This is a rare and exciting opportunity to shape the future of social work practice inside education, while directly building safeguarding capacity where it is most needed.
At Spencer Academies Trust, safeguarding is not an add-on or a compliance exercise, it is central to how we work, how we lead and how we protect children and young people across our family of academies. The creation of the Student Social Workers in Schools (SSWIS) programme reflects our commitment to investing in people and strengthening early help and safeguarding capacity, so more children receive the right support at the right time.
As our Lead Practice Educator for Safeguarding, you will play a pivotal role in leading and quality‑assuring this programme across our Trust. You will design and oversee high‑quality, reflective and ethically grounded social work placements, developing the next generation of practitioners and adding meaningful capacity within schools.
This role offers something genuinely different from traditional practice education posts. You will work across multiple academies, partnering closely with Designated Safeguarding Leads, senior leaders and universities to embed student social workers into school safeguarding systems in a way that is purposeful and impactful.
You will also be part of a highly skilled Inclusion and Safeguarding team, contributing to wider Trust‑wide safeguarding improvement work where capacity allows. This may include training, quality assurance, CPOMS development or thematic analysis, giving you a clear line of sight between frontline practice, system leadership and improved outcomes for children.
We are looking for an experienced Practice Educator who is reflective, values‑driven and motivated by impact. Someone who believes in developing others, can hold high standards with compassion and who wants to be part of an organisation that is ambitious about building safeguarding capacity and serious about protecting children.
If you are passionate about safeguarding, practice education and using social work to strengthen early support in schools and you want your work to have real purpose and meaning, we would love to hear from you.
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