Advanced Social Worker

This is an exciting opportunity to become part of the Specialist Intensive Support Programme. We are a multidisciplinary team benefitting from the joint knowledge and experience of parenting practitioners, advanced social workers, clinical psychologist, and systemic family therapists.

In the role of advanced social worker in SISP you will be afforded the opportunity to hone skills in systemic practice and develop your own area of specialist knowledge/expertise as a clinical social worker.

The post requires you to work closely and collaboratively with other team members and to take a lead in compiling specialist parenting assessments for court and in pre proceedings. There is further opportunity to develop your skills in offering case consultation, supervision and working creatively in time limited child focused interventions aimed at preventing children from becoming LAC.

In SISP your professional skills can be enhanced and developed whilst working as part of a highly motivated and supportive team where all contributions are valued, and supervision and training is prioritised.

About The Team You'll Be Working In

SISP is well established multidisciplinary team providing a wide range of services to children and their families in the London Borough of Hounslow. The team has been established in the borough for over twelve years. It is positioned within Children's Specialist Services. SISP offers specialist interventions to families i.e., independent parenting assessments for court or PLO; psychological assessments, parenting support and therapeutic services led by the systemic family therapist. The team utilises a range of evidence-based practices in their work, PAMs Together and Apart Assessment, Parent Assess Model, child and adult psychology, systemic family psychotherapy and social work.

The team is a supportive and collaborative one, with regular access to high quality reflective individual, group, and clinical supervision. The established method of co working alongside carefully managed caseloads means that staff retention and job satisfaction are both reported to be positive.

About You

The Advanced Social Worker plays a key role within the team by taking a lead in producing the independent parenting assessments. The quality and robustness of SISP's assessments and report writing are well regarded within the Family Proceedings Courts.

Advanced Social Workers are also involved in the team's clinical/therapeutic and consultancy work under SISP's prevent LAC remit.

In line with SISP's systemic practice the APs frequently work jointly alongside the family therapist, clinical psychologist, and parenting practitioners to address the complex needs of the children and families referred to the team.

This is an independent non-case holding role set within Children's Services.

1.To take the lead role in undertaking specialist parenting assessments in care proceedings or under pre proceedings, in line with the public law outline (PLO) incorporating relevant theory and up-to-date research.

2.To undertake clinical/therapeutic interventions with children and their families who are subject to a child protection plan and at risk of becoming looked after or supporting rehabilitation of children from care.

3.To attend and contribute to the SISP's weekly systemic group supervision,offering a professional perspective/case analysis, as part of live clinical case discussions.

4. To offer specialist consultation to social workers from the wider service.

1.To be a qualified social worker, with a minimum of three years practice experience in safeguarding/child protection.

2.Sound knowledge and experience of family court work, including the legal framework, report writing and giving oral evidence.

3.Ability to consistently provide high-quality, comprehensive, and analytical court reports, in accordance with court's timeframe and deadlines.

4.Additional post qualifying clinical experience in areas such as assessment of risk, attachment, domestic abuse, substance misuse and/or specialism in a particular theoretical model, such as psychodynamic, systemic, or psychoanalytical.

Professional Qualifications:

1.Degree in Social Work or recognised Social Work Qualification.

2.Social Work England (SWE) Registered.

3.Enhanced DBS check is required.

We'd love you to join us at the London Borough of Hounslow! Our people are deeply committed to providing excellent services to our residents, doing all we can to make lives as good as they can be.

We are an outstanding council, serving an outstanding borough. With brilliant, visionary leadership, a dynamic Cabinet, and a can-do culture, we've built strong partnerships which have transformed how we serve one of London's most diverse boroughs. Hounslow is the world in one place and full of potential. We are stepping up for our residents like never before.

About our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

We live by five core values: Lead with Heart, Do New, pass on the Power, Harness the Mix and Be a Rock. All our work has equality, diversity, and inclusion at its very heart, best articulated in "Harness the Mix". It's about breaking down barriers between our parts and people and unlocking the problem-solving power of our amazing mix of minds. We serve a diverse community; we have a diverse workforce, and we are committed to being an inclusive employer.

We work hard to create representation across our workforce and leadership community, we have thriving employee network groups, and our learning and development programmes help us lead, model and breathe ways of working that eliminate inequality, inequity, injustice and bias.