Friends Assessment and Support team and foster a culture of continuous learning and reflection of practice that inspires staff to give their best in their roles. Introduce, embed and continually improve at team level, the quality of social work consistent with established models of good practice.
To provide professional advice to staff, colleagues and partners for the area of responsibility. Ensure that assessments and plans for children are robust, evidence-based, progressed in a timely way, are effective in keeping children safe and are outcome focussed. Allocate cases effectively in terms of matching the risk / complexity of cases with the skills, experience and professional development needs of social workers. Prioritise the deployment of staff resources and ensure practice is operating in accordance with the thresholds of Croydon’s early help and staged intervention model. Ensure compliance with statutory requirements and Croydon practice standards in respect of the protection and well-being of children, including looked after children and young people.
To embed and develop the outcomes focussed framework and culture across the service that demonstrates measurable improvements in the stability, well-being and safety of children and families allocated in the Team. Contribute to the development and introduction of a quality assurance framework for the service and use the findings to drive continuous practice improvement in the Team. To manage and contribute to projects that deliver service improvement, working to recognised project management principles and methods. To maintain up-to-date knowledge of research findings, legislation, statutory guidance and policy developments relevant to the service area.
Home to 94,000 children, Croydon is a truly unique place to practice social work. We are a borough with big ambition, grit, and determination. Children's social care was judged ‘good’ in our last Ofsted inspection.
Our systemic practice framework places emphasis on relationships as key to supporting change for families. We make sense of the world through relationships, focusing on the whole family system and thinking about our own part in that too – what we bring, our own family stories and beliefs, how we use ourselves in the work that we do. Our practice model is all about collaboration - with our families, networks and partners; being open to challenge and ensuring our practitioners are highly trained in a variety of intervention approaches. Our established clinical service will support you to grow your own systemic practice within the service, providing accredited training, co-working and direct work with families.
For an informal chat about working in Croydon, contact Agata Stolowska at agata.stolowska@croydon.gov.uk