Children's Practitioner - Family Safeguarding

Children's Practitioner - Family Safeguarding

Job Title: Children’s Practitioner - Family Safeguarding
Starting Salary: £34,433 progressing to £37,280 pa
Hours: 37.0
Location: Stevenage
Contract Type: Permanent
Directorate: Children’s Services

We have an exciting opportunity to join a strong, motivated and passionate team and contribute to the amazing work that we do with children, young people and their families. Our Family Safeguarding Teams are multidisciplinary, consisting of social workers, domestic abuse, substance misuse and mental health workers, working together to tackle the root causes of risk in families. We work with Child Protection, Child in Need cases, PLO (Public Law Outline), children subject to care proceedings and children looked after.

As a Children’s Practitioner you will support social workers within the team to undertake identified pieces of work, working directly with children and parents, to achieve positive change. You will have the opportunity to undertake creative pieces of work that truly contribute to positive outcomes for children, young people, and their families. You will work closely with social workers and multi‑agency partners (health, education, police, probation service, CGL) to evoke change and support families to keep their children safe.

Working in a fast‑paced environment, you will need good organisational skills, time management and the ability to take a proactive approach. You will need to be motivated, committed, and have the confidence and initiative to work independently when required.

• Work directly with children and their parents.
• Provide support to Social Workers to undertake identified pieces of work.
• Attend Core Group Meetings and Child in Need Meetings, and contribute to developing, supporting and monitoring SMART plans.
• Undertake direct work with children and families.
• Attend and participate in Group Case Supervision and reflect on progress in improving outcomes for children.
• Supervise contact and undertake observations between parent and their children; support Social Workers to complete Family Safeguarding Intervention Programme and Parenting Assessments.
• Be part of a Team Duty Rota as required.
• Support parents/carers/young people’s attendance at appointments, access to benefits etc.
• Support requests for placements, finances and support packages via brokerage.
• Record all work accurately and timely onto the child/ren’s electronic case records and Workbook (LCS).
• Respect confidentiality and explain when information needs to be shared to protect children.
• Develop positive relationships with professionals and partner agencies to ensure children and families receive the best possible service at the right time.

Although there are no specific qualifications required for this role, the following skills and experience are required:

• Experience of working directly with children.
• Effective communication skills when working with children, their parents/carers and partner agencies.
• Excellent organisational skills and time management.
• IT skills including electronic record keeping.
• An understanding of safeguarding/risk.
• An ability to relay accurate information and concerns in a timely way.
• Ability to work independently while being a team player.

You will need to be able to drive and hold a current driving licence.

We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities to further develop your existing skills.

As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps) and includes any training/qualifications. Provide examples where you have demonstrated the required criteria. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application.

Applications are welcomed from candidates who currently reside in the UK with proof of right to work. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

This role requires a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

You must be able to drive and/or travel around Hertfordshire, either using your own transport or a company car.

The ability to converse in accurate spoken English is essential for the post.

Contact Debbie O'Brien at Debbie for an informal discussion about the role.