Our Social Care Academy aims to organise and enhance our learning, development and career progression offer for Lambeth’s workforce. It is a means of investing in our social care workforce and encouraging best practice to thrive, ensuring our children and families receive the best support possible. Some of the core activities and projects being delivered by the Academy include:

• Designing and delivering a comprehensive training programme, ranging from core skills to targeted and specialist offerings
• Enhancing and promoting career pathways for practitioners and managers
• Overseeing a high quality, well-supported entry-level social work offer including our early career framework which offers a three-year ASYE pathway, the Frontline programme, Step Up To Social Work and student social work placements
• Creating a centre for learning and promoting innovation in social work practice and delivery
• Ensuring social care practitioners are recognised and rewarded in ways that match their ambitions

We offer competitive salaries across our core social work roles, enhanced by retention packages:

Newly Qualified Social Worker - up to £39k

Social Worker - up to £48k inclusive of retention package

Advanced Practitioner - up to £52k

Team Manager - up to £58.5k inclusive of retention package

Brixton is right at the heart of Lambeth and is world-renowned for its extraordinary character, rich diversity and heritage. It is famed for its independent retail, hospitality, night-time economy and rich cultural offer. 

Not only that, with links to the Victoria and Northern line, as well as suburban National Rail services, your commute will be quick and simple.

Lambeth supports social workers with achieving a work-life balance by offering a range of flexible working opportunities.  Working from home is encouraged, with flexi-leave available to staff in agreement with their manager. Staff are provided with equipment to support them working remotely.

Our Civic Centre offers a modern working environment with a range of workspaces available tailored to the sort of work you need to do. We also offer free tea and coffee on tap!

We have a dynamic learning and development plan that bridges systemic approach, trauma-informed approach, motivational interviewing, solution-focused brief therapy and strengthening families approach.

Our training programme covers a number of core skills relating to these approaches along with practice model specific sessions which further develop these skills for senior practitioners.

For Leadership and Management, we are implementing a pathways programme to develop managers and those in senior positions.

Our learning and development offer is coordinated and delivered through the Lambeth Social Care Academy.

We are committed to giving our social workers opportunities to progress and we have Advanced Practitioner roles in the majority of our social work teams. There are plenty of opportunities for Lambeth’s experienced social workers to apply for these roles to progress their social work career.

For those at the outset of their social work career, we have a linked grade for the Social Worker role with a progression pathway enabling movement between the PO2 and PO3 grades.

Lambeth Council is committed to reflecting the community in its workforce to ensure that the public feels represented and heard. 

Lambeth has strengthened its approach to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in the Council by widening its offer through the creation of three new talent development and support programmes. 5 staff forums (BAME, Women’s, LGBT+, Disability and Young Professionals) have also been setup to create safe spaces and to support Lambeth in creating a more inclusive working environment.