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Job description

The London Borough of Islington is excited to be launching their ASYE Academy.

LBI is a supportive, innovative and Outstanding local authority.

Our ASYE programme will build on these strengths, providing newly qualified social workers with an excellent opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills.

LBI’s ASYE Academy will support you to create a firm foundation for your career as a social worker.

Successful applicants will receive training and support from the ASYE Academy whilst working in one of our “front facing” social work teams.

We are particularly interested in enthusiastic and skilled NQSWs who have relevant prequalifying experience to join us in the following teams:

• Children in Need
• Children Looked After
• Independent Futures (service for care experienced young people)
• Disabled Children’s Team.

Social Workers who have already completed their ASYE and are keen to continue to their social work career in an authority with a strong focus on support and development are also strongly encouraged to apply for existing vacancies.

As a Children in Need Social Worker you will bring experience of assessing risk and making plans to safeguard children. Additionally, you will be responsible for progressing plans for sustainable change with families, and stepping up to care proceedings or stepping down to targeted services where necessary. In the Disabled children’s Team you will also be responsible for care planning for looked after children.

You will be accustomed to employing social work principles such as dignity, respect, empathy, and strength based collaborative approaches to service delivery.

As a Children and Family Social Worker you will bring experience of assessing risk and making plans to safeguard and care for children. Additionally, you will be responsible for progressing plans for sustainable change with families, stepping up to care proceedings or stepping down to targeted services where necessary, ensuring plans for all children are in place that provide for their safety, stability and permanency.

You will be accustomed to employing social work principles such as dignity, respect, empathy, and strength based collaborative approaches to service delivery.

You will understand the impact of Trauma on children and their families and implications for their ongoing needs

Motivational interviewing (MI) skills are the cornerstone of social work practice in the Children Services in Islington. To help us select the best candidates, Islington have developed a two-stage interview process. The first stage is a role play that provides an opportunity to test out applicants MI compatibility. Candidates are not required to have advanced MI skills, rather we are seeking to identify those who have the capacity to learn and develop these skills with the advanced training and feedback. Further details will be provided to all candidates who are shortlisted and offered an interview.

The benefits of this post include:

• Retention bonus, Zone 1-2 Travel Card
• Protected case load,
• Specially designed core training package,
• Professional development opportunities,
• Regular reflective supervision, practice evaluation,
• Local Government Pension Scheme and generous holidays,
• Flexible working arrangements,
• An experienced management team,
• And a great working location in Islington.

Closing date: Sunday 2nd April 2023 at 23:59
Proposed Motivational Interview date: Wednesday 12th April 2023
Technical Interview: Wednesday 19th April 2023

For an informal discussion about joining the ASYE Academy please contact Practice Education Manager Naomi Soetendorp: [email protected]

For an informal discussion about the role please contact:
Children in Need Maria Raphael [email protected]

Children Looked After Richard Ganderton [email protected]

Children with Disability Lauren Carre [email protected]

Independent Futures Heather Wheat [email protected]

Islington was rated as Outstanding by Ofsted in March 2020. Ofsted reported: “Children in Islington benefit from services that have gone from strength to strength ...Senior leaders and members of the council demonstrate an unwavering commitment to improving and enriching the lives of children and their families. This is evidenced by the significant and sustained investment in children’s services, and by the wide range of highly successful initiatives that are having a positive impact on children and their families, whatever their level of need. Highly skilled and experienced staff listen carefully to children to understand their needs and ensure that plans are effective”.

What is Motivational Practice?
Motivational Practice is Islington’s Practice Model. There are core elements that underpin the practice framework that provide a set of skills around how to communicate in a helpful way with families that leads to a plan for change. Empathy underpins any form of effective work with people and motivational practice aims to build effective working relationships with families being able to identify their own reasons for change.

What Islington Will Offer You

• Protected caseloads and reduced bureaucracy will allow more intensive work with families, more frequent visits and the opportunity to build transformative relationships and undertake more direct work,
• A specially designed core training package to deliver goal-based interventions, use evidenced based tools, develop reflective and thoughtful risk assessment, and to measure progress,
• Availability of an intensive multi-disciplinary service to enhance social work intervention where the concerns for the child are high risk,
• Social workers will receive regular reflective supervision and practice development opportunities to enhance their own professional effectiveness

As a Child and Family Social Worker you will be responsible for working to keep children in need of help and protection or in public care safe. You will work directly with the child or young person and their family or carer to build a working relationship that facilitates meaningful and sustainable change whilst maintaining the focus on risk. You will share and exercise the organisational practice ethos which places Motivational Social Work and trauma-informed practice at the heart of working with families. You will show a strong commitment and an ability to use evidence-based approaches throughout your practice.

Responsibilities

1) Manage the specific set of tasks relating to statutory case responsibility for children in need of help and protection and in public care, with the support of an appropriately qualified supervisor:

a) Build a working relationship with the child, family or carers to decide the best way to keep children and young people safe and bring about change ensuring that child protection is always prioritised. Observe and talk to child in their environment to help understand their physical and emotional world.

b) Identify and analyse risks and protective factors and potential impact on the child and parental capacity. Consider how impact of traumatic experiences affect the current everyday functioning and long-term development and dynamics. Set out the most relevant options for resolving the difficulties facing each child.

c) Work intensively with the child, their families and carer using evidenced-based skills- based approaches in direct work helping them to identify goals and bring about meaningful and sustainable change.

d) Review and scrutinise regularly whether the help provided is making a difference to reduce risk and adjust the plan accordingly.

e) Report risk through the line management structure, where relevant. Use supervision reflectively to discuss, debate and test hypotheses about what is happening in examining your cases. Explore not only the presenting issues but the underlying causes of risks and needs. Invest in shaping your supervision to improve your case practice and help you develop your competence and confidence as a practitioner and within your role. Engage in continuous self-evaluation of case practice through self-reflection and consultation and explore your limitations.

f) Use case recording to extend your understanding of the case and inform analysis and decision-making. Show accountability for the help being provided by producing written case notes and reports, which are well argued, focused and jargon free. Present a clear analysis and a sound rationale for actions as well as any conclusions reached, so that all parties are well informed.

g) Maintain effective working relationships with peers, managers and leaders both within the profession, throughout multi-agency partnerships and public bodies, including the family courts.