Job Description

Discover yourself in Lewisham where what you do makes a difference to our vibrant and culturally diverse communities!

We have a rich history of welcoming people from all over the world and are proud to be recognised as the UK’s first Borough of Sanctuary, for our work in championing the rights of refugees and migrants.

It's an exciting time to join us - Lewisham is a wave 2 Pathfinder authority and is leading the way on national reforms to social work practice through the Families First for Children programme.

INTRODUCTION

An exciting opportunity is available as a fostering family practitioner/ fostering duty worker. We are seeking a committed and compassionate fostering family practitioner to join our fostering team and provide vital support to foster carers and children in placement.

The ideal candidate will possess a sound understanding of the unique needs of children affected by abuse, neglect and trauma, as well as insight into how foster families can be supported to provide good care. You will demonstrate compassion, patience, responsiveness and reliability, working collaboratively and flexibly with other teams and professionals to ensure the needs of the children, carers and the service are met.

What’s the role?

• Act as the first point of contact for foster carers, children, and professionals during duty hours.
• Respond to placement requests, emergencies, and queries with professionalism and empathy.
• Record placement costs for placements with Lewisham Foster Carer’s.
• Liaise with social workers, placement teams, and other professionals to ensure timely and effective support.
• Maintain accurate records and contribute to safeguarding and care planning processes.
• Provide guidance and support to foster carers in line with policies and procedures.

About You

• Experience working within fostering, social care, or a related field.
• Strong communication and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to remain calm under pressure and manage competing priorities.
• Knowledge of safeguarding and child protection procedures.
• Commitment to anti-discriminatory and anti-racist practice.
• A creative and solution focussed approach to challenges and a commitment to continued development of skills and expertise.
• Some experience with placement searches with inhouse resource of foster carer’s is desirable.

What’s in it for you ?

• Be part of a supportive and passionate team.
• Make a real impact in the lives of children, families and foster carers.
• Opportunities for professional development and training.
• Flexible working arrangements available.

Our Vision - What Good Children’s Social Work Looks Like in Lewisham

In Lewisham Children’s Social Care, we know what good social work looks like and we are passionate about creating the right conditions and culture for good practice to thrive.

• Families are respected and supported to stay together, whenever there is safety.
• Families will tell us they understand why we are involved.
• Children will tell us their social worker has made a difference to their lives.
• Children who are in our care know we care, and we won’t give up on them.
• Young people who have been in our care feel confident about their future.

We have taken a whole system approach to improving our services to children and young people in our borough using ‘Signs of Safety’ as our practice model. Ofsted recognised the progress we have made noting that:

• Staff talk positively about their manageable caseloads, regular supervision, team meetings and access to a range of training, including the social work model of practice.
• Senior leaders demonstrate a clear focus on hearing the voices of children to develop and improve services.
• Leaders know the service well. They have a clear understanding of areas for development that are being appropriately addressed.

In January 2024, Ofsted's report lauds significant improvements in our children's services. Praised areas include strong leadership, high-quality support for families and children, and positive outcomes across all criteria.

• The Executive Director for Children and Young People and his team are credited for driving these improvements, with particular focus on enhancing workforce stability, early help services, and partnerships with stakeholders.
• Noteworthy practices include creative life-story work and culturally sensitive social work approaches, crucial in a diverse borough like Lewisham.
• The Council's anti-racist practice network and safe space platform also garnered praise for supporting staff from black and global majority backgrounds.
• Overall, the report highlights a commendable commitment to improving outcomes for vulnerable children and young people in Lewisham.

We are making progress but need passionate, creative and energetic social workers, managers and leaders to get us where we want to be. Could this be you?

Why choose Lewisham?

“Lewisham has so much to offer any social worker. I feel supported, respected and valued every step of the way” (Social Worker).

Our social workers benefit from working in small, supportive teams with caseloads on average between 15-20 children. Our ‘Signs of Safety’ practice framework means we are committed to working in a relationship-based way with children and families, focussing on strengths in the family network to effect change. A positive learning culture which promotes opportunities for reflection and relationship-based practice is important to us. We are committed to developing our practice using reflective practice spaces such as case mapping, thinking spaces and group supervision.

Our permanent and stable senior management team are visible and approachable. Our dedicated PSW and workforce team supports professional development across the service so that you will;

• be supported through our comprehensive learning and development offer, which includes subscriptions to ‘Research in Practice’ and ‘Making Research Count’.
• receive regular supervision and appraisal.
• have 1-1 practice development coaching as a case holder, and professional development coaching as a manager.
• have access to regular ‘Signs of Safety’ training and the opportunity to become a practice leader through attending our bespoke practice leader course.
• have access to external leadership development opportunities such as the Black and Asian Leadership Initiative (BALI).
• have a clearly defined career progression pathway with opportunities for professional development at all levels.
• opportunities to become a practice educator and work with students and newly qualified social workers.

What we’re looking for

If you want to work in a thriving borough and our social work vision connects with your professional values, then we are interested in hearing from you. We are looking for people to join our team who:

• value the importance of communication and seeking feedback
• can inspire and motivate those they work with, manage and lead
• are committed to developing their skills and expertise to deliver an excellent service
• are professionally curious and value thinking slowly and calmly in a balanced way
• work inclusively, collaboratively with others recognising their strengths
• take responsibility and make a positive contribution by focusing on solutions
• are transparent, are appreciative in enquiry, reflect and learn.

In return, we’ll offer excellent development opportunities, the opportunity to make a real difference to our local community plus a range of benefits including:

• Generous holiday allowance
• Local Government Pension scheme
• Flexible working and family friendly policies
• Season ticket and bicycle loans
• A range of staff discounts including local subsidised gym memberships
• Supportive staff networks

Location

The job is primarily based in the Laurence House SE6 4RU in Lewisham, but we operate a hybrid approach where you will be required to work both in the office and from home on a regular basis.

Special conditions

• The post holder must have a social work qualification and be registered with Social Work England
• The job is subject to a DBS check (Basic/Enhanced)

The recruitment process is anonymous and we don’t accept CV’s.

Applicant handbook - please read the guidance in this handbook when applying. It is essential that you complete the application fully and that your supporting statement covers how you meet each of the person specification criteria listed.

For an informal discussion about this job, please contact pathfinder@lewisham.gov.uk

Please click here to view the Job Description and Person Specification

Please click here for our Vision and Values

Please click here for the Letter from the Director

Salary

£40,404 - £41,637 per annum (SO1)

N.B: All appointments will be offered at the minimum spinal column point (SCP) for the grade of the role. The only exception to this will be when matching current salary (up to the maximum of the scale), which is subject to evidential proof.

Creating an Inclusive Lewisham

A core value of Lewisham Council is to 'draw on the diversity of our communities to create a more inclusive Lewisham'. We believe that freedom from discrimination and equality of opportunity are fundamental rights, and that each person should be valued regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, gender re-assignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, or age. Social inclusion lies at the heart of everything we do as a Council in our roles as an employer, a provider of services and a community leader.

Diversity

Lewisham Council is a Disability Confident employer. We welcome and encourage job applications of all abilities. If you require any reasonable adjustments in the application or interview, please contact the lead contact on this advert. We will make reasonable adjustments to make sure our disabled applicants and those with health conditions are supported throughout our recruitment process. We support the access to work scheme, further details are available at www.gov.uk/access-to-work/apply

The Council has a dedicated employment support service, Lewisham Works, which offers Lewisham residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you want to join Lewisham Works, please email JobsAndSkills@lewisham.gov.uk and an advisor will be in touch with you.

The Council reserves the right to close adverts early if there is a large response.

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