Children's Practitioner

Oxfordshire County Council; Abingdon; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 40,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave 30 days + bank holidays (

LGPS pension

Employee Assistance Programme

Family friendly policies

Staff discounts (travel, holidays, etc

Learning & development opportunities

Job summary

Oxfordshire County Council is seeking a dedicated Children's Practitioner to join the Family Safeguarding & Support (FSS) team. You will manage a caseload aligned with your experience, ensuring voices are heard and interventions are timely, using the FSS Workbook and strengths-based approach.

You will contribute to reports, attend reviews, and keep social workers fully informed, while upholding values of equality, integrity and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Experience of working with children, young people and families.
• Understanding the impact of abuse and deprivation on children and families.
• Knowledge and application of safeguarding principles.

Responsibilities

• Deliver efficient services to children, young people and families.
• Utilise the FSS Workbook modules and a strengths-based approach.
• Prepare and submit written reports as required.
• Attend reviews and core groups, presenting interventions clearly and professionally.
• Keep the social worker informed of significant information about allocated families.

Skills

Children's experience

Safeguarding principles

Case management

Report writing

Communication with families

Job description

We are looking for a dedicated Children's Practitioner to join our Family Safeguarding & Support (FSS) team and deliver exceptional service to children, young people, and families. In this role, you will manage a caseload aligned with your experience and capabilities, ensuring the voices of those you support are heard. Utilising the FSS Workbook modules and employing a strengths-based approach, you will implement timely and effective interventions to meet their needs. If this sounds like the role for you, we would love to hear from you! As part of our team, you will:

• Deliver efficient and effective services to children, young people, and their families.
• Utilise the FSS Workbook modules and a strengths-based approach.
• Prepare and submit written reports as required.
• Attend reviews and core groups, presenting interventions clearly and professionally.
• Keep the social worker fully informed of significant information about allocated families, seeking advice as needed. Kind and caring, with an understanding of and respect for individuals' qualities, abilities, and diverse backgrounds.
• Advocating for equality and integrity in all you do.
• Always learning, with a passion to grow and develop your skills.
• Willing to take responsibility and contribute to the delivery of Oxfordshire County Council's vision.
• Driven to do it differently to embark on a journey of continuous improvement.

You will have:

• Relevant experience of working with children and/or young people and/or families.
• An understanding of the impact of abuse, social deprivation and disadvantage on children, young people and their families.
• Knowledge and understanding of the application of safeguarding principles.
• Ability to case-hold and within this assess, create, and record outcome driven plans for children and young people. Working together to help Children, young people, and families to thrive.

Join Oxfordshire County Council on an exciting journey towards Delivering the Future Together, our ambitious transformation programme which will enable us to be an employer, partner, and place shaper of choice. We're seeking the right people who can help us get there while embracing our value of 'daring to do it differently', as we continue to strive to do better. In our Children, Education, & Families Directorate, we do our very best to help children, young people, and families to thrive. We know the importance of building relationships, empowering people, and building on strengths and this is reflected in our restorative, relational practice approach. We've been consistently rated as "good" by Ofsted, but we are not content with that; we are ambitious and want to do even better! Oxfordshire County Council is a financially stable local authority which is committed to investing in Children, Education, and Families, to ensure that we have the resources we need to make a real difference to the families we work with. This includes the successful operation of our transformational model Family Safeguarding & Support.

Please refer to the job description attached below for a full list of selection criteria.

Rewards and benefits

• Annual leave starting at 30 days per year (plus bank holidays) (pro rata)
• A comprehensive Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).
• Employee Assistance Programme including access to health and wellbeing support 24 x7.
• Range of family friendly policies.
• Childcare vouchers, cycle to work scheme, electric car scheme, range of staff discounts including travel, holidays, insurance, food, health & leisure activities.
• Excellent learning and development opportunities.

Our commitment to: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion At Oxfordshire County Council we are proud of our diverse workforce. Everyone is accepted for who they are, regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marital status, race, faith or belief, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, or on maternity or family leave. We have a number of staff network groups which provide peer support, education and safe spaces for all.

Our commitment to: Guaranteed Interview Schemes As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee an interview for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job. We also guarantee interviews to care leavers who have completed further education and who meet the essential criteria for the job. For those leaving care without any further education, we guarantee an interview for our apprenticeships. We are also committed to helping and supporting those transitioning from HM Armed Forces to civilian life and guarantee an interview for those demonstrating the essential criteria for the role, within three years of leaving the service.

Our commitment to: Safeguarding Oxfordshire County Council are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect these commitments.

Our commitment to: Flexible Working We are open to discussions about flexible working, which can include flexitime, part time working, job sharing, nine-day fortnights and annualised hours, depending on the requirements of the role and the service.