Overview
Senior Social Work Practitioner - Family Support Team
Join to apply for the Senior Social Work Practitioner - Family Support Team role at Bath & North East Somerset Council.
At Bath & North East Somerset Council we have one overriding purpose to improve people’s lives.
This post attracts a welcome payment of 5% of the starting salary for the grade to enable individuals to join our permanent workforce. This is payable upon successful completion of your probationary period and is subject to eligibility criteria.
If your passion is around collaborative work with families, centred on building relationships in order to help families develop resilience and make changes for their children, then we are the Local Authority for you. Working with families to keep children at home wherever possible, our dynamic teams work with families from point of contact through to long term support and intervention. Our practice model is underpinned by relationship-based, systemic approaches to facilitate change, alongside trauma informed practice.
Bath and North East Somerset Children’s Social Care are an innovative small Local Authority focused on therapeutic assessment and support. Rated Good by OFSTED, with continued vision and drive to improve further.
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Senior Practitioner (with a Social Work qualification) to join one of our Family Support Teams, within the Safeguarding Outcomes Service. We are committed to being a dynamic and creative Local Authority, working hard to think differently about how we approach our work with families. We are deeply committed to providing tailored high-quality services and well thought out interventions to families to keep children safe. Our practice is values-driven with a strong ethos of child-focused interventions.
About The Role
You will work in partnership with an enthusiastic hub consisting of a Team Manager, Deputy Team Manager, Senior Practitioners, Social Workers, Family Support Practitioners and administrative staff.
This challenging but rewarding role will see you responding to, co-ordinating and delivering a range of social care services to children, young people and families in the Bath and North East Somerset area for children subject to Child in Need Plans, Child Protection Plans, Children in Care, and children subject to legal proceedings. The role will include undertaking single assessments and section 47 child protection investigations.
You will work closely with colleagues across the service and have established partnerships with agencies across health, education, support services and adult services to ensure we can respond as effectively as possible to the needs of children, young people, and their families. This includes working alongside our Family Support Plus team who deliver extensive Family Group Conferences to utilise resources and support within families to keep children safe, as well as tailored interventions including the New Way domestic abuse service.
The post holder will manage their own caseload, which will include children and families with complex needs. You will be able to evidence a strong ability to analyse information and formulate outcome focused plans for children and families, as well as a commitment to driving forward care plans and legal work to protect children and promote children’s outcomes through permanency. Applicants must be confident in writing professional assessments/reports as well as presenting their evidence verbally, including in court proceedings. Applicants need to have very strong organisational skills to manage and prioritise their work effectively and in a timely way and will be committed to working as part of a team to support colleagues in delivering optimum services to children and families.
As a senior practitioner, you will have an opportunity to develop your supervisory skills through supervision of a Family Support Practitioner, as well as being able to access Practice Educator Professional Standards (PEPS) training to support a student social worker or taking on a mentoring role for newly qualified social workers on the ASYE programme from other teams.
About You
We are seeking applications from workers who have relevant experience in safeguarding and are looking to enhance and further develop their skills and contribute to service development for vulnerable children in an exciting and dynamic service.
You Can Expect
* A comprehensive induction
* Managed caseload: supporting children in need, children subject to child protection plans, and children protected through legal proceedings
* Regular supervision at a minimum of monthly one to one
* Weekly group reflective supervision to promote thoughtful and creative practice, supported by your peers and managers
* Monthly Peer Circles to ensure strong relationships and support between Senior Practitioners across the teams
* Extensive training opportunities, which include SARI workshops around culturally sensitive practice, opportunities to join a 6-month long training in Systemic Practice delivered by the Centre for Systemic Social Work, attachment-based workshops, and trauma-informed workshops
* Excellent administrative support with 3 admin staff supporting each team
* Tri-annual Social Work Conferences with guest speakers who are experts in the field
* Paid Social Work England membership
* Access to Research in Practice
* Laptop and iPhone to promote flexible working, to enhance your work-life balance
* Relocation Payments are available
* A stable leadership team
* A stable and committed team, with very low rates of agency workers, and low vacancy rates
To Apply You Will Have
* A relevant social work qualification
* Significant social work experience
* Knowledge of the legislative framework that governs children’s services
* Knowledge of theory and practice applicable to social work
* IT skills to enable operation of standard electronic systems
* Passion, commitment, and motivation to support the most vulnerable families in our area
If you are interested in this post and require more details or just to chat through the role and what’s involved, please contact Emma Prout, Deputy Team Manager on 01225 477926 or email
Interview date: TBC
No agencies please.
* Please note, BANES Council operates a policy of prior consideration for roles for any individual on the Council’s at-risk register (redeployee). This means should a redeployee express an interest in this role, providing they meet the essential criteria for the role they will be considered ahead of external applicants.
About Bath And North East Somerset Council.
Working at Bath and North East Somerset provides an opportunity to contribute to your community and make a positive impact on the lives of residents. Our values shape how we work to deliver public services, and how we communicate with the residents we serve. We care about the best outcomes for local people, through our public services.
Why Bath and North East Somerset Council?
We offer a wide range of benefits, to ensure that you are paid fairly for your work, have the flexibility to enjoy a great work/life balance, and have the support you need. Find out more about our values at
We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join us. Find out more on our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at
We are a Disability Confident Employer find out more at
The Council is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce. Applications for job-share, part-time and flexible working arrangements are welcomed and will be considered in line with business needs.
Please note that this role is subject to an Enhanced DBS Check.
Safeguarding Statement: The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable groups and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment. As part of this commitment anyone working in a post with children or vulnerable groups will be expected to undertake an Enhanced DBS check with/without barred list checks.
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