About the team we are recruiting to

Coventry Children’s Services are embarking on an exciting journey to deliver support to families and children differently. Coventry have secured a £4m grant from the Government’s Strengthening Families, Protecting Children (SFPC) programme which will allow a focus on working with families through building better relationships with families and children.

What Is The Family Valued Programme? 
Family Valued Strengthening Families is a Leeds City Council system change programme designed to spread restorative practice across children’s services. A key element is the focus on Strengthening Families through Relationship Based Practice. There is a desire to empower and enable families to find solutions, to build their own networks and for families to make changes, build resilience and most of all to remain together. The programme demonstrates through building of relationships with professionals who support and guide through this process, families can and do achieve this. 

Family Valued Strengthening Families has a significant focus on Family Group Conferencing (FGC). FGC team will be expanded to ensure families at the earliest opportunity are able to consider family support and family plans to prevent the need for an escalation in Children’s Services.  The Leeds Family Valued Strengthen Families approach reflects the One Coventry values, where children are at the centre of practice. 

Why Coventry Children’s Services?
Coventry is passionate about creating something special, where families are valued, where risks are managed with the family, and where families are empowered and enabled to do it differently. We believe that families are the experts into their own lives, and we want to embrace this and create change through this; by taking the lead in their plans, in their support package and in decision making. Leaving children services having to only intervene where there are no other options.  

Coventry Children’s Services is on a journey to do better and is committed to achieving this. Working with Leeds Local Authority will enhance the pace of change and further achieve the best possible outcomes for children, young people and families in the city. We want to pride ourselves on building relationships with families and partners and hold respectful, non-discriminatory, unbiased and non-judgemental practice at the centre of all we do. 

Children’s services have acquired some excellent feedback and compliments from families about the services they receive, but we know we can do even better! Building a service based on relationship and restorative based practice  in line with our Signs of Safety methodology and the family valued model enables children services to only intervene when it has to, enabling the opportunity for the family to have more control.

What is the job role?

This is an exciting time for Coventry Children’ Services. The investment into restorative practice leads is an investment into frontline practice and the way we work with children and families.

We are looking for Restorative Practice Leads who are committed to making a difference to children through supporting the workforce and other professionals to work restoratively with children and families, this includes a real re-focusing on relationship based practice WITH children and families in line with the Signs of Safety methodology.

The Restorative Practice Leads will support across Coventry Children’s services.

You will work within a team of Restorative Practice Leads to ensure a consistent offer of support across children’s services to embed the principles behind the new Coventry approach. You may be asked to focus support in a specific area of children’s services or to flex according to the needs of children’s services within this role. Whilst the main aspects of the role centre around Restorative and Relational practice, these align within the Signs of Safety methodology, therefore there is a requirement to work closely with the Signs of Safety implementation lead.

You will be managed by a Programme Manager, who will be under the line management of the Principal Social Worker and the Children’s Service Programme Delivery Manager.

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?

This is a real opportunity to strengthen the work undertaken in Coventry with children and families, and a re-focus on the value base which social work is build upon. We are looking for practitioners who are acutely aware of their own value base in their work with families, practitioners who are motivated to support families achieve success in the best interests of children and a practitioner who is driven and motivated to influence the culture shift which Coventry Children’s Services is driving forward.

Alongside a team of other Restorative Leads, this is a real opportunity to influence and promote the positive practice of many practitioners across the children’s services workforce and make a difference to children!

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'

About Coventry

Coventry is a lively, multicultural city, which embraces old and new. Around the modern city centre there are traces of history everywhere – in the old city walls, the timber-framed buildings and the reconstructed medieval Spon Street. But Coventry has always had an eye on the future, and is now firmly focused on regenerating and re-inventing itself to meet the challenges of the 21st Century. With major developments and new projects taking place right across the city, Coventry City Council is the place to be!

There's a huge buzz about the city – Coventry ranks as the 8th best city to live, work and do business in the UK, and is the UK City of Culture 2021 ! We believe this will help put Coventry on the map for all the right reasons. You can feel the sense of local pride throughout the city as we build towards this momentous year. It also offers a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to those joining us to play their part in it.

We genuinely believe that Coventry City Council is a special place. You will be joining Coventry City Council during an exciting time to become part of a team that contribute to achieving our visions for the city. We have made our council a place where we look after our people, making sure you're happy in your work and given everything you need to succeed. We've created friendly, welcoming workplaces where everyone is working towards the same cause, providing the best possible services for the city of Coventry.

As a council with improvement at its heart, we’re committed to making life better for the people who live and work in Coventry. We’re equally concerned with the quality of life enjoyed by our people, so by joining us, you won’t just be helping the community, you’ll be helping yourself too.

Not only do you get to work alongside great people that are helping to improve services for our community we offer great benefits too! For your valued contribution we will provide a fantastic benefits package including;

• Flexible working arrangements
• Generous annual leave allowance starting at 27 days and rising to 32 days
• Pay progression through multiple increments
• Outstanding local government pension scheme
• Learning & Development with access to certified courses.
• Access to an award winning Occupational Health Team
• Vibrant employee networks 

Coventry City Council