Senior Practitioner - Children's Social Work Families; Safeguarding

Senior Practitioner – Children Social Work with Families (Safeguarding)

Salary: Grade 15 £ 55,323‑£57,402

Employment: Permanent & Fixed Term (12 m) – 36 hours per week

Welcome Payment: £5,000 |
Retention Payment: £2,500

Hybrid working: 3 office days / 2 days working from home

The Senior Practitioner role reports to the Team Manager providing leadership of practice through exemplary direct work; development of staff and specialist focused on a given area of practice. They are an expert practitioner who directly delivers or contributes to the delivery of positive safety and well‑being outcomes for children. They will support other staff within the team to develop their level of practice and expertise and grow the confidence in their practice.

The Senior Practitioner would have a developed ability to deliver on outcomes and functions as a role model for their team through the effective exercise of the following functions.

• Engagement and relationship building / maintaining
• Analytical and continuous assessment
• High standard of report writing and case recording
• Making professional judgments and recommendations based on assessment and review
• Development, co‑ordination, implementation, and review of evidence‑based plans
• Provision of direct help by the worker
• Matching of child / family with evidence‑based services relevant to the identified needs
• Co‑ordination of multi‑professional / agency input to assessment, planning and help
• Application of theory and theoretical frameworks to all aspects of practice
• Supporting the development of creative and innovative care planning to support children and their families
• Overseeing the planning for children where necessary
• Delivering to performance standards consistently across the measures within the journey of the child

• Qualified and experienced Senior Social Worker and up to date registered with Social Work England
• Experience of working in Children’s Safeguarding
• Knowledge of national policy, strategy and developments regarding children’s social care, and areas that impact on children’s social care
• Knowledge of relevant legislation, statutory guidance, standards and procedures
• Knowledge of relevant theoretical frameworks, practice models and research findings
• Knowledge of models of reflective supervision that impact on practice and outcomes
• Able to maintain records that evidence engagement with children and families, inform the quality assurance framework e.g., quantitative, qualitative and outcome information for the children and families, the views and experiences of children and families

Croydon Council’s priorities are to deliver good sustainable services and build strong partnerships with diverse communities.

Croydon Council is an inclusive employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. Subject to business needs, we will consider applicants seeking flexible working arrangements and support hybrid working. We guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the advertised role. The successful candidate will be subject to a DBS check, if the role requires one.