About The Role

Adopt London North

Adopt London North is the Regional Adoption Agency for 6 North London boroughs - Haringey, Enfield, Camden, Hackney, Barnet, and Islington, who are our host borough. We are responsible for family finding and transition planning for children with an adoption plan (Family Finding team); recruiting, assessing and supporting prospective adoptive parents (Recruitment and Assessment team); and providing support to adoptive families, adopted adults and birth parents (Adoption Support team). We also have an Adoption Panel service. We work with our other Adopt London partners to develop and share best practice and opportunities for families effected by adoption in London. You can find out more about Adopt London on our website here: https://adoptlondon.org.uk/

About the Role

The current role is for a Social Worker in the Adoption Support team (with future opportunities to change teams). The Adoption Support team is a busy team, supporting adoptive families, adopted adults and birth families, working with therapeutic providers and the Adoption Support Fund, holding a caseload of families who need advice, support and advocacy, accessing and sharing records with adopted adults and helping birth families remain in contact with one another. People seek our support when they are struggling to meet a child’s needs, when they have questions about their own life story, when they need to make sense of all the challenges that come from being part of a family effected by adoption.

Working Arrangements

We have a dedicated office space in the Laycock Centre, N1 1TH, just 2 minutes’ walk from Highbury & Islington station. You will be working alongside a really friendly and supportive group of around 40 staff. We have a hybrid working style. You will be required to work from the office several times a week and will also undertake meetings with clients in the office and in their homes, but you will have flexibility to choose whether you prefer to be home or office-based on other days. We have regular training and development days, and there are opportunities to develop your skills through delivering training and workshops, and offering group work.

About You

In order to be considered for this role you will need to demonstrate (in both your application and your interview):

You understand both the benefits and the challenges adoption brings.
You need to show your understanding of the different types of support offered by Regional Adoption Agencies and think about what might be important to adopted people and their families.
You will need to have at least 2 years’ experience of working in front-line children’s Social Work teams, including some experience of working with children with a plan of adoption.
You will need a commitment to support families and empathy for all the challenges they can face.
You will need to be a qualified and experienced Social Worker, registered with Social Work England.

Islington use a Motivational Interviewing model for working with staff and service users and part of your interview will be a role play that will help you show your skills in this area.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion

We are committed to ensuring that our communities are represented across our workforce and at all levels. We are taking concerted, meaningful and intentional action to create an inclusive culture because we believe this is at the heart of enabling diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking, to thrive in our organisation. We are aware of systemic oppression and its impact on individuals and communities in terms of unequal access to services and opportunities. As such, we are taking positive action to challenge all forms of discrimination and injustice to make Islington a fairer and equitable place to live and work.

If you would like to discuss the role, please email Teresa Stratford (Service Manager) in the first instance; [email protected] and a phone discussion can be arranged.

Working for the team, service and our organisation

Islington is a place rich with diversity and culture. As a council our sense of purpose couldn’t be clearer: we serve. It’s in the logo. We are committed to challenging inequality in the borough and as one of the largest employers we know that to look after the place and the planet, we have to look after our people. Together we can change the future.

We are determined to create a more equal Islington, where everyone who lives here has an equal chance to thrive.

To do this, everyone who works at Islington Council lives by a set of values which guide us in everything that we do: collaborative, ambitious, resourceful, and empowering. They spell out ‘CARE’, which is what we think public service is all about.

Watch our video to hear more about our mission and how you can help us achieve it from the Leader of the Council, Cllr Kaya Comer-Schwartz.

Recruitment information

It is the policy of Islington Council that no user of service, present or future employee or job applicant receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of their sex, perceived or actual sexual orientation, marital status, race, religion or belief, age, creed, colour, nationality, national origin, ethnic origin, or disability, or on the grounds of their association with someone in one of these groups; nor is disadvantaged by any conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justified. We welcome applications from Black and Minority Ethnic candidates and acknowledge our responsibility to mitigate against racial discrimination. 

Islington Council operates a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria and we are committed to providing support to applicants who request reasonable adjustments to be made during the recruitment process and throughout their career with us.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expects all staff, and volunteers to share this commitment. Some posts are subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

The post is subject to an enhanced DBS check with children's barred list, Social Work England registration, and 5 years referencing.

Please note: Priority will be given to those at risk of redundancy within Islington Council. Current employees who are part of the redeployment pool must meet the essential criteria for shortlisting to be prioritised.

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