Children’s
Services
Join Medway Children’s Services and together let’s help families thrive.
Children’s
Services
If you’re looking to take the next step in your social worker career in a supportive environment where you can continue learning, Medway Council is the place for you. You will work as part of a small team known as a Pod where staff collaborate on cases to achieve the best possible outcomes.
With a focus on reducing caseloads, Medway is continually looking for new ways to ensure that social workers are provided with the support and assistance they need to thrive. The POD system means that cases are shared and benefit from the team’s varied knowledge and experience.
Our Social Work Academy allows all of our staff, no matter their level, to continually develop their skills and make a real difference to service users. We are offering training from the Institute of Family Therapy from January 2017 leading to an accredited qualification.
If you are looking to take the next step on your Social Work career, our Practice Manager positions provide the perfect opportunity.
Managing four Social Workers, including one NQSW, you will have the time and space to give high quality supervision and guidance. Using a systemic practice approach to social work you will be a key influence on creative work with families to safeguard children. Whilst you won’t hold cases yourself, you will have time to ‘know’ the families and play a central role in the key decisions made helping the team to deliver the best service possible.
This position will see you develop as a leader and you will be given the opportunity to work towards the ILM4 (Institute of Leadership and Management Accreditation). We are also offering training from the Institute of Family Therapy from January 2017 leading to an accredited qualification.
As an NQSW you will likely feel apprehensive about starting work in child protection – the Medway Children’s ASYE programme is designed to provide you with the training and experience you need to become a knowledgeable and skilful practitioner. This takes place with the support of your line manager, the Principle Social Worker running the programme and alongside your ASYE peers.
Medway recognises the benefits of a variety of learning techniques and our ASYE balances structured teaching, group supervision and 1:1 support. NQSWs also benefit from lower caseloads, increased supervision and protected time to focus entirely on the ASYE.
Learning Cycles
Every four weeks a day is dedicated to teaching and group discussion about a particular theme in Child Protection. For the first 6 months this follows the journey of the child to ensure that all NQSWs gain understanding of all areas of children’s social work, not just the area their team focuses on. During the four weeks the NQSW should have an experience working on a case relevant to that theme either directly or through supporting one of their colleagues. Then in the final week of the cycle, the ASYEs have group supervision to share their experiences and gain the benefits of each other’s learning.
ASYE Portfolio
Knowledge and Skills Statement :
The Medway ASYE programme is based on the Chief Social Worker’s Knowledge and Skills Statement as recommended by the DfE. This will also form the basis of the National Assessment and Accreditation System (NAAS), to be implemented by 2020 by which all social workers will be evaluated. In the Medway ASYE programme, you will become familiar with the KSS as you will complete regular self-evaluations against it. This will ensure that you are thoroughly prepared for accreditation under the NAAS.
Critical Reflection Log :
Critical Reflection is an essential part of social work practice, however it is difficult to teach in the abstract since reflection is such a personal exercise and inextricably linked to the situation at hand. Medway’s ASYE programme aims to teach and refine this skill and the NQSW will undertake several reflective exercises including free reflection about aspects of their work, observations, feedback from clients and other professionals, written work they have completed, and case file audits.
Social work is a challenging but rewarding career through which you can make a real difference for children and families. You will need to build relationships with families facing difficult times, show a lot of patience and be a good listener. You’ll also need good observational skills, analytical thinking and sound judgement to make the right decisions and protect children. Social work regularly tests resilience, stamina and resolve – all of which you will need to succeed. But social work can be life changing for those you support and help.
Through our successful Step Up to Social Work training programme you’ll get intensive, hands-on experience of working in a real-life social work role. On completion, you will obtain a Diploma in Social Work, allowing you to register and practice as a social worker. We can train you in 14 months, with all your course fees paid, and you’ll also receive a bursary for the duration of the course.
We’re looking for strong graduates who have experience of working with children, young people and families and who can demonstrate their maturity and emotional resilience.