The team includes children’s and adult social workers and substance use specialist, a psychologist, parenting practitioners and an adult psychiatrist. With a wide range of skills and backgrounds, together we’ve developed a respected reputation for working creatively with families to try and help them turn their lives around.
Naturally, it’s about putting children first. You’ll assess their risks, their families’ capacity for parenting, and the potential for change. Then, you’ll either develop a clear plan for them to remain with their families or provide sound evidence that informs the tough decisions on what happens when a family can’t safely care for their child.
This is complex work. So, while you’ll focus on a small number of families, it’s vital that you have the empathy to quickly understand their views, build trust and create positive outcomes.
As well as working face-to-face with families, you’ll partner closely with outside agencies, legal professionals and social workers. All of whom, rely heavily on the quality of your reports.
The service is known for its ethos of collaboration and supporting one another. And because of the specialist nature of the work, from day one we’ll expect you to be proactive in filling any knowledge gaps and grow your skills further with us using a systemic approach.
With a DipSW, CQSW or social work qualification, you’ll have worked with children and families from diverse backgrounds and have experience of using a variety of tools to undertake assessments. You should have substantial experience of producing comprehensive assessment reports for the courts and giving evidence and be a confident under cross-examination. A collaborative team worker with strong analytical skills and the ability to process complex information, you’ll have the skills to manage conflict and negotiate with differing views and opinions.
It's important that you have a good understanding of the needs of families with complex needs, well developed understanding of child and adolescent development, the ability to undertake assessments, and good knowledge of relevant legislation, regulations and childcare practice. Ready to work under pressure and manage stress, we’ll also expect you to be capable of using your excellent communication and interpersonal skills to mentor and train students and less experienced members of your team.
In return, you can look forward to a package that includes a competitive salary, a high-quality pension scheme and generous annual leave plus bank holidays.
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
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.