Durham County Council are on a continuous improvement journey in relation to its Early Help service. We are one of 75 Local Authorities who are part of the National Family Hubs programme, and have transformed our Family Centres into Family Hubs. This makes it an exciting time of change and development. During the recent Local Authority Ofsted inspection, Family Hubs were highlighted and the Authority given an over all Outstanding rating. Family Hubs provide a universal ‘front door’ to families, offering a ‘one-stop shop’ of family support services across their social care, education, mental health, and physical health needs, with a comprehensive Start for Life offer for parents and babies at its core. WHAT IS INVOLVED? As an Early Help Practitioner, you will work with children, young people, and families, assessing their needs and delivering high quality interventions on a one to one or group basis, and refer/signpost to other services which can support their needs. Our family hubs provide a range of support to our local communities including parenting programmes, holiday activities as well as integrating with colleagues from midwifery, health visitors and other key services to provide families with a start of life offer that meets their family’s need. Early Help Practitioners deliver parenting programmes and holiday activities providing food from our Family Hubs to support our local communities, as well as working in an integrated way with colleagues from midwifery, health visiting and other services, to provide families with a Start for Life offer that fits their family's needs. We encourage you to contact Helen Kirtley Family Hub Team Manager on 03000 261 111 or via email at helen.kirtley@durham.gov.uk to arrange an informal discussion about the role. WHAT WILL I NEED? The successful candidates should have recent experience of working and supporting vulnerable children, young people and their families in the home and community settings, experience of group facilitation along with experience of delivering planned interventions leading to improved outcomes. You will also require a Level 3 qualification in a relevant Children's Services field. Please use the ‘Person Specification’ section of your application form to demonstrate that you have the essential and where possible, desirable experience, skills, and knowledge. Candidates who do not evidence that they meet the essential qualifications and experience listed on the person specification will not be short-listed. Please refer to the attached Person Specification for the full criteria. – can you add job spec If successful, you will be required to apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service Enhanced Disclosure. INTERVIEWS Interviews will be held on 18th or/and 19th February 2026 We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that can show they meet all the essential criteria and have indicated they have a disability, are a looked after young person, care leaver or a veteran. OUR OFFER TO YOU We offer a competitive rewards package that includes attractive salaries, a generous annual leave entitlement of 27 days (rising to 32 after five years’ continuous local government service), membership of the excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme, and a range of flexible working arrangements including hybrid working (home and office) where applicable Explore the full range of rewards and benefits on our website Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions. EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION We are a proud equal opportunities employer and believe a diverse workforce brings fresh ideas and drives service improvement. We welcome applications from everyone and make employment decisions based on skills and ability. As a Disability Confident Leader, we actively encourage applications from disabled people and offer support throughout the recruitment process. HOW TO APPLY We welcome applications from disabled people and those who are or consider themselves to be neurodivergent Please note, we do not accept CVs. All applications must be submitted online via the Northeast Jobs portal. Use the ‘Person Specification’ section of the form to clearly demonstrate how you meet the essential (and where possible, desirable) criteria. Applications that do not evidence the essential requirements will not be shortlisted. For guidance on completing your application, visit our website If you require assistance when applying for this role, please contact our Recruitment Helpdesk on 03000 26 27 27, or via email RecruitmentCYPS@durham.gov.uk All correspondence relating to your application will be sent from donotreply@northeastjobs.org.uk. Kindly check your spam/junk folder regularly to ensure you don’t miss any updates. CONNECT WITH US Follow us on Instagram Like us on Facebook Visit our website VPRS/161