WHAT DO I NEED TO FOCUS ON TO GET A JOB IN CHILD PROTECTION WHEN I'VE HAD TWO PLACEMENTS IN THE THIRD SECTOR (HOMELESS WITH DRUG/ALCOHOL PROBLEMS AND A VOLUNTARY ADOPTION AGENCY)?
FOR WHATEVER REASON THEY COULD NOT PLACE ME IN A CP TEAM BUT ITS STILL THE JOB I WANT DESPITE THOROUGHLY ENJOYING MY PREVIOUS PLACEMENTS. LOTS OF PEOPLE SAY THAT IF YOU HAVEN'T HAD EXPERIENCE OF IA AND CORE ASSESSMENT AND THE NECESSARY COURT EXPERIENCE THEN YOU'VE NO CHANCE. DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY ADVICE?
You might get more of a response if you don't SHOUT.
You will need to demonstrate how you can use your previous skills and experiences within CP whilst also showing what you have read / researched to increase your theoretical knowledge. Clearly you would also need to indicate your willingness to learn by way of mentoring from more experienced team members and attending whatever training opportunities were available
It will depend on what sort of employee the Team is looking for and it is possible a less experienced practitioner could well be incorporated.
I guess I'm just repeating what Rupert has already said but you need to demonstrate how your previous skills and experience are transferable to CP practice. Show that you have an understanding of current law/policy/best practice within the field. You need to have experience of undertaking assessments and be able to articulate what should be contained within a good assessment, not specifically of IA and Core.
I interviewed for a Safeguarding Team 3 years ago with no statutory experience and having never completed an IA or Core and I got the job.
Am I right in assuming that in your placement with the voluntary adoption agency you became familiar with the background of the children placed for adoption and also the challenges they faced after placement? You probably worked with their prospective adopters and foster carers and probably have witnessed first hand various attachment styles and the impact of neglect and abuse on them. You might have gathered from the CPRs what types of assessments had been undertaken during the Court proceedings and how the decision to make the children subject to Placement Orders was made. Maybe you have also seen the impact of delay on these children. I would use all this in an interview. Maybe you don't know all the internal processes of the LA and maybe you did not encounter the hostility of parents (Hope you have not been part of the "LA Social Worker-bashing" gang that I have seen so often in adoption) but you are only a new starter and you have other experiences and know;edge that others do not have - make sure you don;t sell yourself short
Sorry, not shouting, just a bad habit of leaving the caps lock on!