Children's Practitioner

Derby City Council; East Midlands; On-site; GBP 34,000 - 38,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work/life balance

Hybrid working

Local Government Pension Scheme

27 days annual leave rising to 32

Career development

Cycle2Work Scheme

Job summary

Derby City Council is seeking a Children’s Practitioner to support children, young people (0-18) and families by providing practical support, advice and guidance to improve outcomes. You will work directly with families, building trust and helping parents develop confidence and routines.

You will assess needs, plan with families, maintain records, participate in safeguarding activities and multi-agency meetings, using a compassionate, strengths-based approach to promote positive change.

Qualifications

• Experience working with children and families.
• Understanding of early intervention and safeguarding.
• Good communication skills, written and verbal.

Responsibilities

• Direct work with children, young people and families to build trusting relationships.
• Assessments and planning to identify strengths and achieve positive outcomes.
• Safeguarding adherence and multi-agency coordination to prevent escalation.

Skills

Experience with children and families

Education

NVQ 3 in Childcare or Caring for Children and Young People

Job description

Salary: Grade G £34,237 - £37,563 a year

Location: Council House or Locality based

Hours: 37 hours a week

Closing Date: 30th September 2026

Contract Type: Permanent

In this rewarding role, you will work directly with children, young people (0-18 years) and their families, providing practical support, advice and guidance to help them achieve positive outcomes. You will build strong relationships with parents and carers, helping them develop confidence, parenting skills and routines, while identifying strengths, responding to emerging needs and connecting families with the right local services.

Working alongside a wide range of professionals, you will undertake direct work with children and families, contribute to assessments and support plans, facilitate group activities, and ensure the voice of the child remains central to all your work. You will maintain accurate records, participate in multi-agency meetings and play an important role in promoting safeguarding, early intervention and family resilience.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone with experience of working with children and families who is committed to improving outcomes for vulnerable children through compassionate, strengths-based practice.

Who We Are

Here at Derby City Council, we're dedicated to delivering nearly 250 first-class services to citizens and businesses in the heart of the Midlands. People are at the centre of all that we do, and we have an outstanding track record of recruiting and developing talented individuals by providing them with varied and fulfilling career opportunities. Find out more about what it's like to work for us.

What We Offer

You too could be part of something brilliant by becoming a colleague at Derby City Council; in addition to making a difference to the lives of people across the city, you'll also receive:

• Flexible work/life balance scheme
• Hybrid working
• Modern office environment
• Continued professional development opportunities & career conversations
• 27 days annual leave (rising to 32 days after 5 years' service), plus bank holidays
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Team Derby Rewards - retail and leisure discounts
• Tusker Car Benefit Scheme
• Cycle2Work Scheme & free cycle training
• Employee Assistance Programme, Wellbeing Calendar and Support
• Access to our Equality Employee Networks - LGBTQ+, Disabled Employee Network & Carers and our Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic Employee Support Network and Neurodiversity Network
• Support for colleagues who are carers

The Opportunity

In the role of Childrens practitioner here's an example of what you'll be doing to make an impact:

• Direct work with children , young people and their families to build trusting relationships
• Assessments and planning to help families identify strengths and achieve positive outcomes
• Safeguarding adherence and multiagency coordination to prevent escalation into social care

About You

To be successful in this role, you'll ideally have...

• Experience working with children and families
• An understanding of early intervention and safeguarding
• Experience working with a range of professionals
• Good communication skills, both written and verbal.
• NVQ 3 or equivalent in either Childcare or Caring for Children and Young People

Important Information

Links to the full Job Description and Person Specification are below.

All employees will normally be appointed to the minimum of the grade for the job.

Before you complete your application form please read our guidance on filling in your application form.

Remember to align your personal statement to the essential criteria in the Person Specification.

Please be aware that where there are colleagues within the organisation who are 'at risk' of redundancy, requirements to redeploy to another suitable role will apply and take priority.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

We are a fair and inclusive employer and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds. We recruit for diversity and value difference. As many of our roles can now be home-based, we are able to offer more opportunities for people who need this facility.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. If you are a disabled person, you have the choice to apply under our Guaranteed Interview Scheme so long as you demonstrate that you meet the essential requirements for the job.

We feel it is essential that we recruit a talented workforce that is as diverse as the community we work for.

Please let us know of any individual requirements or reasonable adjustments you may have during the application, interview, or onboarding process and we'll do all we can to help. We strongly believe in social understanding of disability and for us it's all about removing barriers to equality.

If you have any questions regarding this vacancy or are having difficulty applying, please contact our Recruitment Team on 01332 640844 (Relay UK - 18001 01332 640 844) or at [e-mail]

https://www.derby.gov.uk/signing-service/

Please see Job Description here

Please see Person Specification here

Please see Declaration Form for CV Applications here

Please see Equalities Form for CV Applications here

Please see DBS Code of Conduct here