In Sutton, there is much for us to be proud of both as a council and as a borough. This includes high levels of resident satisfaction, the quality of our services, our success in addressing our financial challenges to date, the way that we involve and engage with residents on key issues facing the borough, and the enthusiastic and motivated staff that we employ.

Looking ahead, there are plans for the delivery of new homes and new schools and the London Cancer Hub is being developed, while the Council is also seen as a driving force within the South London Partnership of five outer south west London boroughs focused on strategic growth, regeneration and investment.

All of this demonstrates a good track record and an authority that is ambitious and set to deliver more improvements for the borough. We've set out our vision for the future of Sutton in our corporate plan - Ambitious for Sutton. This strategic plan will shape the outcomes we achieve, the services we provide, and the impact we have on residents, to make Sutton a great place to live, work and raise a family.

Situated in Zone 5, Sutton is less than 30 minutes by train from central London, and south and south west London are easily accessible by public transport. There are 10 train stations which serve key neighbourhoods within the borough providing direct connections to London Victoria, London Bridge, London Blackfriars and St Pancras International. Sutton also has direct rail connections with Epsom, Dorking, Guildford and Horsham, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and West Croydon for the London Overground. There’s also an extensive road network which provides close and easy access to the M25 and M23.

Newly Qualified Social Workers (ASYE) Academy - Children

Do you have the potential to make a visible difference in the lives of children and to help us meet care and support needs across our borough as a Newly Qualified Social Worker (ASYE) at the London Borough of Sutton?

Salary - £34,209 - £41,850 (£43,860 unconsolidated maximum) per annum (grade 8) - Please note all successful applicants will be placed at spinal point 28 - £33,291 per annum

Full–time: 36 hours per week

The London Borough of Sutton is looking to recruit our next cohort of Newly Qualified Social Workers to start their Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE). We are delighted that we have a high success and retention rate of our previous cohorts, who we are very proud of. In fact - some of our earlier ASYE are now in management positions!

If you are in the process of completing your social work qualification or recently completed it, and are a motivated and committed individual with the passion and enthusiasm to embark on the challenge of working within a local authority, then we want to hear from you.

Sutton is a culturally diverse borough, with excellent links to central London and a range of staff benefits available, it’s a great place to start your social work career.

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The Ofsted inspection of Children's Services rated us as 'Good' and ‘Outstanding’ for leadership of services, highlighting aspirational children’s services being delivered for children and families in Sutton. Effective partnership working is key to achieving our ambitions.

Our ASYE programme is delivered jointly between adults and children social care and is supported by highly experienced and dedicated ASYE assessors who are qualified Practice Educators. You will have a comprehensive induction, regular supervision and protected study time to complete a portfolio of evidence which includes: self-assessments, direct observations, critical reflection logs, and setting learning objectives for your professional development plan.

You will take part in professionally facilitated Action Learning Sets, and a wide range of training and other learning opportunities to help you develop your knowledge, understanding, skills and confidence to take on more complex cases as you progress through the programme. We want you to flourish as you grow and develop in your social work practice, and you will be aided by a supportive management and team environment.

Sutton’s Children’s Services are committed to delivering services that make a real visible difference for vulnerable children and their families. In Sutton we want to be excellent in everything we do and we were judged ‘Good’ by Ofsted in the 2021 inspection with outstanding for leadership of the service- report published on 01/02/22.

The ASYE programme is delivered within a social work academy framework to comply with Skills for Care requirements. The programme is designed to offer our Newly Qualified social workers the maximum opportunity to develop their social work practice based on the Knowledge and Skills Statement (KSS) for Child and Family Practitioners and the Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF) for Newly Qualified Social Workers.

We offer a protected caseload for the duration of the ASYE programme, a comprehensive programme of learning and development opportunities, and regular individual and group reflective supervision. Our standards are high for our residents so join us on this incredible journey.

We are welcoming applications from Newly Qualified Social Workers who are able to show initiative, leadership, and a commitment to working in a busy local authority environment and can develop individual practice and our services to an outstanding standard with the support of the Senior Leadership Team.

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across - however big or small - will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

In addition, we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff, supported by our IT infrastructure, including Google Chromebooks and Google Apps.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
• Flexi-time (Please note, this applies to roles at grades 1-9 only)
• Comprehensive learning and development programme
• Local and national discounts for shopping, eating out and leisure activities
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Car parking scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Zip car scheme
• Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
• Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
• Subsidised gym membership

Please apply online before the closing date and time, ensuring you upload an up to date version of your CV and a supporting statement describing how you meet the requirements of the role as outlined in the role profile. Late application will not be accepted, (no agencies please).

Please apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.

To support our diversity agenda and reduce the risk of bias in our recruitment activities, our short listing process completely anonymises personal information that can identify job applicants e.g. name, title etc. Our hiring managers review and short list applications based on the information provided as part of your application as to how well you meet the requirements and criteria for the role, as outlined in the job profile.

Closing date 17.00 on Tuesday 23rd May 2023

If you are shortlisted, we will invite you to attend an interview and undertake an assessment.

Assessment dates - 29th May 2023 Interview dates - 7th June 2023 (interviews will be face to face).

Successful candidates' potential start date will be confirmed within a week of the interview.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

We pride ourselves on being a diverse, inclusive and welcoming Borough and we aim to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve - the key highlights from our recent Equalities Workforce Report can be seen here. We are respectful of difference and realise the positive value of diversity in our workforce. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and disabled candidates, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce. As part of our Disability Confident Committed status, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role.

We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.