Senior Practitioner / Senior Social Worker - Court Team

London Social Work for Children; Bromley; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading children's social care service in Bromley is seeking a Senior Practitioner to join their Court Team. This role offers the opportunity to work with children at significant risk under court interventions. Ideal candidates will hold a relevant degree, be registered with Social Work England, and possess substantial experience in child protection and court work. The position includes a dedicated induction program and incentivizes with a £2,000 Golden Hello and annual retention payments.

Benefits

Golden Hello & Annual Retention Allowance

Local Government Pension Scheme

Free Car Parking

Relocation Allowance

Salary sacrifice schemes

Qualifications

• Hold a Degree or equivalent qualification in Social Care.
• Be registered with Social Work England or able to obtain registration prior to commencement.
• Have relevant post-qualification experience in children's social work.

Responsibilities

• Manage a caseload of up to 11 children to implement the highest standards of practice.
• Write high-standard reports for court and adoption panel.
• Undertake comprehensive assessments including parenting.

Skills

Children and families work

Court experience

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Understanding of safeguarding

Assessment and analysis

Education

Degree or equivalent qualification in Social Care

Job description

Posted 2nd Dec, 2025

Location

Bromley

Working pattern

Full-time – 36 hours per week

Working arrangements

Blended

31st Jan, 2026

Incentives

This role is subject to a £2,000 Golden Hello and £2,000 annual retention payment. Additional retention allowance of up to £8,000 available for successful candidates relocating from overseas or the outer southeast area.

About the role

Join Bromley's outstanding Children's Social Care service as a Senior Practitioner in our specialist Court Team. Following our recent Ofsted 'outstanding' rating, we're seeking highly talented and ambitious registered Senior Practitioners to join us on our journey to excellence.

The Court Team specialises in working with children at significant risk of harm where court intervention is necessary to protect them. You'll work in partnership with Bromley Children's Legal Team to ensure that children's cases presented to court are timely and well prepared. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys the challenge of working in a front-line team and is ambitious in supporting Bromley's transformation journey providing outstanding outcomes for our children. Key responsibilities include:

• Managing a limited caseload of up to 11 children to implement the highest standards of practice
• Writing high-standard reports that are concise and evidence-based for court and adoption panel
• Meeting court timelines for submission of statements and care plans
• Undertaking comprehensive assessments including parenting and together and apart assessments
• Working creatively with children and families in court proceedings whilst keeping the child at the centre of all care planning

As part of the Bromley Promise, you'll receive a dedicated two-week induction programme and join an ambitious service with strong leadership and clear lines of support. To apply, please clearly outline your experience and how you meet the Person Specification in your Personal Statement section. For enquiries about this role, please email: [e-mail]

About you

We're looking for an experienced social work practitioner who is passionate about working with children and families in the court arena. You should have recent court experience and be keen to join a team that specialises in court work within a safeguarding team. The ideal candidate will:

• Hold a Degree or equivalent qualification in Social Care
• Be registered with Social Work England (or able to obtain registration prior to commencement)
• Have appropriate and relevant post-qualification experience of children and families social work within statutory, voluntary or independent sector
• Be very well organised with excellent communication skills and ability to articulate evidence in care proceedings
• Have good understanding of safeguarding thresholds and ability to assess and analyse risks
• Possess good knowledge of child development and attachment theories and permanency needs of children of all ages
• Be able to effectively undertake direct work with children
• Have experience in risk analysis and assessment based on informed professional judgement

Successful candidates must undergo an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check. We are committed to achieving equal opportunities in employment and service delivery and as a disability confident committed employer we encourage applications from people with disabilities. We are forces family friendly and welcome applications from ex-Armed Forces personnel, reservists, veterans, cadet instructors and military spouses/partners.

About Bromley

In Bromley we are consistently going above and beyond, enabling our children, young people, and their families to grow and flourish, being aspirational and building resilience for the future. We strive to create opportunities to be innovative and reflective within an organisation that nurtures relationships, always seeks feedback, and has self-confidence to listen and act.

Our vision is: by working together with children and their families and agency partners, we will ensure that every child in Bromley has the right help at the right time to keep them safe, and to meet their needs, so they achieve, thrive, and reach their full potential.

Our ‘Bromley Relationship Model’ is a model unique to our local authority based on Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory. We are looking for a social worker who is passionate about working with children and their families who will be able use their ability to form good relationships with families and professionals to bring about positive changes for children and young people. Our vision is at the heart of our model and is supported by our purpose, our aims, our social work behaviours, and our enablers.

Bromley Children’s Social Care has recently been awarded an Ofsted rating of “Outstanding”

You can read Ofsted's report here

Benefits working for the London Borough of Bromley

• Golden Hello & Annual Retention Allowance
• The opportunity to participate in the Local Government Pension Scheme
• Excellent training and career development pathway
• Free Car Parking at Bromley Civic Centre
• The ability to claim mileage for business trips in line with HMRC guidance
• Relocation Allowance (up to £8,000) for successful candidates relocating from overseas or the outer southeast area
• A range of salary sacrifice schemes, including for lease cars, technology equipment and for gym.
• Benefit scheme also includes a range of discounts at local retailers
• We are forces family friendly and are part of the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme (Bronze Award). We welcome applications from ex-Armed Forces personnel, reservists, veterans, cadet instructors and military spouses/partners. We are committed to achieving equal opportunities in employment and service delivery and as a disability confident committed employer we encourage applications from people with disabilities. As part of this commitment, we will consider reasonable adjustment to support disability employment.
• We offer a generous package including competitive pay, career average pension scheme, flexible working practices and the Bromley employee benefits scheme; Cycle2Work, Salary Sacrifice Lease Car, Technology Scheme, GymFlex and a wide range of local and national discounts

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