Advanced Practitioner - Duty and Assessment

Duty and assessment are the single point of contact for all safeguarding concerns relating to children and young people in Northamptonshire. Professionals from a range of services that have contact with children, young people, their families and carers, collaborate to ensure immediate and prompt responses; their combined knowledge and expertise keeping children and young people in Northamptonshire safe from harm. With a rotating duty element, the team works at pace, completing robust short-term quality assessments of need, ensuring the right service provision is in place. Skilled social workers in these teams are friendly and confident professionals, who can work collaboratively to very tight deadlines, and ensure the child's voice is evident throughout. There are 6 teams within DAAT, each team consists of a Team Manager, Advanced Practitioner, who holds complex cases and supports 5 or 6 Social Workers / Senior Social Workers and a Newly Qualified Social Worker within their team. We collaborate with other professionals to ensure immediate and prompt responses. Their combined knowledge and expertise keep children and young people in Northamptonshire safe from harm. We are supporting excellence in Social Work practice, with a new practice approach including signs of safety and systemic practice, and clear personal development opportunities for the right candidates. About the team Our DAAT teams are fun and supportive. They work hard and at pace, but they always ensure that there is food available to keep them going! The team enjoy each other's company and like having a bit of time now and again to have a laugh, often bonding over a shared lunch. Managers within DAAT are always present and available for the team and pitch in to support whenever required. What will you be doing? We provide the front line, single point of contact for the public and professionals who are making referrals with concerns for children who are at risk of significant harm or who are children in need. Working with a broad range of agencies and services in our region, you will be responsible for responding to new referrals from professionals and members of the public. You will undertake work with children, young people and families that require you to have advanced social work expertise, maintaining a small caseload and jointly allocating cases with less experienced social workers. Additionally, you will supervise, support, advise, and mentor newly qualified and less experienced colleagues handling complex or high-risk cases. This includes authorising assessments, plans, and related documentation, as well as chairing strategy meetings and discussions. Your role will also involve guiding and mentoring social workers to ensure their adherence to legislation, statutory guidance, local policies, and best practices in safeguarding vulnerable children, supporting looked-after children, and planning for permanence.

We are seeking to recruit an experienced, enthusiastic, and dedicated Advanced Practitioner who shares a passion in supporting the progression of others. The Advanced Practitioner role is ideal for a Social Worker looking to develop their skills and experience. You will receive support from the Team Manager with regular supervision, numerous training opportunities and a commitment to your on-going professional development. The ideal candidate will be confident in their analysis and decision making to deliver purposeful and effective social care and have a strong desire to develop social work expertise to support NCT on its improvement journey. You will be a qualified social worker, who has completed your ASYE. Registered with Social Work England and have the commitment and passion to be at the forefront of delivering best practice and support to children and families.

At Northamptonshire Children's Trust, children, young people, and families are at the heart of all we do - in every decision we make and every action we take. Our mission is driven by the unwavering commitment to achieving the best outcomes for them. Our workforce is our most valuable asset and are pivotal to making the services and support we offer to children, young people and families who need us to be the absolute best we can be. We value our colleagues and empower them to be able to do the best job of their lives every single day, working in a culture of support and kindness where achievements are celebrated, and creativity is very much welcomed. At NCT equality, diversity and inclusion are part of us and in everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and thrive in our organisation. We are a disability confident employer and have a commitment to care leavers who we guarantee an interview if they meet the essential criteria. Join our dedicated team and be a part of an organisation where your work makes a real difference., About NCT Northamptonshire children's trust delivers children's social care and targeted early help services on behalf of the council. We are on a journey to improve services through Northamptonshire Children's Trust. We take our responsibility seriously alongside everyone who works with and cares about children and young people. We are committed to do all that we can to ensure children, young people and families live safely, are safe, fulfil their potential, develop resilience and enjoy good health and wellbeing. This includes being involved and respected at home, at school, in their communities and, most importantly, being part of all decisions that affect them. We want to send a clear message about how important their welfare is to us and how important they are to our future. Our vision is to put children, young people and families at the heart of all we do, in every decision we make and every action we take. We are ambitious for all Children, Young People and Families of Northamptonshire and we have a critical role to making a difference to their outcomes. Our ambition is to make a sustainable improvement to the lives of children, young people and families Working with key partners within local communities, we aspire to deliver outstanding social care services for children and young people in the county, ensuring families receive early help to prevent difficulties escalating, and creating the conditions for social work to flourish.

We are committed to continuous improvement, building a skilled, knowledgeable, and flexible workforce alongside promoting innovation and creativity whilst keeping children, young people and families at the heart of all we do. We really value our workforce and offer you a great benefits package including:

• Up to £6,000 recruitment bonus
• Up to £8,000 towards relocation
• Retention Bonus for established personnel
• SWE Registration paid yearly
• Generous annual leave allowance of 28 days', plus 8 Bank Holidays (pro rata for part time) and an additional 5 days after 5 years' service plus an opportunity to purchase additional leave
• Generous Local government pension scheme
• Good progression and career development opportunities
• Supportive team environments
• Comprehensive induction
• Relationship-based practice training and extensive learning & development
• Flexible and family working arrangements including enhanced maternity benefits
• A permanent, supportive and inclusive management team where you will be empowered to make good professional decisions
• Free laptop, phone and remote IT support
• Employee Assistance Programme
• More 4 U Discounts offering huge savings at the likes of Tesco, Costa and Alton Towers!
• Heavily subsidised town centre car parking scheme if based in Northampton
• Car lease and Cycle to Work Scheme