Band 7 Children’s Safeguarding Practitioner

Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS FT; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Birmingham is seeking a Band 7 Children’s Safeguarding Practitioner to join their established Safeguarding Children Team. The role involves providing expert advice on safeguarding children, working closely with health colleagues, police, and social workers. Candidates should be registered nurses with experience in child protection issues and the ability to deliver training. This position supports the Trust's commitment to high-quality safeguarding services and multi-agency collaboration.

Benefits

Comprehensive training programs

Supportive work environment

Qualifications

• Extensive experience managing complex child protection cases.
• Demonstrated experience developing training packages.
• Knowledge of legislation for vulnerable children.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialized safeguarding supervision for health professionals.
• Participate in Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub risk assessments.
• Develop and evaluate training packages.

Skills

Child protection legislation

Communication skills

Time management

Risk assessment

Multi-agency working

Education

Registered nurse with current NMC registration

Teaching qualification or equivalent

Ongoing training in safeguarding

Job description

Band 7 Children’s Safeguarding Practitioner

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced Practitioner to join the established Safeguarding Children Team within Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to develop their skills and competence as a Children's Safeguarding Practitioner, working across the Birmingham and Solihull Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hubs. This role involves close partnership working with other health colleagues, the police, and social workers.

Main duties of the job

The Children's Safeguarding Practitioner will work as a committed and expert member of a specialist team, delivering a high-quality safeguarding service. This includes providing expert advice on the day-to-day management of children and their families, participating in risk assessments, and delivering specialised safeguarding supervision. The post holder will also support frontline practitioners in developing reports and forming safeguarding plans. While this role requires clinical knowledge, it does not involve direct patient care.

The post holder will hold responsibility and professional accountability as a Safeguarding Practitioner for safeguarding children, including contextual safeguarding, which encompasses child exploitation.

As part of the specialist team, the practitioner will ensure that quality training, supervision, audits, and expert advice are available to enable the Trust to meet its statutory responsibilities for safeguarding children.

The role requires specific expertise in children's and adults' health needs, identifying and responding to maltreatment, and understanding local safeguarding arrangements. The post holder will operate within the Think Family approach and the contextual safeguarding agenda, ensuring coordinated and effective protection for children and vulnerable adults.

About us

Be Part of Our Team

Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BCHC) employs over 5,000 staff across Birmingham and the West Midlands in a wide range of community nursing and specialist healthcare roles. We deliver more than 100 clinical services in people's homes, health centres, clinics, and inpatient facilities.

Our services cover children, young people, parents, and families, as well as adults and community services. We also provide care through two community hospitals, services for people with learning disabilities, the internationally recognised West Midlands Rehabilitation Centre, and one of Europe's leading Dental Hospitals and School of Dentistry.

All of this is delivered with a commitment to integrated, personalised care rooted in our local communities. BCHC aims to provide outstanding, integrated care as one of the leading NHS providers in the West Midlands.

If you want to be part of our team and work with a Foundation Trust that continuously strives for better care and healthier communities, we want to hear from you.

Job responsibilities

Line Management and Financial Responsibility

The post holder will not have any line management or financial responsibility.

Specialist Safeguarding Role

Deliver specialist safeguarding supervision to health professionals on issues related to safeguarding children, facilitating reflective and critical analysis against agreed outcomes.

Act as an advocate for children and young people, raising awareness of their needs and promoting the philosophy of placing children at the centre of care.

Ensure expert advice and support is available for the day-to-day management of children and families where there are safeguarding concerns.

Multi-Agency Work

Rotate into the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) across Birmingham and Solihull, working as part of a co-located multi-agency team including police officers, social workers, and other providers.

Participate in MASH risk assessments to inform case management of children at risk of harm, advising partners on health issues and challenging decisions as appropriate.

Participate in Contextual Safeguarding forums to inform case management of children at risk of exploitation, advising partners on health issues and challenging decisions as appropriate.

Work with key professionals and agencies to contribute to the ongoing development and delivery of services designed to protect children and promote their welfare.

Training and Development

Develop, facilitate, and evaluate training packages within the organisation and, as needed, in partnership with other agencies for multi-agency training.

Participate in relevant local, regional, and national continuing professional development to maintain named nurse competencies.

Casework and Legal Support

Support frontline practitioners in developing and/or analysing case chronologies to clearly identify risks and mitigate recurrence.

Assist practitioners in producing factual reports to safeguard children and young people, including statements for court proceedings.

Analyse prepared statements for court and support practitioners to attend and give evidence as required.

Provide support to staff during police interviews when they are giving evidence for child protection investigations.

Handle highly complex and sensitive information relating to child safeguarding and communicate this appropriately to internal and external parties.

Policy, Audit, and Governance

Practice in accordance with professional, ethical, and legal codes (Nursing and Midwifery Council) and Trust policies, protocols, and guidelines.

Meet the organisations statutory and mandatory training requirements.

Review and implement safeguarding policies and procedures; update Trust policies within own area.

Undertake audits, produce factual reports based on findings, and ensure action plans and learning are shared with the appropriate management team.

Act as an autonomous practitioner when advising and supporting decision-making.

Actively participate in investigations where a child has died or sustained life‑threatening injuries due to abuse or neglect, ensuring adherence to statutory guidelines.

Commit to keeping up-to-date with current research and evidence, considering its implications for local safeguarding practice.

Personal Development and Wellbeing

Engage with regular safeguarding supervision and reflective practice.

Recognise the potential personal impact of working in safeguarding/child protection on self and others, seeking support when necessary.

Future Service Development

Support the Trust's developments as a major provider in community and primary care services, taking responsibility for relevant areas within any future service developments.

Other Duties

Undertake other duties commensurate with the grade of the post in agreement with the relevant line manager.

Person Specification

Qualifications / training

• Registered nurse with current NMC registration
• Evidence of recent post basic training and on‑going personal development
• Teaching qualification or equivalent
• Evidence of on‑going training and relevant courses in safeguarding

Experience

• Extensive experience of managing a complex caseload involving child protection issues.
• Extensive experience in a nursing environment
• Demonstrates significant experience in developing and /or delivering training packages.
• Mental health or Acute provider hospital experience

Skills/knowledge

• Highly developed specialist knowledge and understanding of government legislation relevant to vulnerable children, children in need and children in need of protection and its application.
• Good verbal/written communication skills required to communicate highly sensitive, contentious and complex information with empathy.
• Excellent time management skills to be able to plan and prioritise own workload where there may be competing demands on time.
• Ability to work under own initiative.
• Ability to facilitate and manage change.
• Ability to lead and motivate others
• Ability to plan and prioritise own workload and manage time effectively.
• Ability to travel to dispersed sites in a timely manner.
• Highly developed risk assessment and risk management skills
• Evidence of previous safeguarding experience.
• Evidence of previous supervision experience.
• Experience of delivering training packages.
• Experience of multi‑agency working
• Ability to work as part of a team.
• To be highly motivated.
• Reliable.
• Self‑awareness and an ability to develop good working relationships internally and externally.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.