Senior Practitioner

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Senior Practitioner or a Social Worker who is looking for promotion to join the Assessment service for Peterborough City Council, an authority judged good in their last Ofsted Inspection.

Allocated social workers in the Assessment Service will investigate concerns regarding a child or young person’s safety or wellbeing, make an assessment of the risk and protective factors in the family and decide on the most appropriate course of action. A key part of the role entails building effective relationships with children and families and working collaboratively with our partner agencies.

As part of the Senior Practitioner role you will have a reduced caseload and be required to deputise for the team manager as and when required, assist with mentoring and supervising alternatively qualified staff, contributing to the assessment of ASYE social workers, and assisting with triaging new referrals on duty.

The benefits of working for Peterborough Assessment Service:

- We operate a 3 week duty rota, and therefore as a team you are only on duty once every 3 weeks
- Each team has an Advice and Information Officer, Children’s Social Care Practitioner and access to a dedicated business support team to assist Social Workers in their role.
- We have excellent office facilities and have adapted a hybrid model of agile, flexible working, including both home and office working.
- Retention bonus
- Manageable caseloads
- Minimal vacancies, and the majority of posts are filled with permanent workers
- Good training and development opportunities, including access to the Practice Educators Course.
- Professional social work qualification, CQSW or Diploma in Social Work (DipSW), or other relevant qualification recognised by Social Work England.
- Active Social Work England registration.
- Proven evidence of continuing professional development.
- Proven experience of building effective relationships with children, young people and families.
- Able to use evidence and professional judgement to make decisions and determine the risk of future harm.
- Experience of keeping and maintaining records (in accordance with local policy) and producing accurate reports, written updates to a range of stakeholders (which may include families, children or young people).
- Knowledge of relevant theory that informs practice.
- Knowledge of the legal powers and key duties required when safeguarding children and young people, including key legislation both locally and nationally.
- Experience of assessing the needs of children and their families in accordance with the Framework for the Assessment
- Excellent written skills and experience writing comprehensive reports for the Courts.
- Experienced in the use of ICT, including MS Word, Outlook, One Drive and case record management systems.

This role is an 18.5 hour part time role.

We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Peterborough and want our workforce to reflect this diversity, which we believe is beneficial for our employees, the organisation and the communities we serve.