Working for the Bradford Children and Families Trust offers the opportunity to work with people who are passionate about delivering change in a city whose culture offers as much diversity as its geography. You can make a real difference to families and children and be an active part in delivering the service Bradford families should receive.
We are fully committed to equal opportunities and we welcome applications from all backgrounds.
About the Role
The Practice Improvement Officer will be responsible for improving and influencing social care practice across the Trust by undertaking a variety of quality assurance activities for Early Help, Parenting and Family Support, Fostering, Social Work, Residential and Youth Justice Service. In this role, you will undertake audits and other quality assurance activity using tools developed to assess each area of work to influence and improve the quality of services available to meet the needs of children and families in Bradford. You will also complete moderations of audits completed by Managers to support consistency in practice across all areas of practice and provide a forum for joint learning to understand what good looks like through coaching.
Our approach is rooted in restorative and relational practice, fostering trust, mutual respect, and meaningful relationships with children, families, and professionals.
Key Responsibilities
- Undertake a variety of quality assurance activities to understand the practice and the services being delivered to children and families, underpinned by restorative and relational approaches.
- Offer high support and high expectation with our aspirations to achieve good consistent service for all our children and families.
- Provide and share information on themes and practice issues arising from quality assurance activity to inform plans to improve services for children and families in Bradford.
- Review and oversee case files to ensure that recommendations for actions for monthly audits have been completed through a dip sample process to identify good practice and contribute to improvement plans.
- Complete moderations to ensure consistency in practice across all areas, including a coaching discussion to support managers in developing confidence with auditing and a shared understanding of what good looks like.
- Undertake specific audits and reviews as required for case reviews or support for service.
- Collaborate with children and families to understand quality of practice.
- Contribute and work with managers across the service as part of the quality assurance framework to ensure that audits are influencing practice.
- Provide coaching to practitioners to help them understand audit findings and improve and develop their practice.
- Provide training for managers on completing audits and grading to support a shared and consistent approach to the quality of services being delivered to our children and families.
- Remain up to date and compliant with all relevant legislation and adhere to organisational procedures, policies, and professional codes of conduct to uphold a high‑quality seamless service, while identifying own continuing professional development needs and striving to meet them.
- Contribute to the preparation of inspections across all practice areas.
- Influence practice standards and training to meet service needs.
- Provide or offer expert opinion within the organisation and others as a result of developing expertise in one or more areas of practice and acting as a member of a professional or Service Planning Group.
About You
- You will be able to apply and consolidate knowledge of social work practice, including an understanding of Early Help, Fostering and Youth Offending Service.
- Understand and apply the ILACS framework and evaluation criteria.
- Have the ability to apply an understanding of child development in practical situations connected to children at risk of significant harm.
- Take responsibility for your own learning, identifying gaps in knowledge and researching for relevant materials.
- Be able to apply critical reflection and analysis to inform and provide a rationale for professional decision‑making, including providing critical reflection, challenge and evidence‑informed decision‑making in complex situations.
- Operate effectively within multi‑agency and inter‑professional partnerships and settings, working within the organisation’s remit, including demonstrating sophisticated knowledge of relevant legislation and the ability to influence organisational development.
- Have social work experience; paid or voluntary work in a similar, relevant field will be considered at application stage.
- Possess experience of supporting the learning and development of other practitioners to improve practice and have a positive impact on outcomes of service users, including the development of students, newly qualified social workers and other practitioners.
- Have experience of working with professional staff to support them to deliver high quality work.
Qualifications and Experience
- Post‑qualification experience of statutory social work, including experience of working with professional staff to support them to deliver high quality work.
- Recognised Social Work Qualification.
- Registration with Social Work England.
- Advanced IT skills – Microsoft Word, Outlook and Excel are required, as well as excellent time management and multi‑tasking skills.
Benefits
- Retention Payment – eligible for our annual retention payment, paid in 12 monthly instalments. This is non‑contractual (reviewed annually).
- Generous annual leave – 31 days rising to 34 with service, plus bank holidays.
- Local Government pension.
- Family‑friendly policies and enhanced parental leave.
- Health and wellbeing support, including Occupational Health and counselling.
- Professional development and career progression opportunities.
- National Living Wage employer.
Bradford Children and Families Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all employees to share this commitment. If shortlisted, you will be required to disclose relevant information regarding criminal history prior to interview. A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, including a check against the Children’s barred list, will be carried out on preferred candidates.
We are fully committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all backgrounds.
