Advanced Practitioner - Children with Disabilities /Social Care & Preparation for adulthood (Starting Well)
London Borough of Havering
Contract: Permanent
Grade 9- Advanced Practitioner £52,584 - £56,646 Pa with an additional Market Supplement (MS) of £4,000
Message from the Director
Are you passionate about making a positive impact on the lives of children, young people, and families? Do you have a strong desire to be part of a transformative journey that will shape the future of Havering’s community? If so, we invite you to join us in our mission to elevate our local authority's Children's Social Care Services, situated within our Starting Well Department.
Following our recent inadequate Ofsted inspection, we are embarking on an improvement journey where we aim to re-establish and reinvigorate great practice across all our services delivered in Havering. As part of this journey, we are seeking dedicated and enthusiastic social care practitioners ready to make a meaningful difference, driven by a genuine desire to advocate for children, promote their well-being, and who are not afraid to take on the challenge of working for a local authority who have been inspected by Ofsted as inadequate.
In return, we want to offer you the opportunity to develop your skills through our dedicated 10 days of learning a year offer and access to our very own Social Care Academy and Systemic offer. We are committed to creating an environment where every child receives the best possible support and care, and all staff are supported to thrive and excel in safe, supported, and nurturing environments.
Our Senior leaders have worked on an improvement plan, and if you are ready to embrace this challenge and play a pivotal role in shaping our journey, we encourage you to apply.
We look forward to welcoming individuals who share our vision and drive.
About the role
The London Borough of Havering is looking to recruit Advanced Practitioners to contribute to the delivery of an effective children’s social care service as part of a social work team, improving outcomes for children and young people, and manage caseloads dependent upon experience, grade of post and complexity of cases, utilising specialist knowledge for appropriate interventions, needs and risk assessments, care planning and child protection investigations.
If successful in your application for the role of Advanced Practitioner, London Borough of Havering, you will/will be:
Please see Job Profile here
We promote a hybrid model of working for our social care staff, with a flexible approach involving working from our town hall campus/hubs. In this role, you are expected to work from our town hall campus when required. In addition, we also encourage a flexible approach to team building opportunities (we love a catch up over a cuppa, breakfast or lunch) which often take place Face to Face in line with our model of practice.
As one of the greenest boroughs in London, resourcefulness is in our nature. We don’t wait to be told, we take the initiative. We face the future head-on, embracing new challenges with open minds and fresh ideas. There’s lots of opportunities to progress here, and if you seize them we’ll support you all the way. Choose Havering and see the difference you’ll make to the people that live, work and learn here.
From caring for those who need it most, to ensuring our highways and streets are safe, providing a roof over the heads of our residents, providing excellent customer service or, enhancing our digital services for staff and residents, there are so many ways you can make a positive influence here. And, whether you’re outdoorsy, people-focused or analytical, we have a role that’s right for you.
For an informal discussion about the post, please contact by email on Shabana.farooq@havering.gov.uk This advert will close at 23:59 on the 8th June 2025
Should you require any help or advice with your online application, please contact the Recruitment Helpdesk on 01708 432770
Additional Information
We want everyone to choose Havering. When you apply for a job with us, your application is considered on its merits regardless of your age, disability, ethnicity, faith, gender identity or sexual orientation. Our residents and service users come from all walks of life, and so do our employees.
The London Borough of Havering has important responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. If you are appointed to a job that involves working with these groups, you may be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
Please attach your supporting statement, explaining in no more than x2 A4 sides why and how you meet the criteria for this role.
We practice anonymised recruitment. Please ensure that you remove all personal information from any documents that you upload.
London Borough of Havering Person Profile
Job Title: Advanced SW Practitioner Grade: G9
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Skills, Abilities and Behaviours: · Ability to establish and maintain a range of effective communication and participation mechanisms to involve a range of people from a variety of backgrounds, gaining their confidence and trust. · Ability to provide effective leadership to professional staff. · Represent the Service and the Council at inter-agency and strategic forums (internal and external). · Ability to research relevant information, and to participate in action planning, in order to further develop sustainable services. · Ability to make well considered decisions based on evidence of need. · Hold a current drivers license and have a car available for work. |
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Knowledge: · Detailed knowledge and understanding of the Children Act 1989, 2004, Children and Social Work Act 2017, Working Together 2017 and other relevant legislation and frameworks. · Knowledge of current policy and practice, including electronic case management systems. · Knowledge of child development and attachment, understanding the impact of parental problems and the short and long term impacts of abuse and neglect on children. · Knowledge of childcare, child protection procedures, resources, current Department of Health Guidance and Quality Protects. · Demonstrate knowledge of evidence based, structured parenting programmes, safeguarding issues and any other relevant changes within childcare practice. · Knowledge of issues confronting parents in need of support and barriers that may impact on participation. · Understanding of approaches to securing community involvement and participation. · Understanding of working with children with disabilities and their families. · Knowledge of predisposing risk factors to vulnerability and risk for children and young people. |
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Experience: · Substantial experience as a Social Worker (e.g. minimum 3 years), including child protection work. |
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· Experience of preparing detailed reports for child protection conferences, Courts, Panels, senior managers and Members. · Experience of working with children and families including complex assessments and statutory work. · Experience of direct working with children and adults from vulnerable groups. · Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary interagency basis and ability to negotiate on behalf of service users. · Significant experience of court work. · Substantial (e.g. minimum of 3 years) post qualification experience in a statutory setting. |
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Qualifications: · CQSW or CSS or DipSW. · Evidence of post qualification study. · Recent post qualification training in working with children & families and child protection e.g. PQ Child Care Award; AMP; Achieving Best Evidence. · Practice teaching award or a willingness to undertake this training. · Current Social Work England registration. · Successfully completed the foundation level systemic practice training. |
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Working Conditions/Circumstances: · To demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to Havering’s Equal Opportunities Policy in both service delivery to the community in relationships with colleagues and in employment practices. |
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A message from our director:
Are you passionate about making a positive impact on the lives of children, young people, and families? Do you have a strong desire to be part of a transformative journey that will shape the future of Havering’s community? If so, we invite you to join us in our mission to elevate our local authority's Children's Social Care Services, situated within our Starting Well Department.
Following our recent inadequate Ofsted inspection, we are embarking on an improvement journey where we aim to re-establish and reinvigorate great practice across all our services delivered in Havering. As part of this journey, we are seeking dedicated and enthusiastic social care practitioners ready to make a meaningful difference, driven by a genuine desire to advocate for children, promote their well-being, and who are not afraid to take on the challenge of working for a local authority who have been inspected by Ofsted as inadequate.
In return, we want to offer you the opportunity to develop your skills through our dedicated 10 days of learning a year offer and access to our very own Social Care Academy and Systemic offer. We are committed to creating an environment where every child receives the best possible support and care, and all staff are supported to thrive and excel in safe, supported, and nurturing environments.
Our Senior leaders have worked on an improvement plan, and if you are ready to embrace this challenge and play a pivotal role in shaping our journey, we encourage you to apply.
We look forward to welcoming individuals who share our vision and drive.
Havering is an outer London borough like no other. Sitting in Northeast London (Zone 6), we have three Crossrail stations in borough which means we are only 30 minutes from Oxford Street. We are well connected to the hustle and bustle of the city, whilst just a short drive or bus ride from the surrounding Essex countryside and coast, giving our residents the best of both city and rural living.
It’s no wonder that we have one of the fastest growing and increasingly diverse child populations in the country, who benefit from living in one of the greenest areas in London. We have some amazing parks, 16 of which have green flag award status, and we are served by a rich mix of foundation, community, voluntary aided and academy schools with great Ofsted ratings.
Havering Town Hall, which hosts our main offices, is in the centre of Romford - our largest town and home to a vibrant street market dating back to 1247. Our offices are a 5 minute walk from the main shopping centres which host a range of popular shops, restaurants and gyms.
We are also unique in our political makeup, with Havering Residents’ Association working to make a Havering you want to be part of.
We are dedicated to creating the right conditions to support our social care practitioners to thrive by fostering an environment where you can develop your skills and knowledge alongside like-minded individuals. We value our employees and offer a range of benefits:
If you have any questions about applying, please contact Talent Team: Talent@havering.gov.uk