Short Breaks Coordinator/Social Work Assistant

at  London Borough of Bexley

ABOUT US

Bexley is an outer London Borough with the best of both worlds, located between the hustle and bustle of London and the Garden of England, Kent. Within the borough we have award winning parks, open spaces and listed heritage sites.
We are looking for an enthusiastic person to be our Short Breaks Coordinator/Social Work Assistant in the Children with disabilities team.
As a Council, we prioritize our responsibilities for children, young people, their families and carers. We are working to strengthen families, to enable them to identify their own solutions where there are difficulties, creating strong family networks and effective safety plans as the fundamentals to the protection and care of children.
Our established family engagement group, FL.A.RE (Family Learning, Advocacy & Restorative Engagement), and children in care forums Positive Journeys, Positive Journeys Seniors, and Bexley’s Young Director support us with practice development and delivery. Front line practitioners have the opportunity to learn from our children, young people and families, and be part of this work.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

The successful candidate will need to be resourceful and able to use practical problem solving skills and be able to encourage, support and motivate children and their families.
You will need to be able to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing, and be able to listen and observe to identify problems. A relevant child care qualification and an understanding of the principles of the 1989 Children’s Act would be an advantage.
Ideal candidates will possess highly developed knowledge in children’s social work practice and ideally will have experience of working with children with disabilities.
Appointment to this post will be subject to the outcome of an Enhanced Disclosure obtained through the Disclosure and Barring Service.
For the full list of essential and desirable criteria for this role then please refer to the Person Specification within the Job Description attached.
We will offer you in return a package that includes a competitive salary, an excellent pension scheme and generous annual leave plus bank holidays. For more information on the benefits package on offer please refer to the Candidate Information document attached.
We reserve the right to close adverts earlier than the closing date.

The Social Work Assistants undertake a range of support tasks including providing practical support for children, young people and their families. This includes coordinating aspects of care packages, recognising where social work input is required and supporting clients to make informed decisions.
You will be involved in contributing to assessments of children with disabilities and their families, providing support and guidance to children and their families who are subject to Child in Need and Child Protection plans and undertaking specific pieces of work with families to support child and family plans.
You will liaise with partner agencies and commissioned services regarding activities and plan for the local offer of short breaks for each year. You will be part of the panel where short breaks are considered for each child/young person/family. This role will be partly dedicated to managing and monitoring direct payments with parents as part of their short breaks offer.
For an informal discussion about the role please contact Titi Omisade, Team Manager on 0203 045 3817, titi.omisade@bexley.gov.uk; or Sade Sofowora, Team Manager on 0203 045 3852, sade.sofowora@bexley.gov.uk.
Children with Disabilities Team
Our Children with Disability Service safeguards and promotes the welfare of children in line with Children Act 1989 and 2004, Children & Families Act 2014 and Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance 2015.
We work with the SEN education department to implement the biggest education reforms in a generation for children and young people with special educational needs which became law in September 2014. In line with the Children and Families Act (SEND Reforms).
We work with Children in Need, Looked After Children & Children subject to Child Protection Plans. We also work to the Public Law outline and initiate care proceedings.
We keep children and young people at the heart of our work. We listen to children, respect their views and champion their rights ensuring that each child’s voice informs the work that we do.
We have a permanent management team, and you will receive monthly reflective supervision, training, and professional development as part of the role. There are regular team meetings and development opportunities as well as opportunities for career progression.
This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment
This post is considered by the authority to be a customer-facing position; as such it falls within scope of the Code of Practice on English language requirement for public sector workers. 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 sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements.