Location
Leeds St, London

Hours
Full Time

Salary
£51,138 per annum

About the Role
If you are considering your next professional opportunity and looking for an ambitious and highly motivated employer who is continuously striving for better services for children and young people, Enfield is your next stop. Enfield is one of approximately 27 local authorities implementing the Family Safeguarding model alongside the Family First Reforms. Family Safeguarding is a whole family approach to working with children and families that supports parents to create sustained change for themselves and their families. Motivational Interviewing is a method of practice that seeks to increase engagement and supports change. In Enfield, we believe that through motivational conversations parents are empowered to identify and resolve difficulties and make sustained changes for themselves and their children.

We are very proud of our Outstanding Service. Ofsted has said: “Children who are in care in Enfield receive outstanding care and support from social workers and carers who know them very well. Experienced and highly skilled social workers understand children’s needs, wishes and feelings very well. Manageable caseloads allow workers to visit children very frequently, in line with their needs. Workers undertake thoughtful, sensitive direct work and life-story work to help children make sense of their life stories, process any trauma they may have experienced and understand more about their unique identities.”

As a member of our Children in Care Teams, your role will be to support children living with relatives, friends or foster families, prospective adopters, or older children living in children's homes and semi-independent units. You will build sustainable relationships with them and plan for their permanence. You will be responsible for ensuring their safety and supporting them to take the necessary steps towards independence. Through regular visits, assessments and reviewing their Care Plan, you will nurture and develop meaningful relationships with these children and young people, understand and interpret their wishes, and champion and support them to reach their full potential. You will also be required to prepare reports, attend court, and have experience managing care proceedings.

Family Safeguarding Supervision creates a space for reflective discussions for all staff involved in working with a family. It facilitates information sharing and joined-up support for family members, strengthens the ability to predict and prevent harm, and enables shared decision making and ownership of better outcomes for children and families.

This is a great opportunity to join an excellent service that works together with families to achieve positive outcomes for children and young people. We are in an exciting period of transformation with our new integrated family help teams having recently gone live. The Family Help Teams will be supported by a developing, strong multi-agency child protection team (MACPT) that will be going live towards the end of the year.

Our leadership culture is grounded in openness, learning and shared responsibility, with a commitment to supporting staff wellbeing, alongside professional development and achieving best practice. You will be joining a service that has high standards, values professional curiosity, collective accountability and innovation, creating the conditions for everyone to do their best work to achieve positive outcomes for children and families.

We are passionate about our people and how we deliver services to our community in Enfield. We encourage a culture that puts our customers at the heart of everything we do - by empowering our people to work together to find solutions, be open, honest and respectful, take responsibility and listen and learn. If you value these behaviours too, we’d love to hear from you. Flexible working options are available.

Experience
Experience in managing care proceedings and working with children in care is essential. Proven ability to build sustainable relationships with children and young people living with relatives, friends, foster families, or in residential settings.

About you
You are ambitious, highly motivated, and committed to improving outcomes for children and young people. You value professional curiosity, collective accountability, and innovation. You are able to work reflectively within a Family Safeguarding model and contribute to a culture of openness, learning and shared responsibility. You are passionate about safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.

Qualifications
Relevant social work qualification and registration with the appropriate professional body are required. Commitment to ongoing professional development and adherence to best practice standards is expected.