Connected Persons Team Senior Social Worker

Our Values

In line with our One Coventry Values, we want to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking. We particularly welcome applicants from minority ethnic, LGBT+, disabled and neurodiverse communities to make a real difference to our residents so that equity and respect remains at the heart of everything we do.

Our Values are:

-Open and fair: We are fair, open, and transparent.
-Nurture and develop: We help and encourage everyone to be their best and do their best.
-Engage and empower: We talk and listen to others, working together as one.
-Create and innovate: We embrace new ways of working to continuously improve.
-Own and be accountable: We work together to deliver the best services for our residents.
-Value and respect: We put diversity and inclusion at the heart of all we do.

About the team we are recruiting to

In Coventry, we are working hard to build something special. Children and families are at the heart of everything we do, and we believe they deserve the best outcomes. Children’s Services provides a wide range of statutory and non-statutory duties, from Early Help Services, through to children who are looked after.

The service reflects and responds to the changing needs of children and their families. It works to enable a reflective and flexible approach, with a strong Early Help offer and a real focus on Relationship Based Practice and Signs of Safety, which focuses on intervention and keeping families together.

Children’s Services is proud of its achievements to date and is continuing to ensure children and families remain at the heart of all it does. We will provide you with an environment where social work can flourish, with high support, high challenge and manageable caseloads. Children’s Services is proud of its workforce, who are committed, dedicated, and work to a high standard. We are seeking other like minded practitioners who would like to join us. We pride ourselves on building relationships with families and partners and hold respectful practice at the centre of all we do.

Coventry City Council is investing strongly in its fostering provision and in recent years has seen a significant growth in the proportion of our looked after children who are placed with in house Foster Carers. The service has a commitment to providing high quality support to carers and ensuring they are assessed in a timely and thorough way. We work closely with our Foster Carers and with children’s social work teams to ensure that fostered children are well cared for and achieve best outcomes, maintain placement stability and move on to permanence in a timely way.

The Connected Persons Team is made up of 3 clusters with practitioners taking a caseload of either supervision and support cases or assessment cases. The team has responsibility for the assessment and supervision of Connected Persons Foster Carers and the assessment and support of Special Guardians.

The Recruitment and Assessment Team has responsibility for the recruitment and assessment of a range of fostering applicants. The team also includes a recruitment hub which supports the Marketing and Recruitment Officer in generating enquiries to become a Foster Carer. The hub also follows up on enquiries and undertakes initial visits prior to applicants progressing to full assessment.

The Supervision and Support Team is made up of 3 clusters. Practitioners in these clusters have responsibility for the supervision and support of a range of approved Foster Carers. They also support the Placement Liaison Officer within the team to identify and arrange placements with internal Foster Carers.

We value diverse perspectives and experiences and are striving to create a workplace culture that is inclusive, is accepting of all and is free from discrimination and bias.

At Coventry City Council, we are embarking on an incredible journey to create a brighter future for Coventry's children. As a 'Good' Local Authority, we believe in pushing boundaries and delivering excellence for children and families. Our vision is clear, and our social workers are unwavering in their commitment to putting children and families at the centre of their practice.

Be part of our inspiring team, making a meaningful difference in the lives of Coventry's children. Together, let's create a nurturing environment where every child's potential can flourish.

What is the job role?

We are looking for a Senior Social Worker to take on the role of assessing social worker and supervising and supporting connected persons foster carers. This is a full-time hours post - 37 hours per week. This is to cover Maternity leave so is for a 12 month fixed-term contract.

Our connected persons team is a key focus of our family valued programme as we believe that children will often do best if they remain in their extended family network. The successful applicants for these positions will be at the centre of the growth of this area of our practice and benefit from joining a team deeply committed to provided high quality support to connected persons carers and special guardians.

All candidates must have the Right to Work in the UK. We are currently not offering sponsorship for this role.

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

Who are we looking for?

The successful candidate will have a case load of assessments of prospective carers, including some foster carer supervision whilst permanence plans for children are progressing. They will also be involved in supporting team managers with the initial assessment referrals received into the team, working closely with Children's social work teams. They will also have the opportunity to work with team colleagues in improving support to carers through training, support groups and events.

If you need help or support to complete your application, please visit our accessibility page to see how we can assist you.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme - As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role and identify with one of the below criteria:

-Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
-Are currently in care or have previously been in care
-If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'. If there is any evidence of a candidate using AI to complete their application, then the application will be rejected unless the candidate can provide a justification which the Council considers to be reasonable.

Interview dates: 3rd September 2025

For any additional information please contact - Debbie Corkett - Team Manager - Connected Persons Team - office number: 02476975489 / email address: debbie.corkett@Coventry.gov.uk