Children's social care in Bexley

Stephen Kitchman, Director of Children's Services, and Stefanie Roberts, Principal Social Worker

We are delighted that you are interested in working with us in Bexley. As of February 2023, Bexley Children’s Services have been judged ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted inspectors for the second time in a row.

Ofsted found that our service has a ‘clear strategic direction, strong partnerships and good political and corporate support’ allowing us to make a significant difference to children’s lives. We have a well-trained workforce that is improving the lives of children and families and Bexley colleagues feel safe and supported because of the quality of management oversight and decision-making.

We are committed to ensuring that Bexley is a welcoming and enjoyable place to work and strive to ensure that the children and families we work with, are always kept at the centre of our practice. Signs of Safety is our practice model - change happens through trusted and respectful relationships, between social workers and families with practice that is collaborative, and honest yet focused utterly on the best interests of children.

In Bexley, our underpinning ethos is ‘Nothing about us, without us’. We are committed to working in partnership with children, young people and families and learning from their expertise and lived experience to inform our practice and continuously make improvements to our service.

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and working together to create an inclusive working environment and culturally competence practice. In 2021, London Borough of Bexley successfully bid to pilot the Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) for social care, and we work closely with the council’s equality, diversity and inclusion groups including the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Workers Group, LGBTQ+ Workers Group, Women’s Network, and the Disability Staff Network.

Bexley's social care celebrating the outstanding provider rating outside the Civic Offices

We offer a wide variety of social care roles with opportunities to develop skills and knowledge in different areas of Children’s Services. If you join us, you will be supported to develop your career through our comprehensive learning and development offer. If you are interested in working in a relationship-based way and are committed to developing your practice and skills to deliver an excellent service to Bexley’s children and their families, then we look forward to welcoming you.

Stephen Kitchman, Director of Children's Services, and Stefanie Roberts, Principal Social Worker