Advanced Practitioner - Children's Disability Team

London Social Work for Children; Chipping Barnet; Hybrid; GBP 52,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

20% retention bonus

Job summary

Barnet Council in London is seeking an experienced Advanced Practitioner for the Children’s Disability Team. You will manage a varied caseload of children with profound disabilities, up to 18 years old and into adulthood, and practice at a higher level while supporting less experienced social workers.

You will deputise for the line manager, act as an assessor for ASYE, and lead on care planning, risk assessments, and complex cases, ensuring high standards of safeguarding and collaborative work

Qualifications

• Recent direct experience working with children with disabilities.
• Ability to develop and implement effective care plans.
• Skilled in risk assessment and safeguarding in complex cases.
• Experience deputising for a line manager and mentoring junior social workers.
• Competent assessor for newly qualified social workers during ASYE.

Responsibilities

• Hold a varied caseload of children with profound disabilities up to 18 years and into adulthood.
• Develop and implement timely, effective care plans.
• Conduct thorough risk assessments and safety planning with partner agencies.
• Demonstrate expert practice in complex situations and manage higher risk.
• Deputise for the line manager and support less experienced social workers.

Skills

Case management

Analytical thinking

Care plan development

Risk assessment

Mentoring

Line manager deputising

ASYE assessment

Job description

Advanced Practitioner - Children's Disability Team

Posted 17th Oct, 2026

Location

Barnet

Working pattern

Full-time – 36 hours per week

Working arrangements

Blended

1st Nov, 2026

Incentives

This role includes a 20% retention bonus to be added to the agreed salary.

About the role

Barnet Council is looking for an experienced, dynamic practitioner who demonstrates creative and analytical thinking and shares our passion in achieving the best for our disabled children. This is an Advanced Practitioner role within the Children's Disability Team, working directly with a varied caseload of children with profound disabilities, up to 18 years old and into adulthood.

The post holder will practice at a higher level, supporting less experienced social workers, deputising for the line manager when required, and acting as an assessor for newly qualified social workers in their Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE). Key responsibilities include:

• Holding a varied caseload of children with profound disabilities, up to 18 years old and into adulthood
• Developing and implementing timely and effective care plans
• Conducting thorough risk assessments and safety planning in partnership with other agencies
• Demonstrating expert practice in complex situations and managing higher levels of risk
• Deputising for the line manager and supporting less experienced social workers

Please note: This position is open to internal candidates only. Any applications received from external candidates will not be considered and will be automatically rejected.

About you

Barnet Council is seeking a skilled and motivated practitioner with recent, direct experience of working with children with disabilities. The successful candidate will share Barnet's values of Learning to Improve, Caring, Inclusive, and Collaborative, and will be committed to achieving the best outcomes for disabled children and young people. The ideal candidate will:

• Have recent experience as a case holder for children with disabilities
• Demonstrate creative and analytical thinking in practice
• Have excellent skills in developing and implementing effective care plans
• Have a thorough understanding of risk assessments and safety planning
• Be able to assess and manage higher levels of risk in complex situations
• Have the skills and ability to practise at a higher level, including deputising for a line manager
• Be experienced in supporting and mentoring less experienced social workers
• Be able to act as an assessor for newly qualified social workers during their ASYE

Barnet Council values diversity and welcomes applications from all backgrounds. The council is a Disability Confident Committed Employer and will make reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process where required. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check and stringent safer recruitment procedures, which may include AI Detection Screening, Biometric ID/Right to Work Checks, Qualification and Registration Checks, up to 6 years of employment screening via Konfir, up to 5 years of employment history references, Credit Checks, Social Media and Sanctions Screening, and Occupational Health Screening. All posts are subject to a six-month probationary period.

About Barnet

Barnet - in the north-west of London - is the second largest borough by population and home to over 389,000 people.

With 30 flourishing town centres and over 200 family-friendly parks, nature reserves and greenspaces, Barnet is a brilliant place to live, study, work, and raise a family.

If you think working in Barnet might be for you, then we would love to hear from you. You can arrange to come for a pre-interview visit or call us for an informal chat. You can also find out more about working in Barnet by watching the video below.

We provide members of our children’s services workforce with:

• Free Parking
• Competitive renumeration packages (including Barnet Flex – talk to us about this)
• Access to Pool Cars/Parking Permits
• 30 days annual leave, plus public and bank holidays
• Work-life balance options may include flexi-time, job-share, homeworking, part-time
• Excellent training and development opportunities
• Interest‑free season travel ticket loan
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Relocation package of up to £8,000
• Enhanced maternity, adoption and paternity pay
• Childcare voucher scheme, salary sacrifice scheme
• Occupational Health advice/Health and Wellbeing Programme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Modern purpose built offices based in the heart of our Community at Colindale, 5 minutes walk from the underground station.

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