Locum Safeguarding Qualified Social Worker

Social Worker – LAC / Placements / Specialist Services (SW3)

Brief Job Overview

 
We are looking for an experienced and dedicated Social Worker to join the Looked After Children (LAC), Placements, and Specialist Services Team (SW3) at the London Borough of Bexley on a 3-month locum contract. This role is ideal for a motivated practitioner with strong experience supporting children in care, managing placements, and ensuring high standards of safeguarding and care planning.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage a caseload of Looked After Children (LAC), ensuring that all statutory requirements and reviews are completed in a timely and thorough manner.
• Develop and maintain care plans that promote stability, safety, and positive outcomes for children and young people.
• Work closely with foster carers, residential providers, and multi-agency professionals to ensure placements meet children’s needs and deliver high-quality care.
• Monitor placement progress and address any issues or concerns promptly, promoting placement stability and continuity of care.
• Prepare comprehensive, analytical reports for Looked After Reviews, court proceedings, and statutory panels.
• Contribute to placement matching processes, ensuring that decisions are made in the best interests of each child.
• Work in collaboration with education, health, and partner agencies to ensure holistic support for children in care.
• Maintain accurate, up-to-date case records in line with legislation, council policy, and best practice standards.
• Participate in supervision and reflective practice to continuously develop and improve your professional expertise.

About You

 
You are a confident, compassionate, and experienced children’s social worker who is passionate about supporting looked after children to achieve their potential. You bring strong organisational and communication skills, with the ability to manage complex caseloads and work collaboratively within a multi-disciplinary environment. You take pride in delivering quality social work that makes a lasting difference in children’s lives.

Requirements

• Qualified Social Worker registered with Social Work England.
• At least three years’ post-qualified experience within children’s services, ideally within LAC, Placements, or Permanency teams.
• Sound understanding of the Children Act 1989 and Care Planning, Placement and Case Review Regulations 2010.
• Experience managing complex cases and preparing reports for statutory reviews and court.
• Excellent communication, assessment, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with foster carers, providers, and partner agencies.
• Strong organisational and time-management abilities, with attention to detail in case recording.

Contract & Salary

• Job Type: Locum
• Location: London Borough of Bexley
• Team: LAC / Placements / Specialist Services (SW3)
• Contract Length: 3 months
• Salary: Negotiable, dependent on experience
• Working Hours: Full-time
• Working Pattern: Hybrid / Office-based as required

How to Apply

 
If you are an experienced Social Worker with a passion for supporting looked after children and ensuring stable placements, we’d love to hear from you.  
Please apply using the form on the page.