Practice Nurse jobs in United Kingdom

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

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

Our Vision:

• 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:

Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do:

• 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 our bravery, boldness, and curiosity to challenge and innovate.
• Accountable:We take ownership of our outcomes and responsibility for our behaviours.

Children’s Services:

Children, young people, and their families are at the heart of everything we do. We believe that delivering Children’s Services well can transform lives across Cambridgeshire. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and their families. We help build their resilience and community connections, empowering them to find their own solutions to problems. Understanding the uniqueness of every child and young person, we strive to provide outstanding services for all. 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 within Cambridgeshire 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
• Flexible Working Options: Embrace various flexible work arrangements such as hybrid working, nine-day fortnight, term-time contracts, and job sharing. We operate a ‘flex from 1st’ approach, enabling employees to request flexible working from day one.
• Comprehensive Wellbeing Support: Access our employee assistance programme, mental health first aiders network, monthly virtual Wellbeing Hours covering diverse topics, and a range of wellbeing resources.
• Cambs Rewards: Enjoy discounts via our online portal, including employee discounts, car lease scheme, cycle to work scheme, free Pure Gym day passes, and gym membership discounts.
• Additional Holiday Entitlement: Purchase up to four weeks of additional holiday entitlement and participate in the ‘pennies from heaven’ charity donation scheme via monthly pay.
• Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: Join our active staff network called IDEAL, reflecting our commitment to prioritising equality, diversity, and inclusion.
• Regular Communication and Engagement: Stay informed and engaged with fortnightly Cambridgeshire Conversations led by senior leadership, weekly staff newsletters, and an updated staff intranet ‘Camweb’.
• Employee Recognition Scheme: Recognise exceptional performance with shopping vouchers and a day off through our employee recognition scheme.
• Local Government Pension Scheme: Secure your financial future with one of the most valuable pension schemes, providing a guaranteed income backed by the government, unaffected by market fluctuations, and adjusted with the cost of living.

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. Work in partnership with families using 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 working relationships with children and young people to ensure their voices are heard and their lived experiences understood. Collaborate with multi-agency colleagues and partners 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 where the risk of significant harm, ambiguity, or complexity is greatest.
  • Through assessment, identify and respond to needs, build on strengths, ensuring robust analysis that leads to clear outcomes met through appropriate SMART plans.
  • Demonstrate good analytical, interviewing, and observational skills to ensure the voice of the child informs all assessments, decision-making, and interventions.
  • Engage with children, young people, and their families using our practice methods to develop effective and empowering working relationships, facilitating change and improving outcomes.
  • Ensure adherence to legislation and statutory guidance, challenging decisions where appropriate.
  • Act as the lead professional, ensuring all safeguarding matters are dealt with promptly, effectively, and in line with child protection procedures, escalating as necessary.
  • Provide coherent, analytical, and evidence-based reports and plans for various forums, including court, that are child-focused and reflect the child’s lived experience.
  • Work in partnership with children, young people, and their families to ensure that all interventions are proportionate and timely, protecting them from harm and promoting their human rights.
• Partnership Working
  • Represent Cambridgeshire County Council at a community level, working jointly with key partner agencies to develop effective multi-agency plans that promote independence and formulate appropriate solutions together with children and families.
  • Contribute to the development of integrated services and policy, promoting new ways of developing service user care in line with national initiatives and practice standards.
  • Share information about children with other agencies as appropriate to safeguard them and promote their welfare.
• Professional Development
  • Maintain and update knowledge regarding social policy and social work practice, ensuring full awareness of organisational policy and procedures, relevant legislation, and statutory guidance.
  • Maintain professional registration with Social Work England, engaging in a range of training and development opportunities, and taking responsibility for own Continuous Professional Development (CPD) in line with registration requirements.
  • Share knowledge and expertise with peers to support the development of a confident and skilled workforce.
• Professional Values, Behaviours, and Standards
  • Carry out duties in a timely and responsive manner, in line with Social Work England Professional Standards, the Professional Capability Framework, and Cambridgeshire County Council’s values: Lives over services, Collaborative, Creative and Aspirational, Accountable.
  • Keep and maintain accurate service user records, in line with professional requirements and departmental recording methods.
  • Promote and develop service user empowerment, recognise and celebrate diversity, and demonstrate commitment to anti-racist and anti-discriminatory practice in all professional activities.
  • Act as an ambassador for the social work profession both internally and externally.

Person Specification:

Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

Qualifications Required

• Recognised professional Social Work qualification (Degree/Masters/Post Graduate Diploma/Social Work fast track qualifying programme) – Essential
• Relevant specialist post-qualifying and/or post-graduate training – Desirable
• Current Social Work England registration – Essential
• Car driver with full UK licence. Ability to work from various locations and travel countywide – Essential

Knowledge Required

• Proven knowledge and understanding of child development, parenting capacity, environmental factors, and risk and protective factors – Essential
• Knowledge of relevant safeguarding legislation, statutory guidance, and procedures – Essential
• Knowledge of key children’s agencies – Essential
• Awareness of issues relating to racism, discrimination, and equality of opportunity – Essential

Skills Required

• Ability to maintain high-quality records, writing clear, concise, child-centred reports and plans – Essential
• Ability to create rapport and build relationships with children/young people and their families using a person-centred, strengths-based approach – Essential
• Ability to prioritise tasks, manage own caseload, and work to tight deadlines and targets – Essential
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills, including the ability to deal with complex issues sensitively and appropriately – Essential
• Commitment to and understanding of anti-racist, anti-discriminatory social work practice. Ability to positively challenge discrimination and oppressive behaviours – Essential
• Ability to thrive in a complex, fast-paced, and demanding environment – Essential
• Ability to lead, chair, or participate in a range of multi-disciplinary meetings – Essential
• Ability to work as part of a team, using own initiative and sharing expertise and experience with others – Essential
• Excellent IT skills and ability to use various IT devices, systems, and databases – Essential

Experience Required

• Experience of identifying and assessing need, formulating and implementing effective social work interventions in partnership with children and families – Essential
• Experience of recording, summarising, analysing, and evaluating complex information – Essential
• Experience of social work with children and families, building effective helping relationships, and overcoming challenges in doing so – Essential
• Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team or alongside multi-agency colleagues – Essential

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.

Cambridgeshire County Council offer excellent professional development opportunities and access to ongoing training for all Social Workers. The council fosters a collaborative and supportive environment, promoting teamwork and innovation to deliver high-quality services. With a strong focus on work-life balance and flexible working arrangements, Social Workers are able to manage their personal and professional commitments effectively. This makes it a rewarding place to grow a career while making a truly meaningful difference in the community.

A comprehensive wellbeing package to covering all aspects of wellbeing, both in and out of work – also accessible by your family.

Get 28 Days Annual Leave. You can also buy up to 4 weeks additional annual leave (pro-rata) through our salary sacrifice scheme.

Access to development opportunities, apprenticeships and qualified coaches to support your personal and professional growth.

CCC is committed to inclusivity, so you get access to Peer Support Groups through the IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network.

Cambridgeshire is a wonderful county to live and work as a social worker due to its blend of vibrant communities, beautiful landscapes, and rich history. The county offers a diverse range of urban and rural settings, providing social workers with the opportunity to serve a wide variety of populations and needs. Excellent transport links, fantastic schools, and access to cultural amenities make it the perfect place to be. Moreover, the county’s commitment to social care and community support ensures that social workers are valued and able to make a real impact on the well-being of residents, all while enjoying a great quality of life.

"We are a flex-first employer, valuing work-life balance and the wellbeing of our Social Workers, and all other staff. We are dedicated to family-friendly policies and flexible working arrangements that accommodate both formal and informal needs. Cambridgeshire provides an environment where social workers are supported in their career development and feel truly valued."

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