Senior Practitioner

My Social Work News; Godmanchester; On-site; GBP 44,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority in Cambridgeshire is seeking a Senior Practitioner for the Children in Care Team. This role involves delivering high-quality social work services to vulnerable children and their families, ensuring compliance with statutory guidelines. Ideal candidates will have strong communication and teamwork skills, along with a registered Social Work qualification. The position is permanent, and the salary ranges from £44,260 to £47,277 per annum.

Benefits

Comprehensive Wellbeing Support

Local Government Pension Scheme

Employee Recognition programs

Qualifications

• Current Social Work England registration is required.
• Ability to travel countywide is necessary.
• Experience in implementing social work interventions with children and families.

Responsibilities

• Provide a high-quality social work service for vulnerable children.
• Collaborate with colleagues and multi-agency partners.
• Ensure legislative and statutory compliance in practice.

Skills

Communication skills

Teamwork

Analytical skills

IT skills

Negotiation skills

Leadership

Prioritization

Education

Recognised professional Social Work qualification

Job description

Overview

Job Title: Senior Practitioner – Children in Care Team
Location: Cambridgeshire
Type: Permanent
Salary: £44,260 – £47,277 per annum

Cambridgeshire County Council is seeking a Senior Practitioner to join the Children in Care Team.

Our Vision and Corporate Context

• Creating a greener, fairer, and more caring Cambridgeshire.

Our Corporate Outcome: Every decision we make and every action we take contributes to reducing our carbon emissions and improving nature. Our climate-conscious decisions make a difference each day.

Our Values:

• Lives Over Services: We put people and our communities at the heart of everything we do.
• Collaborative: We respect and value people equally and work together through a shared purpose.
• Creative and Aspirational: We use bravery, boldness, and curiosity to challenge and innovate.
• Accountable: We take ownership of our outcomes and responsibility for our behaviours.

Children’s Services Context

Children, young people, and their families are at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and their families. We help build resilience and community connections, empowering them to find their own solutions. We promote diversity and seek a workforce that reflects the communities we serve in Cambridgeshire.

We have identified six practice methodologies, known as The Big 6, used to enable practitioners to work effectively with children, young people, and their families. These must be present in every case record:

• Genograms
• Chronology
• Voice of the Child (incorporated into assessments, plans, and visits)
• Meaningful and planned visits
• Plans or review of plans and planning
• Professional practice options: Flexible Working Options and Comprehensive Wellbeing Support (see below)
• Cambs Rewards and Additional Holiday Entitlement
• Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: IDEAL network
• Regular Communication and Engagement: Cambridgeshire Conversations, staff newsletters, intranet
• Employee Recognition and Local Government Pension Scheme

Overall Purpose of the Job

Under the general direction of a Team Manager, provide a high-quality and effective social work service to respond to the needs of vulnerable children and their families in a timely manner and within statutory guidelines. Use the Family Safeguarding model, taking a strengths-based approach to assess need, plan, and deliver focused interventions to safeguard children and promote positive outcomes. Build meaningful relationships with children and young people to ensure their voices are heard. Collaborate with multi-agency colleagues to ensure holistic engagement with children and their families.

Main Accountabilities

• Response to Need
  • Provide professional leadership, specialist social work practice skills, and knowledge to make independent decisions and support situations with significant harm, ambiguity, or complexity.
  • Identify and respond to needs through assessment, build on strengths, ensure robust analysis, and develop SMART plans.
  • Demonstrate analytical, interviewing, and observational skills to ensure the voice of the child informs all assessments and decisions.
  • Engage with children, young people, and families using practice methods to develop effective, empowering working relationships and improve outcomes.
  • Ensure adherence to legislation and statutory guidance, challenging decisions where appropriate.
  • Act as lead professional for safeguarding, escalating as necessary in line with child protection procedures.
  • Provide coherent, analytical, and evidence-based reports and plans for forums, including court, reflecting the child’s lived experience.
  • Work with children, young people, and families to ensure interventions are proportionate, timely, and protect human rights.
• Partnership Working
  • Represent the Council at a community level, working with partner agencies to develop multi-agency plans and together with children and families promote independence.
  • Contribute to the development of integrated services and policy in line with national standards.
  • Share information with other agencies to safeguard children and promote welfare.
• Professional Development
  • Maintain knowledge of social policy and practice; stay aware of organisational procedures, legislation, and guidance.
  • Maintain Social Work England registration, engage in training and CPD, and share knowledge with peers.
• Professional Values, Behaviours, and Standards
  • Perform duties timely and responsively in line with standards and council values.
  • Maintain accurate records in line with requirements and procedures.
  • Promote empowerment, anti-racist practice, and inclusion in all professional activities.
  • Act as an ambassador for the social work profession.

Person Specification

Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

Qualifications Required

• Recognised professional Social Work qualification (Degree/Masters/Post Graduate Diploma)
• Current Social Work England registration
• Car driver with full UK licence; ability to travel countywide

Knowledge Required

• Knowledge of child development, parenting capacity, risk and protective factors
• Knowledge of safeguarding legislation, guidance, and procedures
• Knowledge of key children’s agencies
• Aware of issues relating to racism, discrimination, and equality of opportunity

Skills Required

• Maintain high-quality records and write clear, child-centred reports
• Build rapport with children, young people, and families using a strengths-based approach
• Prioritise tasks, manage caseloads, and meet deadlines
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills, handling complex issues sensitively
• Commitment to anti-racist practice; ability to challenge discrimination
• Ability to work in a complex, fast-paced environment
• Lead or participate in multi-disciplinary meetings
• Team player with initiative and knowledge sharing
• Excellent IT skills and ability to use IT systems

Experience Required

• Experience identifying and assessing needs and implementing social work interventions with children and families
• Experience recording, summarising, analysing, and evaluating complex information
• Experience in social work with children and families, building effective helping relationships
• Experience working in multi-disciplinary and multi-agency teams

If you believe you have the skills and experience we are looking for, we would love to hear from you.

We look forward to receiving your application.

Note

The following sections from the original text have been removed to ensure clarity and compliance: application forms, validation notices, and extraneous job-board boilerplate.