Job Title:

Principal Social Worker

Department:

The Three Borough Shared Fostering & Permanence Service?

Grade:

Location:

Hammersmith

Responsible to:

Permanence Team Manager

Responsible for:

Contributing to the effective delivery of a permanence service for looked after children within the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea & Westminster City Council.   Based within the Connected Persons Team you will have oversight of the children referred to the service with a permanence plan of long term fostering and Special Guardianship.

Main Purpose of the Job

To have oversight of children referred to the Connected Persons & Permanence Team, ensuring care plans are progressed and permanence is achieved with minimal delay.   The Post holder will also take the lead in transition planning and ensuring that every child has a Support Plan to meet their individual needs.

Key Service Priorities

• To provide a range of placements that are able to provide high quality care to the tri-borough Looked After Child population thus reducing reliance on independent fostering agencies
• To provide a cost-effective service, that is delivered efficiently within existing resources and which responds promptly to requests for information and deals effectively with concerns and complaints from a variety of stakeholders
• To make a contribution to the strategic direction of the Tri-Borough service helping to re-align resources to meet identified needs.
• To ensure that carers are supported and equipped to meet placement needs and requirements.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Monitor referrals to the Connected Persons & Permanence Team, ensuring work is allocated to the appropriate team and permanence is achieved for our looked after children (LAC) a timely manner.

To develop and maintain a format alongside the Team Manager for this work whereby cases can move smoothly and swiftly between the two teams.

Chair Permanence Planning Meetings as appropriate, ensuring time-scales are adhered to and the Care Plan is progressed.

Ensure tracking and monitoring systems are maintained to facilitate timely placement of LAC for permanence.

Attend Internal Permanence Forums as required across the 3 Local Authorities.

To be the link with the children’s locality teams across the Tri-Borough, raising awareness of permanence planning

General:

Attend fortnightly Team Meetings.

All staff are expected to carry out their job in compliance with the Councils Constitution. This means being familiar with the policies and procedures relevant to the job and asking for information and advice if you are unsure of the correct course of action. The Council’s Constitution is published on the Internet.

Job Title:

Principal Social Worker

A

Equal Opportunities

Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to Council policies in relation to Equal Opportunity, Customer Care and service delivery, and the ability to implement these policies in the workplace.

B

Qualifications:

Essential:

·       Dip SW or equivalent

·       HCPC Registration

Desirable:

·       Systemic Practice qualification

  C

Knowledge and Experience:

Essential:

• A clear understanding of Child Development and the needs of looked after children.
• Experience of working with looked After Children
• Knowledge of legislation governing care planning (Children Act 1989 and 2002; Fostering Regulations 2011; National Minimum Standards for Fostering; The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010; Special Guardianship Regulations 2005, amended 2016)
• A minimum of three years post qualification experience in Children & Families Social Work
• An understanding of the need to make timely, effective plans for children
• I listen, acknowledge what is needed and respond promptly and appropriately
• My actions and decisions are informed, balanced, reasonable, transparent and well explained
• I take responsibility for my actions and enable others to take action or make decisions too
• I anticipate and plan to meet future needs
• I seek regular customer feedback on how my service is received and make improvement where is needed

• An understanding of child abuse and neglect and its impact on family systems
• An understanding of different patterns of family life
• Knowledge and understanding of attachment
• Understanding of discrimination and prejudice and the way in which this can impact on family life, in particular for minority ethnic communities
• Ability to work under pressure
• Experience of supervising staff
• Experience of working in a Local Authority Family Placement Service
• Good IT skills
• Ability to work at both an individual and organisational level
• Ability to collect and analyse evidence and use it to make recommendations to the local authority

Desirable:

Our Values and Behaviours

D

We have a ‘can do’ attitude and respond to the needs of others quickly, positively and appropriately:

E

We embrace change and constantly seek ways to improve the way we work:

• I look for better ways of delivering my service to add value for my customers and the taxpayer
• I am open to new ideas and encourage a creative environment where these can emerge
• I make things simple and easy-to-access for my customers/residents
• I embrace change and build on new opportunities that emerge
• I act as a role model exploring all sectors and adopting best practice to deliver my service

F

We work well together to achieve a common goal:

• I am sensitive to the needs and preferences of others, respect them and adapt my behaviour as appropriate
• I share knowledge and am open to learning from others
• I am open to constructive challenge from others and seek and act on feedback
• I invest time in building and maintaining my relationships with internal and external partners
• I recognise and show that I value the contribution of others
• I deliver high quality services in spite of diminishing resources and do not overspend
• I seek ways to reduce cost and work with others to get better value for our taxpayers
• I have a commercial outlook and look for ways to generate income
• I focus on delivering results and outcomes
• I challenge existing practice to ensure continuous improvement and support new ways of working
• I set high standards for myself and ensure that
• I deliver the best possible service that reflects diverse needs
• I put citizens at the heart of everything I do
• I enable others to make informed decisions by providing clear and concise information
• I am aware of my role within the local authority and deliver services in order to balance competing needs
• I treat others with courtesy, fairness and transparency when delivering public services
• I encourage my team to improve the service and find opportunities to collaborate with others to maximise performance
• I set and monitor stretching targets, whilst supporting people to deliver
• I anticipate Members’ needs and respond to their feedback
• I take prompt and fair action to rectify poor performance
• I plan, monitor and adapt my budget to respond to changing priorities
• I develop and communicate a clear vision and direction for my service
• I help staff engage with and understand reasons for change
• I coach and build the capacity of my team
• I invest time meeting and communicating with my staff, including through one to ones, team meetings and performance appraisals
• I make time to understand people’s strengths and what motivates them

G

We are resourceful and seek the best deal when looking for ways to improve value for money:

H

vice to

We put the public at the heart of everything we do, lead by example and take pride in serving our public well:

Management and Leadership  (Please address these behaviours if applying for a managerial position)

I

I manage my service, know my budgets and what is going on:

J

I lead high performing teams by engaging employees: