Advanced Practitioner - Children's Social Care

About The Job

Some key information

• Flexible working available, using a hybrid model in line with the needs of the service - working from home and your contracted work base.
• 30 days’ annual leave

Please Note:

We may consider offering Skilled Worker visa sponsorship to suitably qualified overseas social workers who are already residing in the UK. To be eligible, applicants must hold a recognised social work qualification and be registered with Social Work England. Sponsorship will be assessed as part of the recruitment process. This is only available to candidates currently living in the UK, as unfortunately we are unable to provide resettlement support.

What will I be doing?

We’re working to improve the lives of children here in Somerset – and you’ll be a key part of that.

As an Advanced Practitioner
, it will be your responsibility to skilfully manage complex work with the most vulnerable children in our community and in our care, whilst mentoring and supporting less experienced colleagues to grow and develop as practitioners.

Through pro-active, multi-agency working you’ll work with a range of service providers, facilitating the provision of a needs-led service and creating positive outcomes.

We’ll look to you to ensure all services are child focused, using a range of therapeutic skills and interventions to make sure that children reach their potential.

We have a commitment to reduce fieldwork caseloads down to an average of 14, which is fewer than most other local authorities. This will allow you to focus more time on individual cases and deliver a higher level of service. Alongside this, we want to provide you with the right work life balance, to support you as an individual, as well as an employee.

What

kind of experience or qualifications do I need?

We offer ongoing support, training and guidance to help you be the best you can be.

• be educated to degree level, and Social Work England registered.
• have demonstrable experience in the field, with a commitment to maintaining and expanding your social work knowledge and skills. Ideally you will have PEPS 1 but if not then supervisory experience is needed.
• have excellent interpersonal and communication skills allowing you to work effectively in partnership with other agencies and teams. Alongside this, you’ll have excellent time keeping and a keen eye for detail, as you produce accurate reports and quality assure the work of less experienced colleagues.

What's in it for me?

We are proud to offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of people in Somerset. We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:

• A friendly supportive learning culture with an approachable and experienced leadership team
• Generous annual leave and flexible working options
• CPD with a strong focus on systemic and relationship-based practice
• Local Government pension scheme
• A kind, caring and supportive environment!
• A variety of wellbeing services to support a healthy work/life balance and lifestyle
• Support to develop your career to achieve your goals
• A flexible benefits package including cycle to work and health screening schemes
• ‘My staff shop’ which offers excellent discounts at a variety of retailers including cinemas, restaurants, clothing stores and insurance providers
• Gym discounts

Anything else I should know?

The salary range for this role is £41,771 to £46,142 per annum.

If you have any questions about the benefits we offer, or our recruitment process, please contact our Recruitment Team on

The Assessment Centre is scheduled for 5th March 2026.

When completing your application/CV please provide your full employment history and ensure that any gaps in employment are explained. Please start with your current or most recent employment.

If you have all the information you need, just hit the apply button. We can’t wait to hear from you.

A Bit More About Somerset Council

We are a hugely ambitious council, committed to improving lives for the residents, communities and businesses of Somerset.

And that’s why we’re working so hard to build a sustainable organisation with a culture that rewards, values and recognises our staff, and gives everyone here the opportunity to grow and develop, personally and professionally.

DBS information

This post requires a criminal background check via the Disclosure procedure.

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