Senior Practitioner - East Kent Children in Care Service

Role Responsibility

We have an opportunity for a Senior Practitioner to join our dynamic team in the beautiful East coast area of Kent. The openings are based in Whitstable which encompasses the City of Canterbury, the coastal and rural areas of Herne Bay and Whitstable. 

https://www.visitkent.co.uk/destinations/canterbury-herne-bay-and-whitstable/

The successful applicants will be supporting a team of Social Workers providing high quality social work in the East Kent Children in Care Service primarily to Children in Care and Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking children from age 0 – 18.  The service is delivered from St Peter’s House in Broadstairs and Brook House in Whitstable You will be joining a management team that is committed to providing high quality social work services to children, young people, and their families, working closely with our multi agency partners. You will work with your colleagues to assess need, plan, and deliver focused intervention to safeguard children and promote positive outcomes.  You will:

- Work directly with children and provide a clear and accurate assessment of the needs of the child and their family in each case

- Conduct interviews, develop observations and gather information from children, families and other agencies

- Devise, implement and Child in Care plans and pathway plans

- Ensure all statutory responsibilities are well managed, including visiting children, arranging reviews and reporting to the court

Acting as a role model and mentor to less experienced colleagues, you will contribute to training initiatives and proactively maintaining your awareness of changes in child development theories, legislation, policies, and practices. You will share your knowledge and uphold high standards of social work. You will be responsible for chairing key meetings decisions. Good leadership skills and a proven track record for delivering good outcomes for children and young people is required.

We work with a range of agencies including the courts to plan and implement permanence plans for children prebirth - 18 and their families as well as unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

As well as working for an Outstanding rated authority, Kent offers an attractive benefits package and a commitment to ensuring that you are achieving flexible working arrangements and an emphasis on health and wellbeing. Kent also offers a range of professional development opportunities including the Social Care Academy and other routes for progression.

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure application to the Disclosure and Barring service and registration as a qualified Social Worker with Social Work England.

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. 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/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Contact Details

For further information on this role, please contact:

Anne Nerva - Service Manager, East Kent Children in Care Service

anne.nerva@kent.gov.uk

About the Company

Work that works for you and us - let’s talk flexibility!

KCC is committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the county’s working residents, encouraging applications from people of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds, faiths and those with caring responsibilities, and aspires to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.

Please note – if you are interested, please apply as soon as possible as the closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply.