Barnet Council, committed to recruiting and retaining the very best the country has to offer, has launched a high-profile digital campaign to attract new talent and build on its team of committed social workers. Barnet Council is focused on creating a Family Friendly Barnet, enabling opportunities for our children and young people to achieve their best.

Tina McElligott, Director of Early Help & Children’s Social Care Services, said: “Barnet is an outer London borough. Some wrongly think this makes it a leafy London suburb without innovation and forward-thinking practice with children and families, and these misconceptions can make it harder to recruit social workers.

“We want people to think differently about Barnet, we believe our social workers can find reward and purpose in the work they do and can genuinely make a difference to children’s lives, particularly when then haven’t had the best start. Putting children at the centre of all we do, is what we do.”

To attract new talent to the borough Barnet Council commissioned digital education specialists Clearhead to create a new filmExternal link.

As its new campaign film states: ‘Take the time to look a little closer and see how far our support reaches. This is the perfect place to raise children, which is why there are so many here. But there are still children that need our help. We face the same challenges as the rest of London – we just approach them differently. We are here to build resilience in our communities and nurture those facing adversity.’

Kathy Bird, Clearhead Managing Director, said: “We are hugely proud to have created this 2021 recruitment campaign for Barnet Council Family Services, born out of the council’s challenge to create the level and quantity of talent they needed.

“Barnet is traditionally considered an affluent area of London – one where many would underestimate the family support needed within the community. The reality is that Barnet faces the same challenges as any other part of London. So, our digital campaign was focused on revealing the lesser seen challenges of Barnet and taking viewers on a tour of all the important work being carried out by Barnet Council Family Services team.”

Tina added: “In Barnet we use resilience-based approaches to practice and we have a strong focus on listening to what children, young people and families have to say about what we do and how and where we do it. Our Family Friendly borough puts children, young people and families at the centre and as a result we continue to develop innovative and evidence informed approaches to help our communities thrive.”

Barnet Council is seeking skilled, dynamic and motivated professionals with the ability to drive change in the families and professional systems they work within. If you thrive in a child-centred and creative environment – Barnet could be for you.

Barnet Council has already successfully filled 95% of its social work management roles and 100% of its Newly Qualified Social Worker roles. Over the last three years its ‘grow your own’ strategy has seen the council retain social work students and move them into permanent positions as newly qualified social workers. Barnet’s focus now is to recruit experienced social workers to complement the stable workforce they are growing.

Tina added: “It is a challenge for all local authorities in London to find and retain experienced high quality social workers. The competitive market rates found in agency employment adds to this challenge, which is why we have launched our new recruitment campaign – to stand out from the crowd and to attract the very best.”

Searching for social work vacancies? Watch the film here: www.barnet.gov.uk/itsallaboutmeExternal link