Why Southend?

Our vision and how we work

We are proud to work in Southend-on-Sea, the UKs newest city. It is vibrant and diverse, with a seven mile coastline, green spaces and great transport links.

Our vision is A Southend Where All Children Achieve Success. By joining Southend on Sea City Council you will be key in making our vision a reality for all children. You will be joining a service where we demonstrate with pride that:

• all paths lead back to the child
• we spend time getting to know each child and their story
• we do what we say we’re going to do
• we work with the whole family
• no matter what, we aim to make things better.

You will be provided with the support to work to the highest standard using our model of practice, Restorative Practice, to deliver the vision. Our professional social work development offer has been designed through feedback from our social workers and you will have access to this whatever stage you are in your career.

You will receive regular restorative supervision and separate supervision focussing on development and evidencing your SWE registration. We want everyone to take a lead in an area of interest for their team and you will explore this with your line manager as part of your development.

We are building a strong social work family where practitioners and managers feel safe and are supported to develop enduring relationships with children, families and each other.

We have a hugely committed Practice Unit providing wrap around challenge and support to our practitioners and managers at all stages of their professional journey, led by a passionate Principal Social Worker. We are putting all our energy into being better for our children, so we are investing in Restorative Practice training pathway for practitioners, managers and leaders across the whole service and dedicated team learning and reflection months four times a year.

As we come out of Covid, we are designing future ways of working. You will work using a blended approach of working from home and spending at least two days a week with your team.

Become part of the Southend family

Southend is a great and rewarding place to be a social worker. Even when the work isn’t easy, it’s always rewarding.  

You’ll be joining a friendly team who help one another to achieve their full potential and feel supported. We often refer to our tight knit team as the Southend family as we are able to work so closely together and support each other.