Court Social Worker

Join the Court Team as a Social Worker on a starting salary of £40,833 and enjoy a Golden Hello along with a Retention Bonus, outlined as follows, We've got an exciting opportunity for confident and skilled Court Social Social Workers within Children' Social Care at the London Borough of Sutton. Our objective is to deliver the best outcomes for children and young people.

Your responsibilities will include:

Conduct thorough assessments and evaluations of the children and families involved in family court and care proceedings.
Provide counselling and advocacy for the children and families, ensuring the best interests of the children is key to all decision making.
Work collaboratively with judges, solicitors, and other court officials to prepare comprehensive reports and present findings and recommendations.
As a Court Social Worker, you will play a crucial role in assessing the needs of families and individuals engaged in court proceedings, where our cases are connected to Children Looked After or living at home.
You will provide essential support, collaborate with legal professionals, and advocate for the best interests of the children and their families. This will include the undertaking of all tasks associated with working with Children under statutory frameworks, whilst ensuring compliance with Court direction, and providing the Court with child-focused evidence, analysis and well-informed care plans. You will play an intrinsic role in working directly with the children and young people, ensuring their wishes and views are heard, respected, and relayed to the court.

Our Team

Sutton's Court Team provides a specialist service to Children within care proceedings, working closely with Courts to secure their safety and wellbeing through the means of permanency. The Borough prides itself on engaging with children and young people, and this is no different in the Court team with the expectation of staff undertaking direct work with children to elicit their voice and to give age-appropriate clarity and reassurance.

Supporting our social workers with their career development is a priority for us. Our offer to you includes:

Manageable workloads, regular supervision, and through annual appraisals.
Opportunities to develop skills by undertaking a variety of assessments including viability, parenting and together and apart assessments.
Sutton works with Kingston University and regional partners as part of the Developing Together Social Work Teaching Partnership (SWTP) to provide staff with a wide range of pre- and post-qualifying education opportunities to promote continuous learning and development.
Staff are given the opportunity to attend conferences, and workshops and have access to research and practice resources to support their ongoing professional development.

This opportunity invites experienced social workers with a strong commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and families within court proceedings. You should possess excellent assessment and planning skills, with the ability to create and implement tailored plans that address each child's unique needs. Strong advocacy skills are essential, as you will be responsible for ensuring that children's voices are heard and their rights upheld. Collaboration with families, and other professionals is key, so effective communication and the ability to articulate yourself is essential for the role, in order to build strong relationships with the children, families, and other professionals.

In addition, we would expect the following from all suitable candidates:

To be registered with Social Work England and hold a degree in Social Care or similar.
At least three years post qualifying experience as a registered social worker practising in a child and family setting, ideally with experience in managing cases and court proceedings.
Successful completion of an Assisted and Supported Year in employment (ASYE).
Knowledge of the UK Court system and its application with children's social care.
Ability to communicate complex social issues clearly to both our service users and professionals.
Ideally, experience in working with legal professionals - judges, solicitors, and other court officials to prepare comprehensive reports and present findings and recommendations.
This role also presents an opportunity for social workers that are capable of demonstrating a passion to work with children, a dedication to the best interest of children to deliver the best outcomes and want to develop their skills and experience within the UK Court System and its application with children social care.

If you are driven to helping children and young people and want to make a positive impact for the next generation, we would love to hear from you.

£1,000 paid with your first month's salary
£1,000 for your first completed year of service
£2,000 for your second completed year of service
£3,000 for your third completed year of service and each year thereafter
Reimbursement of Social Work England Registration
Flexible working model that allows social workers to manage their diary to meet the needs of the service.
This is an excellent opportunity to advance your career in social care by developing your parent assessment skills, report writing and knowledge of court work.