Lead Child Protection Practitioner

"I like the environment at Walsall, everyone is friendly and approachable. I like that I cover a diverse locality, I enjoy working with people from various different backgrounds I also like that I have good management, senior management and a very supportive team" (Annual health check)

Walsall is implementing the Families First Programme, based on the National Children's Social Care Review and Stable Homes Built on Love. To do this we are creating a combined, multi-agency locality Family Help Service, with locality social workers supported by you a Lead Child Protection Practitioner.

About the job:

The Lead Child Protection Practitioner role will lead alongside the multi-agency network around a family to ensure child protection practice is of the highest standard and supported by the right expertise, careful, rigorous thinking, and care and respect. You will work alongside allocated social workers and other professionals to undertake Child Protection Enquiries and oversee Child Protection Plans.

About you

Your background will include extensive post qualifying social work experience within a local authority or equivalent. You will utilise your practice knowledge and experience to influence the direction of child protection right across the Walsall.

Our Offer

To provide the right conditions for you, we are committed to manageable workloads, high support from managers, essential paperwork only, enabling technologies, and all social workers including Lead Child Protection Practitioners will receive training in Systemic Family Practice.

Wellbeing is at the heart of our work. We offer specialised clinical supervision, a 9-day fortnight to support work/life balance, flexible working and specialist employee assistance and therapeutic support when it is needed. We know we need to make social work a career people want to stay in.

In this role, you will be supported to identify your specialisms in child protection, and access to training to develop your expertise. This forms a part of our ongoing commitment to your development.

We are committed to anti-discrimination and equality and to developing a workforce that reflects the communities we service.

Note: Applicants appointed to posts that require an enhanced DBS clearance must declare any periods of time that they have lived, studied or worked abroad and be prepared to provide an Overseas Criminal Records Certificate (OCRC) or a Statement of Good Conduct (SOGC) relating to anytime they were overseas.

This post is covered by the Government's Code of Practice on the English Language Fluency Duty for public sector workers. The postholder will be required to communicate verbally with customers and provide advice and/or information in accurate spoken English.

Here at Walsall, we want to attract the best talent. That's why - as well as a satisfying and rewarding job - we offer a range of attractive benefits. Working arrangements in most jobs are flexible (you may work flexitime, full or part time and job sharing is usually available) and you can expect generous holiday entitlements, a first class pension scheme and plenty of opportunities for training and personal development., Part of the Black Country, famous for its enterprising and industrial past, Walsall is reinventing itself to become a progressive modern community. The borough is centred around the major town of Walsall, but also includes five smaller and distinctive district centres (Bloxwich, Aldridge, Willenhall, Darlaston and Brownhills), together with numerous villages.

Find out more about Living in Walsall.

Walsall Council is committed to Safer Recruitment.

To achieve our commitment, we will ensure continuous development and improvement of robust recruitment processes and procedures that promote a culture of safeguarding amongst our workforce.

Social Work Matters - Children's Social Worker Recruitment