Sanctuary Social Care is currently looking for an experienced and dedicated Children's Advocate to work full-time in Hammersmith and Fulham. The ideal candidate will possess highly developed specialist knowledge of social work practice in Children's Services and be registered with Social Work England.
The pay rate for this locum Children's Advocate job is £35.00 - £40.00 per hour (Assignment rate) and is an initial 3-month contract.
Duties:
- To provide a comprehensive children's advocacy service
- To ensure that the children's advocacy service takes account of ethnicity, culture, sexuality and language and positively develops services appropriate to the needs of all groups of children and young people
- To promote and develop the rights and interests of children subject to Child Protection Plans, Looked After Children and those entitled to Leaving Care services
- To provide an advocacy service that is appropriate to the age and maturity of the child/young person with the view to empower them and promote their participation and rights
- To develop effective professional relationships with children and young people
- Undertake visits to vulnerable young people and children in order to advocate on their behalf which may include visits off site, visiting alone and out of office hours following the service guidelines for personal safety at all time
- To ensure the child or young person fully understands the nature and process of the meeting and the range of participation options available to them
- To attend Looked After Child Reviews and meetings for care leavers as required and to provide feedback to the allocated Social Worker/Chair
- To provide timely feedback to the child or young person to ensure that they are aware of and understand the outcome of the meeting
- To maximise the development and take up of the Advocacy service through active promotion
- To show effective partnership working with Social Workers, Team Managers, Child Protection Advisors and through direct communication with parents and carers
- Begin formal procedures, such as complaints, on behalf of children entitled to advocacy in situations where they cannot begin such procedures themselves and where their rights may have been infringed
- To cost all work undertaken, maintain adequate budget controls and market test services
Requirements of the Children's Advocate:
- Degree or equivalent in social work
- Current Social Work England registration
- At least 2 years frontline experience within Children's Services
- Have a valid Enhanced DBS disclosure and be re-checked every 3 years as per council policy
- Experience of working with children form a range of cultures and backgrounds including those whose first language is not English
- Effective verbal and written communication and presentation skills
- Ability to understand and apply current legislation in respect of looked after children, care leavers and those subject to child protection plans and to work to the National Advocacy Standards
- Sound working knowledge of IT packages including Word, Excel, Publisher, databases and use of the internet
- Willingness to work flexibly
Contact:
This Children's Advocate job is advertised by Jenni Regnault; if you are interested in this position please click above to apply now.
Due to the high volume of applications we receive, regretfully we are only able to respond to candidates who meet our clients' requirements.
