Tarisai Kadungure has not looked back since crossing continents to pursue his career as a social worker. It has been a rapid rise since he left South Africa – where he qualified – and joined Sutton council as a children and family social worker in 2018. Attracted at first by the chance to work in a team devoted exclusively to court hearings involving children in care, he went on to train as a practice educator, mentoring social-work students.
Today he manages a team of social workers who are on the frontline of child protection in this London borough. Kadungure, 34, says: “If you have ambition, Sutton is a great place to work and there is a culture of learning and development. Managers listen – they are keen to learn from best practice but also from what we as social workers are hearing from service users. Without any doubt this is the best place I have ever worked.”
Kadungure’s progress up the career ladder in children and family services is testament to the commitment the department makes to supporting the professional development of its staff. Its principal social worker and safeguarding manager Karen Walls says: “Sutton is a progressive council. We understand that social work is a challenging career, and we recognise that investment in the individual is investment in the service.”
After newly qualified social workers have completed their first year on the job, Sutton offers them two extra years of support and development: “We take the stabilisers off them [after their first year] but recognise that they still need support – that they shouldn’t go from being supported to nothing,” says Walls.
‘If you have ambition, Sutton is a great place to work,’ says Kadungure
More experienced social workers can tap into an extensive learning and development programme that Sutton has developed in a teaching partnership with Kingston University. There are opportunities to learn to become specialist advisers, team managers, practice educators and to take on other roles including professional coaching and mentoring, all fully funded, with protected time for learning. Similar development opportunities are available to agency social workers.
The authority’s investment in its social workers pays dividends: “There is this sense that we have put value in you and that is reciprocated,” says Walls. This belief in being valued is borne out by the results of its 2019-2020 children’s services workforce survey, which found that 86.4% felt they “belonged” in Sutton’s children’s services and 96% felt that their own values matched those of the service. Some 84.5% agreed or strongly agreed they liked their job and 98.1% described Sutton children’s services as a “good” organisation to work for.
Sutton has recently signed up to the Step Up to Social Work programme – the national fast-track route for graduates looking to qualify as children and family social workers. Its first graduates are due to join the scheme in January 2022.
The council launched a children and family social worker apprenticeship scheme in 2020 aimed at existing employees who are keen to build a career in the service, which allows them to train on the job. So far, two apprentices have begun the three-year programme, with another six just starting.
Sutton’s social worker vacancy rate at 20% is already below the London average of 23.8%, and Walls is optimistic that the apprenticeship scheme will boost retention. “It’s been very popular and the hope is that it will aid social worker retention as it demonstrates a commitment to our employees to promote their progression and development. It also reflects how we do things here, which is very much about working with [you],” she says.
Karen Walls: ‘We recognise that investment in the individual is investment in the service’
The apprenticeship route allows the authority to “grow its own” social workers, and there are additional benefits: “Because the apprentices are already working for the authority they are already working with our values, are invested in Sutton and have established networks and relationships on which to build,” Walls adds.
Jonathan Williams, assistant director, children’s social care and safeguarding at the London borough of Sutton says: “Sutton council is ambitious for its workforce as well as the children and families we work with. Children’s social care and safeguarding continues to invest in substantial learning and development opportunities for staff so they are best equipped to do their job well. Our staff are our greatest asset and I am proud of their achievements. This has been highlighted by three staff recently winning staff awards for outstanding contributions for the positive impact they had on the lives of children and families.”
In 2019, a survey of London boroughs ranked Sutton as the best local authority in which to raise a family. Some 32% of the borough is green space and 100% of its primary schools and 91% of its secondary schools are ranked as “good” or “outstanding” by Ofsted inspectors.
The borough has a stable “non-transient” population, which brings professional benefits to social workers and their work with families. “I think that is Sutton’s USP,” says Walls. “That stable population allows relationships to be established and maintained so that services can be provided in a consistent and maintained way.”
She adds: “The ability to work with families in a consistent way that feeds into our core values as social workers is enabled in Sutton because families stay here.”
So what would Walls say to newly qualified social workers or those with more experience considering a move to Sutton? “We value, celebrate and invest in the individual. We are part of a community that invests in each other. And the initial passion that brought you into social work is the foundation of your career – and we share your passion.”
If you are interested in a career in social care or would like a new challenge and are ready for the next move, have a look at the current vacancies at Sutton council.
