Our Values

It’s great to know that you are interested in working with us at Coventry City Council. As a prospective employee, it is important that everyone who works for us is committed to our One Coventry values and shares our commitment to becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation. 

Our Values are:

About the team we are recruiting to

Do you want to work for a ‘Good’ service that offers an excellent career development opportunity through an award-winning Academy? Are you a passionate social work practitioner who thrives to continually achieve best outcomes for children, young people, and their families?

We are thrilled to share that Coventry Children’s Services has been judged ‘Good’ by Ofsted. This has become such an exciting time to join Children’s Service and be part of journey that has ‘children and young people at the heart of everything we do’.

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.

Coventry Children’s Services values a working culture that is relational and restorative in nature, the service understands the impact of behaviours as practitioners and managers on others. The launch of the Coventry Family Valued Programme in April 2021 aims to re-think practice in the best interests of children, as a result the Coventry Family Valued Programme has developed three Spires:

• A Child Friendly City
• Family Led Decision Making
• The Coventry Way

It is under the umbrella of “The Coventry Way” spire which demonstrates the values and commitment the workforce hold, the spire which represents the support to embed the organisational values into the culture and practice with children and families

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 believe children and families should have limited change of worker where possible to enable relationships to be built.

What is the job role?

The Restorative Practice Lead (RPL) role is an investment into frontline practice and the way we want to be working with children and families. 

We are looking for Restorative Practice Leads who are committed to making a difference to children and their families through supporting the Children’s Services workforce and other partner professionals to work restoratively with children and families; this includes a real re-focusing on relationship-based practice WITH children and families being valued and at the heart of all we do. This will include using the Signs of Safety practice framework to support this way of being with families - “Signs of Safety is what we do, and Restorative and Relationship-Based Practice is how we do it”. 

As part of the Restorative Practice Team you will work across Coventry Children’s Services, in order to support the delivery of the Coventry Family Valued Implementation Plan. You will work closely with Operational Leads and/ or Workstream Leads, in order to develop and deliver on plans that support the embedding of restorative and relational practice across Children’s Services and/ or within specific area(s) of Children’s Services.   

You will be managed by the Coventry Family Valued Programme Manager and/ or the Signs of Safety Implementation Lead, who are both under the line management of the Principal Social Worker and the Children’s Services 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 further strengthen the work undertaken in Coventry with children and families. 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 to achieve success in the best interests of children, and practitioners who are driven and motivated to influence the culture shift in thinking and practice which Coventry Children’s Services is driving forward. 

Alongside a team of Restorative Practice Leads, working with others across Children’s Services and with professional partners, this is a real opportunity to influence and promote positive practice across the Children’s Services workforce and make a difference to children and their families! 

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

If you would like to have an informal discussion about the Restorative Practice Lead role, please contact Hannah Bedford (Coventry Family Valued Programme Manager) - hannah.bedford@coventry.gov.uk  

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 it was the UK City of Culture 2021. We believe this will help put Coventry on the map for all the right reasons as you can feel the sense of local pride throughout the city. 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;

• A range of family-friendly policies and flexible working arrangements
• Generous annual leave allowance starting at 27 days and rising to 32 days
• Buy up to 5 days annual leave per year
• Opportunity for Salary Match and Pay progression through multiple increments
• Access to Credit Union
• Professional Support Service offering administrative support to practitioners
• Wellbeing Weeks throughout the year that offers team activities and sessions
• Practice Week, full of seminars, workshops and discussions with leading practice professionals
• Access to Research in Practice and to West Midlands Teaching Partnership
• Outstanding local government pension scheme
• Learning & Development with access to certified courses
• Access to an award winning Occupational Health Team
• Vibrant employee networks
• Lifestyle savings
• Salary Sacrifice Schemes; Car Scheme, Cycle to work and more
• Interest free travel loans
• Payroll giving scheme
• Workplace parking scheme
• Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Leave

Coventry City Council