Are you an experienced practice educator? Are you looking for a role where you will be able to focus on supporting the next generation of social workers? This could be the job for you! WHAT IS INVOLVED? We have lead practitioner roles available in both our Durham West and Durham Central teams. Your role will be focused on supporting small groups of social work trainees to work towards becoming social workers by completing a degree in social work (an integrated degree apprenticeship) over 3 years. In addition to holding a protected caseload, you will consistently model exceptional social work practice and skill, and inspire, supervise, mentor and support your group of trainees. You will support your trainees to experience a variety of work with children and families, which will gradually increase in complexity as their skills and knowledge develop. You and your trainees will be supported in your work by our “ how we practice in Durham guide ” You will be 1 of 4 lead practitioners who all lead social work trainee hubs in different areas – a ready network for support and advice. You will be joining us at a fantastic time. Inspectors have judged our Children’s Services as outstanding. You can read the full report here HOW WILL WE SUPPORT YOU? We are passionate about social work in County Durham. We are committed to providing a culture where good practice can flourish. We will ensure you are highly supported. You will benefit from high quality professional supervision, a great induction, and access to our strong learning and development offer. Take a closer look WHAT WILL I NEED? To have a real enthusiasm for social work as a career, and enjoy working closely with students, practice educators and managers. A degree in social work or equivalent social work qualification. A practice educator award at stage 2, or be working towards it. To be able to create a supervision relationship which provides an emotionally containing space for trainees, including providing a high support, nurturing relationship which is also able to adapt as each trainee develops in competence and confidence. We encourage applications from a diverse range of candidates and aim to have a workforce that represents the society that we serve. INTERESTED? If you are keen to find out more about the role please contact Hazel Ostle, our workforce development manager by email at hazel.ostle@durham.gov.uk. If you would like to know more about the work of the Families First Durham West team please contact Kerry Rodgers, Team Manager by e-mail at kerry.rodgers@durham.gov.uk If you would like to know more about the work of the Families First Durham Central team please contact Barbara Adams, Team Manager by e-mail at barbara.adams@durham.gov.uk INTERVIEWS Interviews are expected to be held on 15 April 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. If you are looking to relocate to join us removal, lodging and separation expenses of up to £8,000 may be available to you if you live outside of County Durham and in excess of 30 miles in a straight line from your new base, along with a number of other criteria for eligibility. These posts are eligible for a recruitment/retention allowance of £2,500 over 12 months (pro-rata for part time workers). Payments are made in equal instalments across a 12-month period alongside your pay. The allowances are subject to tax, National Insurance and pension contributions. 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 and neurodivergent people and offer support throughout the recruitment process. HOW TO APPLY 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. Please visit our website to understand our position on using AI to support to your application and for guidance on completing your application. 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