Integrated Adolescent Service Senior Social Worker

This job is brought to you by Jobs/Redefined, the UK's leading over-50s age inclusive jobs board.

Discover yourself in Lewisham where what you do makes a difference to our vibrant and culturally diverse communities!

We have a rich history of welcoming people from all over the world and are proud to be recognised as the UK's first Borough of Sanctuary, for our work in championing the rights of refugees and migrants.

Are you a passionate and experienced social worker ready to make a real difference in the lives of adolescents facing risks outside the home?

The London Borough of Lewisham is recruiting Senior Social Workers to join our dynamic and dedicated Adolescent Protection Team.

This is a unique opportunity to work at the forefront of contextual safeguarding, supporting young people impacted by extra-familial harm, including exploitation, serious youth violence, and peer‑related risks.

You’ll play a key role in safeguarding adolescents by:

• Leading and contributing to strategy discussions
• Leading on Section 47 enquiries
• Leading and contributing to Group Supervision
• Building trusted, trauma‑informed relationships with adolescents and their families
• Working collaboratively with multi‑agency partners to deliver robust safety planning
• Supporting colleagues through reflective supervision and practice development

• Qualified Social Workers with a minimum of 3 years post‑qualification experience
• Strong understanding of adolescent development and contextual safeguarding
• Confident practitioners with excellent communication, analysis, and risk assessment skills
• A commitment to anti‑oppressive practice and young person‑centred approaches

In Lewisham Children’s Social Care, we know what good social work looks like and we are passionate about creating the right conditions and culture for good practice to thrive.

• Families are respected and supported to stay together, whenever there is safety.
• Families will tell us they understand why we are involved
• Children will tell us their social worker has made a difference to their lives.
• Children who are in our care know we care, and we won’t give up on them.
• Young people who have been in our care feel confident about their future.

We have taken a whole system approach to improving our services to children and young people in our borough using Signs of Safety as our practice model. Ofsted recognised the progress we have made noting that:

• Staff talk positively about their manageable caseloads, regular supervision, team meetings and access to a range of training, including the social work model of practice.
• Senior leaders demonstrate a clear focus on hearing the voices of children to develop and improve services.
• Leaders know the service well. They have a clear understanding of areas for development that are being appropriately addressed.

In January 2024, Ofsted’s report lauds significant improvements in our children’s services. Praised areas include strong leadership, high‑quality support for families and children, and positive outcomes across all criteria.

• The Executive Director for Children and Young People and his team are credited for driving these improvements, with particular focus on enhancing workforce stability, early help services, and partnerships with stakeholders.
• Noteworthy practices include creative life‑story work and culturally sensitive social work approaches, crucial in a diverse borough like Lewisham.
• The Council’s anti‑racist practice network and safe space platform also garnered praise for supporting staff from black and global majority backgrounds.
• Overall, the report highlights a commendable commitment to improving outcomes for vulnerable children and young people in Lewisham.

“Lewisham has so much to offer any social worker. I feel supported, respected and valued every step of the way” (Social Worker).

Our social workers benefit from working in small, supportive teams with caseloads on average between 15-20 children. Our Signs of Safety family‑led practice framework means we are committed to working in a relationship‑based…