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Job Information
Achieving for Children is a Community Interest Company that has a public sector ethos, combined with the freedom to innovate enabling us to do things differently. As a not-for-profit social enterprise owned by three local authorities (Windsor & Maidenhead, Kingston and Richmond), we offer the freedoms of a social enterprise with the employment benefits of local government. To find out more about us click here.
Social Work Team Leader - Leaving Care
The Leaving Care/Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) Team sits within our Permanency Service, this service is made up of the Leaving Care/UASC Team, Permanency Team, Fostering Team and the Adoption Team.
The Leaving Care service operates across Kingston and Richmond and supports young people from the age of 16 who are looked after,have recently left care (up to the age of 25) or who are unaccompanied asylum seeking children,to become independent and inspire them to set ambitious goals for themselves. These goals include acquiring the skills, knowledge and confidence to live independently, including how to manage their money, have appropriate accommodation options , access education, training and employment, live a healthy lifestyle and access health support when they need and develop and maintain social networks that will sustain them throughout their lives.
About the role
As a Team Leader within the Leaving Care and UASC service, you will provide expert casework oversight and professional supervision to a multidisciplinary team of Social Workers and Personal Advisors. Reporting to the Head of Leaving Care, you will drive high practice standards by facilitating critical reflection, conducting robust risk assessments and ensuring all interventions prioritise the safety and welfare of young people. The post holders leadership will be pivotal in operational management, where you will assist in implementing team priorities, manage delegated budgets and deputise for senior leadership to ensure seamless service delivery.
The post holder will champion a culture of continuous improvement, monitoring performance against key targets while fostering an inclusive environment that respects the diverse identities of every service user. Beyond day-to-day management, they will oversee the quality of court reports, chair complex planning meetings and participate in the Emergency Duty Team (EDT) rota. By modeling the HCPC Standards of Proficiency and the Knowledge and Skills Statement for Practice Supervisors, you will empower your staff through comprehensive development plans, ensuring the service remains responsive, transparent and aligned with our core values.
For an informal chat regarding the role, please contact Shaira Makorie via email: shaira.makorie@achievingforchildren.org.uk
About you
- Educated to a degree/ post graduate level with a relevant professional qualification in social work as well as active SWE pin.
- Experience in leading a team, undertaking line management, performance management and change management
- Experience of using best evidence to devise effective interventions aimed at making sure the best outcomes for children and families are achieved.
- Ability to recognise the strengths and weaknesses of practitioners and know when best to teach them or let them come to their own conclusions.
- Experience of helping other practitioners to make decisions based on observations and analyses that are also ambitious for those children involved.
- Ability to effectively challenge practitioners' approach to how they work with families, ensuring that it is the best way to achieve the desired outcome for the child.
- Ability to deliver reflective supervision and able to adapt style dependent upon the individual and the form supervision may be held i.e. peer group supervision, caseload, etc.
- Ability to recognise the emotional barriers that are affecting the practice of team members and experience of employing strategies to support them.
- Experience of supplying fellow workers with constructive feedback, also recognising excellent practice and awarding appropriately.
- Personal determination, drive, energy and ambition to achieve challenging objectives, celebrate success and deliver excellent outcomes for children using a strength based approach.
About our benefits
We are focused on creating a positive supportive environment, where you will have access to a really wide range of resources, as well as a competitive salary and all the perks to enable hybrid working. In AfC you will also have access to:
- 29 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days after 2 years and 35 days after 4 years with an additional day off in your birthday month (Or for term-time workers, your leave entitlement consists of the non-working periods in your contract)
- Tailored induction sessions commencing on the date you start working for AfC
- Local Government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension)
- Flexible working options - helping to keep a good work life balance
- A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme
- A range of staff benefits and discounts
- An excellent learning and development offer to support your career pathway
To find out about all of the breadth of benefits of working for Achieving for Children click here. For our social work offer click here. For our Recruitment Journey, click here.
Important Information
Start dates: Achieving for Children have set start dates meaning successful candidates join on a set date in each month. Candidates are advised to prepare for this should a job offer be accepted to ensure eligible continuous service is not affected.
Right to work: The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.
Equality: We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams. Achieving for Children are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.
Safeguarding: We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
