Join Havering and lead the way on changing the lives of care leavers

Are you keen to use your social work skills to help children in care transition into adulthood smoothly and successfully?

Do you believe that children in care deserve pathway plans that are developed earlier and based on a commitment to co-production?

Then the London Borough of Havering wants you.

Fresh approach to leaving care

From September 2017 the council, which is headquartered in Romford, will be launching its innovative Face to Face Pathways programme, and we need experienced social workers who can help deliver this fresh approach to improving the lives of children in care and those leaving care.

The Face to Face Pathways programme is funded by the Department for Education’s Innovation Fund and is all about enabling young people aged 14 to 24 determine their next steps and future.

Face to Face Pathways will:

– Begin pathway planning and transition to adulthood much sooner, at 14 years old and up to 24 years old

– Give young people ‘passported’ access to services, such as health and housing, based on need rather than eligibility

– Offer care leavers more choice, more information and more support

– Provide specialist foster care through systemic training to enable young people with complex needs to stay close

– Stop children entering care by working intensively and systemically to enable families to stay together and build their own solutions

Be part of the change

We are currently recruiting social workers for several roles that are central to the new programme, including:

– An advanced practitioner for the leaving care team, who will lead on co-ordinating planning for care leavers and developing social work practice in the team

– A fostering advanced practitioner, who will develop an innovative systemic fostering model and be responsible for intensively supporting a network of foster carers

– Family therapists, who will provide family therapy to foster carers, work with foster carers to develop the principles of systemic practice, and nurture a model of co-production that works in partnership with young people

– Leaving care pathway coordinators, who will coordinate care across children’s services for young people who are entitled to leaving care services and play a vital role in developing a passported service model

Check our job listings for more details about the opportunities to join Havering and the Face to Face Pathways programme.

Make a real and lasting difference

“Face to Face Pathways is a fantastic opportunity to make a real and lasting difference to improve the lived experience of children and young people in care and prepare them for a successful transition to adulthood,” says Tim Aldridge, director of children’s services in Havering.

“With our systemic approach and positive way of working with families and young people to identify their strengths, Havering is leading the field of innovative social care and is excited to work with people who want to be part of this unique programme.”