About the Role and our Ideal Candidate
Join Children Social Care as a Child Protection (CP) Chair on a 12 months fixed term contract and enjoy a Golden Hello along with a Recruitment and Retention Bonus, outlined as follows:
£1,000 paid with your first month's salary
£1,000 for your first completed year of service
£2,000 for your second completed year of service
£3,000 for your third completed year of service and each year thereafter
With a total salary package of up to £62,620 (subject to pay scale), inclusive of bonuses and benefits, this is an excellent opportunity to elevate your career in social care.
Are you passionate about protecting children, and working with their families to make sustained change?
Could you support families, agencies and social workers, to make creative plans that focus on individual needs and keep children safe?
Are you an experienced Social Worker, with management experience, looking for a new challenge?
We have an exciting opportunity to join us as a Child Protection Chair within Children Social Care at the London Borough of Sutton. Our objective is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the children and young people in our community. Reporting to the Senior Safeguarding Chair, your responsibilities as a Child Protection Chair will include:
To lead and facilitate child protection conferences, ensuring that the best interests of children are at the forefront of all discussion.
Improving the protection of children by developing outcome-focussed, multi agency child protection plans, within a tight timeframe.
Monitor and review progress on child protection plans, providing guidance and support to involved parties.
Provide training and support to staff and agencies on child protection processes and procedures.
Stay updated on current legislation, best practices, and research in child protection and safeguarding.
You will work as part of a small team of Child Protection Chairs, where your skills in analysing complex information alongside the ability to communicate with both families and agencies, will support the service to deliver our statutory objectives. CP Chairs work collaboratively with social workers, educators, health professionals, and other stakeholders to develop comprehensive safety plans. Your knowledge and experience of social work, safeguarding and restorative practice, will be essential to enable and encourage a strength based approach to delivering our services. There will also be an expectation that you will provide cover for the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO). This will involve chairing meetings related to an allegation against a professional, in either their work or personal life.
If you are an experienced Social Worker with management experience that is looking for a new challenge, we want to hear from you. You will join a supportive and experienced team and will enjoy opportunities for joint working and professional development.
For more information about the role and/or an informal conversation, view the Role Profile or contact Denise Walford, Senior CP Chair on denise.walford@sutton.gov.uk or Karen Wells, Safeguarding Manager on karen.walls@sutton.gov.uk
This role is a great opportunity for:
Experienced social workers with a strong background in child protection and line management, gained at Assistant /Team Manager level. If you are passionate about growing your career, this role is an opportunity that focuses on chairing and facilitating critical discussions that impact children's lives.
Current and Former Child Protection professionals who have significant experience in child welfare, social work, or safeguarding roles and are looking to take a leadership position in child protection within a Local Authority.
In addition, we would expect suitable candidates to fulfil the following competencies:
Be a qualified Social Worker with a relevant professional qualification in Social Work and registered with Social Work England
Line management experience gained at Assistant or Team Manager level.
Significant experience in child protection and safeguarding, with strong understanding of child protection legislation, local authority processes, and multi-agency collaboration.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage with families in a sensitive manner and make sound decisions in complex and challenging situations.
Ability to work at Sutton Civic Offices up to 3 days a week
Our strong, accessible, and supportive management culture creates a positive team environment that promotes regular supervision and encourages continuous professional development for staff. Join us on this journey to create an environment where both the children in our care and our staff can thrive and succeed in their everyday lives.
About Us
The London Borough of Sutton “is uncompromising in its focus on improving quality of frontline social work” – Ofsted
London Borough of Sutton works closely with Kingston University and regional partners as part of the Developing Together Social Work Teaching Partnership (SWTP). The partnership offers staff a wide range of pre and post qualifying education opportunities to promote continuous learning and development. This includes staff being encouraged to support the practice education of Social Work students and those in the assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE). Staff are also given the opportunity to attend conferences, workshops and have access to research and practice resources to support their ongoing professional development.