News

Graduate Recruitment Scheme for Social Work

Children’s Services

Southwark is a great destination for graduates interested in a career in Social Care.

We are one of the few local authorities chosen to participate in this graduate career initiative which is being run in association with the Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC). You can learn more about the national scheme here

http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/social-work/graduate-recruitment-scheme

The graduate scheme lasts two years, during which time we will pay an annual bursary of £9,000. The scheme will equip you with a Masters in Social Work.

Over the two years you will receive a mixture of class room and on the job teaching, with a number of placements throughout. Once you have completed the two year course, you will be offered a role within Southwark Children’s services. (You must commit to work for at least two years at Southwark after qualification).

You can learn more about the attractions and benefits of working with us here

http://www.always-with-you.co.uk/working-with-us.php

Can I apply for the scheme?
The scheme is open to all graduates who meet our eligibility criteria – providing you are not already employed in a children’s social work role. (If you have a support role which involves no direct contact with children, you should also be eligible).

Therefore, you are permitted to apply if you work in connexions, youth offending, early years, foster care, school support, youth work or administration.

Here are the full eligibility criteria. You must:

• hold at least a 2.1 degree (or have equivalent qualifications), further information is contained in Annex A;
• not be currently employed in a social work/care environment, further information is contained in Annex B;
• hold at least a GCSE grade C or above (or equivalent qualification) in mathematics and English and be able to communicate clearly in spoken and written English;
• demonstrate your commitment to work in children’s social work;
• demonstrate your ability to communicate effectively with children and young people;
• hold or be able to secure a place on a GSCC accredited social work postgraduate programme commencing in their first year;
• be an EU national or have indefinite rights to remain in the country.
• have six months of working in an employed capacity or twelve months in a voluntary capacity with children, families or vulnerable adults.

Southwark must make considerations to recruit under represented equality and diversity groups, such as gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion and individuals from ethnic minority groups.

The benefits of the scheme
We will pay an annual bursary of £9,000 to student social workers on a qualifying Masters Degree in Social Work.

This will be paid in two instalments of payments in amounts of £4,500, in September and February.

We will pay the fees for the course and provide a mentor and work placements.

From student to employee – starting your career with Southwark
The Learning and Development Team and the Lead Business Manager will send out
information packs between July and September each year.

Applicants will submit application forms, will be shortlisted and will attend an assessment centre.

In May before the end of the final year the Lead Business Manager will write to each participant in the scheme about joining Southwark and will advise you as to which team you will join following your successful completion of the course.

Owing to the delay in registration with the General Social Care Council, offer a three month fixed term contract as a Social Services Officer on Hay Grade 7, after the applicant has finished their course.

Southwark will require those recruited under this scheme to sign a contract before they start at the university and to work for Southwark for two years after qualification.

To apply

For an electronic copy of the application form, please email

Rhonda.StLouis@southwark.gov.uk

Please send completed applications marked for the attention of Rhonda St Louis
to:
Email: Rhonda.StLouis@southwark.gov.uk
Post: Southwark Council, Children's Services, 160 Tooley Street, PO BOX 64529, London SE1 5LX
Fax: 020 30148822

If you have any queries, please email Rhonda.StLouis@southwark.gov.uk
or call on 020 7525 3801.

The small print

During your two year period of study, you will not be employed by the London Borough of Southwark, but receive a recruitment payment of an amount yet to be decided per annum as part of the agreement with the CWDC.

Upon successfully completing the course and obtaining registration [October] you will receive a social work contract with the London Borough of Southwark commencing on Hay Grade 9, Spinal Point 31.

The contract agreed with the London Borough of Southwark stipulates that you will be required to work with Southwark for a period of at least 24 months. Failure to do so will result in Southwark reclaiming the payments paid during your period of qualification.

If you fail your Masters in social work course, then you will not be eligible for a contract in 2011, but Southwark will not require re-imbursement of the recruitment payments. If there is a deferment, Southwark will reserve the right not to offer a post in Southwark. During the final year of their training [April 2011], Southwark will advise you as to which team you will be joining following your successful completion of the course.

Young Southwark (Southwark Children’s Trust)

Young Southwark is a partnership of the key agencies for children, young people and their families in Southwark.

It brings services together and works with children, young people and their families, so that they can grow up in good health, feeling safe and secure, and realise their full potential. Southwark continues to show that working in partnership can really make a difference. Our ambition is to be one of the best performing local authorities.

Southwark has a network of effective multi-agency partnerships that work together to improve the outcomes for children, young people and families in the borough. As a result of high-quality partnerships, we have made good progress in reducing rates of teenage pregnancy, improved outcomes for youth offending and anti-social behaviour, worked jointly with schools to support improved attainment levels, and continued to improve the economic well-being of families.

New statutory guidance on inter-agency cooperation (December 2008) has set out how councils should be moving towards developing and enhancing their infrastructure for improved partnership working which carries notable implications for governance and interagency planning, commissioning and delivery arrangements for provision. Southwark is developing its children’s trust in ways which will mark a step-change to improve outcomes.

The Stay Safe agenda and safeguarding practice

The investigation into the circumstances of the death of “Baby P” in the London Borough of Haringey revealed serious shortcomings in the general quality of care and the level of cooperation provided by the authority’s children’s services and its partners. By contrast, Southwark was awarded 3 stars (good) overall for its approach to safeguarding in the most recent Joint Area Review (published in December 08). The report highlighted how:

• Relevant inter-agency strategies, policies, procedures and standards are well established.
• Good and very well-regarded safeguarding training has contributed to the creation of a well-informed children’s workforce.
• Thresholds are appropriate and well understood by partners.
• The responsiveness and capacity of the Children’s Social Care Duty Team is very effective.
• The council provides a very good range of effective preventative provision.
• The Integrated Children’s System had been effectively implemented.

However, the Lord Laming report into safeguarding, due for publication in March, has already signalled some preliminary recommendations that Southwark is already looking to adopt in the near future.

A wider gap analysis has also been conducted into the recent Children’s Trust and other guidance from the Department for Children, Schools and Families, Ofsted and Department of Health on how to strengthen children’s services and safeguarding practices. The extensive coverage around Baby P’s death showed how the safe recruitment, proper training and strong retention of frontline staff working with children and young people is key to ensuring excellent delivery against its safeguarding objectives. Southwark strives to become a service leader on this front as work develops on Team around the Issue and joint commissioning within the Young Southwark framework

Team around the Issue

As part of our review of the Children and Young People's Plan (CYPP) 2009, we will be trying some new approaches to support planning for our five local Young Southwark outcome priorities of:

• improved numeracy and literacy
• reduced rates of teenage pregnancy
• reduced incidence of crime against and by children and young people
• more for children and young people to do
• reduced rates of obesity

We will be holding key stakeholder events, during which we will seek to understand and explore where we are so far in relation to these priorities, and to inform action planning for the coming 12 months for the CYPP 2009.

In consultation with our stakeholders we will be looking at applying the locally developed "Team around the Issue" model to four of our five priorities, whilst embarking on the ECHO model in conjunction with 8 Works for teenage pregnancy. This new planning process has been developed in light of feedback from stakeholders and revised statutory Children’s Trust guidance that requires partners to align their planning arrangements to the CYPP, rather than simply regard it. The approach is a first step in building the foundation for a direction that includes joint commissioning arrangements, and enabling partners to be clear about their roles and responsibilities in delivering local priorities.

Parenting strategy

Southwark Council is to revamp its parenting strategy in light of the government's Think Family policy paper about breaking down traditional barriers between adult and child-focused services. The borough is to build on existing whole-family approaches such as the Family Nurse Partnership and the Targeted Mental Health in Schools Pathfinder (TaMHS) to tackle multiple risk factors faced by adults and their children that lead to poor outcomes.

Youth Participation

A conference on 1 April will present proposals on moving to a formal system of representation for young people. This will include an elected Southwark Youth Council, run through Area Forums and School Councils. The aim of the event is to consult with practitioners who work with young people – particularly groups that cater for young people from hard-to-reach groups - as well as young people themselves, to enable them input ideas for the new participation model.