Social Worker - Children With Disabilities
Management Grouping: Children’s Services
“Bexley is a safe and supportive place to work with highly creative work undertaken by a skilled and well supported workforce - Ofsted 2018”
The Council, its staff and partners, were delighted in August 2018, when Ofsted judged the overall effectiveness of children’s social care services to be ‘outstanding’! We were especially pleased that our investment in frontline practitioners and managers was recognised. We have been working hard to create an environment where social workers can do the work they came into the profession to do - to support and help families to stay together where this is in children’s best interests and it is safe enough for this to happen.
Ofsted judged that we provide strong management oversight of practice, that we have a well - embedded practice framework to enable meaningful family focused help, that we offer clear progress in career pathways, a talent management scheme and a nurturing environment to enable social work to flourish. We believe deeply in relationship based practice and ‘Signs of Safety’ is the vehicle enabling us to do this respectfully and in collaboration with the people we are trying to help.
We have an established family engagement group, FL.A.RE (Family Learning, Advocacy & Restorative Engagement) who support us with practice development and delivery and front line practitioners have the opportunity to be part of this work.
Practitioners are invited to contribute to our Learning & Development offer in Bexley and to enhance Continual Professional Development, there is opportunity to co-design and deliver training if this is of interest.
Here in Bexley, we recognise that our greatest asset is our workforce. Staff well-being is important to us and you will have access to our weekly staff well-being drop in sessions, our Employee Assistance Programme and our corporate offer of emotional and physical well-being sessions.
If this sounds exciting and reassuring, we want you to get in touch with us. Our workforce is stable with a high level of permanent staff but we are always looking for practitioners wanting to come and practice confidently as part of our team making a difference for families and children. We will invest in you in return for your investment in our families and children.
Do you think you have what it takes to join our team of excellent, creative and dedicated social work professionals?
Children with Disabilities Team
Our Children with Disability Service safeguards and promotes the welfare of children in line with Children Act 1989 and 2004, Children & Families Act 2014 and Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance 2015.
We work with the SEN education department to implement the biggest education
reforms in a generation for children and young people with special educational needs which became law in September 2014. In line with the Children and Families Act (
SEND Reforms).
We work with Children in Need, Looked After Children & Children subject to Child Protection Plans. We also work to the Public Law outline and initiate care proceedings.
We keep children and young people at the heart of our work. We listen to children, respect their views and champion their rights ensuring that each child’s voice informs the work that we do.
We have a permanent management team, and you will receive monthly reflective supervision, training and professional development as part of the role. There are regular team meetings and development opportunities as well as opportunities for career progression.
Ideal candidates will possess highly developed knowledge in children’s social work practice and ideally will have experience of working with children with disabilities.
Appointment to this post will be subject to the outcome of an Enhanced Disclosure obtained through the Disclosure and Barring Service
Make Social Work at Bexley a profession that is yours to own:
- An excellent working environment at our fantastic offices
- Professional supervision
- Mentoring/coaching
- Opportunities for flexible working with excellent ICT facilities
- Bexley has a flexible and generous package to support you moving to work in Bexley. We will pay up to £8k which you can use as you wish, e.g. to pay a deposit or mortgage, to meet housing costs, fees and other expenses.
- Career progression pathways for training and continuous professional development
- Signs of Safety Training and the opportunity to become an SOS Practice Lead
- Exciting opportunities to become Champions in practice areas of your interest
- Opportunity to experience different areas of the service with internal transfers
- Opportunity to engage in our Aspiring Leaders Programme
- Reimbursement of Social Work England subscription
- Our Choices Benefits include a lease car or cash options to the value of £2,436 per annum
- Excellent local government pension scheme
- 32 days annual leave per year (plus bank holidays)
- Performance related pay
- MyChoice Staff Benefit Scheme - Includes cycle to work scheme, access to high street shopping vouchers and online discount codes.
- Annual Leave Purchase Scheme
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 job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the JD/Person Specification. These will be applied during the recruitment/selection and probationary stages.
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Please refer to the Job Description attached for more information.
Bexley is a vibrant and diverse outer London Borough nestled in the Thames Gateway between London and Kent which means it combines the perfect blend of city vibe and the tranquillity of Kent. It's got award-winning parks, open spaces, and heritage sites. The borough has excellent transport connections, including the Elizabeth Line and proximity to the M25. Bexley offers fantastic amenities such as libraries, leisure centres, and shopping areas. Our borough is also home to numerous primary and secondary schools, as well as further education institutions.
Our Offer to you
We will offer you in return a package that includes a competitive salary, an excellent pension scheme and generous annual leave plus bank holidays. For more information on the benefits package on offer please refer to the Candidate Information document attached.
Recruitment Information
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
[email protected]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 role may be available as a development opportunity through secondment for the Council’s existing employees. The Council’s Secondment Scheme can be found here. If this option is of interest, please contact the recruiting manager.
We reserve the right to close adverts earlier than the closing date.
