** View latest vacancies ** Sometimes we are asked "What is distinctive about Wandsworth's Children and Families Social Work Services? Why would people want to join Wandsworth?" The answer is obvious to us. We have a staff team – social workers, managers and administrators – as skilled and dedicated as you will find anywhere. That's why we have had 3 Stars since the star rating system was introduced, and why we are out in front in providing innovative, high quality services. Our Director of Children's Services, Paul Robinson, stresses the department's commitment to staff development if we are to remain forward looking and among the very best of social care providers. This means not being complacent, constantly reviewing the way we deliver services and making the most of the opportunities that arise in a fast changing social care world. Crucially, it is also about investing in our staff so we keep recruiting the very best people available - and making sure they stay with us. Wandsworth Social Care services have been consistently high performing achieving 3 stars for many years now. Our JAR took place in October 2007. Although we cannot yet publish the result, we are confident that this high quality has been endorsed by the inspection. The promotion of equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice is very important to us. We strive to have a workforce that reflects the cultural and racial make up of the community we serve. We constantly review our services to ensure they are effectively serving all sections of the community and we try to fully involve all staff as well as service users in this process. There is an ongoing Equality Working Group chaired by the Director that all staff can attend and contribute to. Also, all our services are subject to regular Equality Impact Assessments to ensure we are meeting the needs of all groups within the community. A number of measures have been taken to strengthen the Children and Families service including
If you join us you will be coming into a friendly, well-resourced and very professional service. We believe in supporting our staff properly with good supervision and manageable workloads. Social workers who demonstrate key competencies are fast tracked up the salary scale. Above all, you can be confident that you will receive all the support and help you require for success in your work and in your career. In case you are not familiar with Wandsworth, we have the largest in-house fostering service in South London and are able to place most children in local residential resources where this is needed. We have close working links with high quality schools and the Council has a range of family support services. The Department has embraced the 'Every Child Matters' agenda and is working with our partner agencies to introduce extended schools provision, the Common Assessment and Integrated Children's system. Central Wandsworth is easily reached by public transport - we have staff who commute from North London, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. We can offer interest-free season ticket loans and social workers who are happy to use their own cars receive essential car user allowance. The majority of our teams are based in Central Wandsworth, a 10 minute bus ride from Clapham Junction. Regular free health checks are also available for certain groups of staff (subject to meeting current criteria). For more information about vacancies for qualified staff in our social work teams, please feel welcome to contact one of the following service managers for an informal discussion. Mike Mannion Laura Williams Paul McCarthy Jacquie Heale |
