Designated Social Care SEND Officer- Children's Services

DESIGNATED SOCIAL CARE OFFICER - CHILDREN'S - QUALIFIED SOCIAL WORK POST

FAMILY SUPPORT AND SAFEGUARDING / CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES TEAM

£60,620 - £63,692 (includes market supplement)

Hybrid role – Newham Dockside E16 2QU

Closing date: 02/03/2025 at 23:59

JOB DESCRIPTION

JOIN US AND HELP BUILD A FAIRER NEWHAM

We’re a vibrant, dynamic, culturally rich London Borough with a young population and limitless potential. We’re a challenging yet rewarding place for social work practice to flourish and we are steadfastly committed to our workforce being representative of the families that we work with. We are taking coordinated, meaningful and focused action to develop an inclusive culture because we believe this is at the heart of enabling diversity in all respects, including diversity of thought. We are taking positive actions to challenge all forms of discrimination and injustice to help make Newham a fairer and more equitable place for children and families to live, learn and thrive.

We’re building a fairer Newham through investment, co-production and by continuously developing our 'Circles of Support' practice model; centring on systemic and restorative practice and a specialist support offer for our practitioners. Ofsted described Newham as having a positive culture of learning and development and we always try to develop talent in-house. We have promoted 37+ internal colleagues so far this year and have put more than 50 practitioners through further education since 2020. We value your development and at Newham career progression is a reality for many of our colleagues.

We understand that social work can be a challenging yet ultimately very rewarding profession that makes demands of you personally and professionally. In Newham we value your wellbeing and we aim to ensure that you have a better work/life balance through a remote working offer when you are not visiting children and families, a modern office space for when you’re on site, a flexible working policy where all requests are considered, and a clinical offer to support you to do your best work. 

ABOUT THE JOB

We are looking to recruit a Designated Social Care Officer (DSCO) role as required by the Council for Disabled Children and recommended by Working Together to Safeguard Children. The DSCO will provide the capacity and expertise to improve the links between social care services and the SEND system.

The postholder will strategically lead in framing the social care elements of the SEND strategy across the local authority and ensure we comply with legislative requirements of the SEND Code of Practice (2015), and that we meeting our statutory responsibilities under the Children and Family Act (2014) and Care Act (2014).

The role will work across teams and services and regularly liaise with the senior leadership team and external stakeholders to drive organisation development and positive change. The post does not have any line management responsibility but will be responsible for managing improvement processes relating to developing services and increasing awareness of SEND across statutory services. 

To find out more, before applying please read the job description.

ABOUT YOU

You will be qualified social worker, currently registered with Social Work England - please note this a qualified social work post.

We are looking for a champion for SEND who is passionate about improving the lives of children and families whose lives are affected by disability, passionate about tackling disportionality, and wants to be a voice and advocate for disabled children and their families in the Borough. 

The officer will have in-depth knowledge, and understanding of both social care operations and the SEND reforms agenda and will identify areas where social care practice can be improved and ensuring that work is compliant with the SEND Code of Practice - generating solutions and implementing strategies and plans to address this.

Please refer to the person specification for a fill list of requirements – please also note that to be shortlisted applications will need to clearly demonstrate knowledge, understanding and practical experience in relation to the implementation of SEND legislation within social care and successful applicants will have relevant experience of supporting with children and young people with SEND in statutory social care.

WHY WORK WITH US?

We’ve been working hard to make Newham a great place to practise social work.

• A commitment to addressing disproportionality wherever we find it.
• We’re a GOOD local authority focused on reaching excellence.
• We offer genuinely flexible/hybrid working as long as children and families are supported.
• Stability: 100% of our Senior Managers and 71% of Team Managers are permanent.
• Our firmly established practice model, Circles of Support, was recently nominated for the prestigious MJ Award for Innovation in Children’s Services and allows systemic, restorative practice to flourish.
• Career progression is possible with Newham; we have promoted 30 internal colleagues in 2023 and 39 colleagues in 2024 within children’s social work.
• Social Care Academy – 50+ social workers have studied for systemic higher education with us since 2020. Our Academy offer received significant praise from Ofsted.
• A competitive salary package with a market supplement that rivals capped agency pay.
• Oyster card/parking permit for business use.
• Wellbeing service, leisure and discount benefits
• Travel season ticket loan, cycle scheme, Local Authority pension.

TO APPLY

To apply please submit your CV and a supporting statement (1-2 sides of A4) through our online recruitment portal. 

Shortlisting decisions will be based on candidates' relevant experience and suitability for the role in line with the person specification, as described in their supporting statement and CV. Please clearly demonstrate how you meet the SEND specific criteria in the person spec.

Closing date: 02/03/2025 at 23:59

Interviews: week commencing 10/03/2025

If you have any questions about the recruitment process or want to discuss joining Newham Children’s Services with one of our managers, please contact our Recruitment Team.

Additional Information

We are committed to creating an inclusive, anti-racist environment for all. When you apply for a job at Newham, your application is considered on its merits regardless of your age, disability, ethnicity, faith, gender identity or sexual orientation. If you share our vision and values, and you bring the experience and skills we need, that’s all that matters to us.

The London Borough of Newham 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.