Employer
Kingston Council
Location(s)
Surbiton
Contract Type
Permanent
Working Hours
Full Time
Grade
H
Hours Per Week
36
Salary Range
£40,755 - £45,510
Salary Basis
Per annum
Leave Entitlement
30 days
Application Deadline
05/05/2025, 23:55
Anticipated Interview Date(s)
12/05/25
About the Borough
This special place in South West London between the capital and the country has been a Royal borough longer than anywhere else - it is where the first kings of England were crowned.
Today it is a vibrant and diverse borough, with a long history and strong cultural and community heritage. Kingston’s riverside location, fantastic retail offer, historic market place and church, parks and gardens all make Kingston town centre the vibrant space it is, and each of our district town centres (Surbiton, New Malden, Tolworth and Chessington) have something unique to offer.
Situated in Zone 6, Kingston is among the best-connected town centres in London – with direct train links from Kingston and Surbiton stations to Clapham Junction and London Waterloo, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and Tramlink.
Kingston’s people are innovative and entrepreneurial, and have a strong sense of community pride. The borough has been home to great industry and creativity for many years, reflected in assets such as the Rose Theatre, the International Youth Arts Festival and Kingston University, which boasts more new graduate business start-ups than any other.
We have seen tremendous generosity and compassion within our communities, particularly in response to COVID-19, which is a demonstration of Kingston’s key strength. The council offers a strong level of support to vulnerable groups and those who need additional support, which has also increased significantly as a result of the pandemic. Like most places, the average age of our population is rising as more people are living longer, so we are working closely with residents to help them maintain their independence and further improve the cost effectiveness of our service to meet the ongoing rise in demand.
Kingston is home to people from diverse and interesting cultures and backgrounds, which helps to create the rich sense of community shared across the borough. In particular, Kingston has a large Sri Lankan Tamil community and is home to more people from Korea than any other part of the UK.
About the Role and our Ideal Candidate

The successful candidate will be a qualified social worker with a minimum of 2 years post qualifying experience in a statutory setting. They will be experienced in safeguarding, and assessments under the Care Act 2014, and the Mental Capacity Act.

• They will have a working knowledge of the Mental Health Act and other relevant legislation and guidance, and experience of working with mental health.
• You will provide case management of complex cases under the Care Act 2014, and safeguarding, including taking cases to the Court of Protection.
• You will receive support and supervision from one of the senior practitioners in the team, and will also provide supervision of social workers.
• You will undertake assessments and reviews, and work in partnership across organisational boundaries with NHS colleagues in mental health teams and on wards, as well as colleagues in a range of partnership organisations.
• The successful candidate will progress towards AMHP training as part of their career progression pathway.
• They must have excellent verbal and written communication skills, including report writing skills. Good IT skills will be an advantage.
• Knowledge and experience of mental health, autism, and drug and alcohol problems in a statutory setting are essential.

About Us
The Mental Health Social Care Team (MHSCT) forms part of Adult Social Care within the Royal Borough of Kingston (RBK). We are one of the two specialist teams within Adult Social Care. Our main functions are under the Care Act 2014, the Mental Health Act and the Mental Capacity Act.
We work with adults whose primary need is their mental health. Our other areas of responsibility include working with people with autism, and those with drug/alcohol issues. We also have responsibility for young people transitioning into adulthood and thereby from children to adult services.
We work closely with our colleagues in NHS mental health teams, and on mental health wards, as well as partners in primary care as well as a wide range of partnership organisation across the community.
The team is a large and enthusiastic group of professionals dealing with a diverse and fascinating portfolio of responsibilities. Interest in the work and enthusiasm are among the qualities we would value in the successful applicant.
The team incorporates the Royal Borough’s AMHP service.. We are based on the site of Tolworth Hospital and operate a hybrid working model of working from home, and working in the office.
We are a large, friendly and supportive team, including a manager and a deputy manager, and ably supported by business support colleagues.

Please refer the Job description for details