Early Help Practitioner - Domestic Abuse

Reading Borough Council; Reading; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

LGPS

Life Assurance

On-site day nursery

Season Ticket Loan

Lease car salary sacrifice

Flexible working opportunities

Generous holiday entitlement

Job summary

Reading Borough Council is seeking an experienced Early Help Practitioner - Domestic Abuse to lead safeguarding within CSPoA. You will shape strategy, deliver training, and drive continuous improvement across partner agencies to support children and families at risk.

You will act as a subject matter expert, provide consultation, and contribute to risk assessments while working in a fast-paced, front-door service. This is a non-case-holding, trauma-informed role in a dynamic Reading-based team.

Qualifications

• Substantial experience in domestic abuse within a social work setting.
• Specialist knowledge in safeguarding children and adults.
• Ability to manage complex risk and influence practice across teams.

Responsibilities

• Work within safeguarding procedures to assess contacts and ensure children receive appropriate support and protection.
• Progress referrals quickly and effectively with a whole-family approach.
• Gather and analyse information from multiple sources to make evidence-based recommendations.
• Build strong relationships with professionals, partners and agencies to support joint working.
• Respond to contacts from professionals and the public, including in crisis situations.
• Apply threshold guidance to ensure the right level of intervention at earliest opportunity.
• Maintain accurate records and contribute to high-quality decision making.
• Engage in supervision, continuous learning and development to enhance practice.

Skills

Leadership

Safeguarding

Risk assessment

Consultation

Job description

We are seeking a passionate, highly motivated, and experienced Early Help Practitioner - Domestic Abuse to join our Children's Single Point of Access (CSPoA) service. This is a fast-paced, front-door service that plays a critical role in ensuring that children, young people, and families receive the right help at the right time.

We seek the best talent from the widest pool of people as diversity and inclusion is the key to our success. Reading Borough Council is a Disability Confident Employer and is committed to the recruitment and continued employment of people with disabilities.

As a Early Help Practitioner - Domestic Abuse, you will provide expert leadership and guidance in all matters relating to domestic abuse, supporting the service to deliver safe, timely, and effective responses to referrals. Working closely with the Team Manager, you will be responsible for shaping the strategy, development, and continuous improvement of our response to domestic abuse within CSPoA, ensuring best practice and compliance with safeguarding frameworks.

You will act as a subject matter expert, offering consultation, advice, and support to colleagues and partner agencies on complex domestic abuse cases. A key part of your role will involve analysing referrals, contributing to risk assessments, and ensuring that children and adult victims are safeguarded effectively.

You will represent the service at multi-agency forums, contributing to partnership working across health, education, police, and voluntary sector organisations. In addition, you will play a significant role in workforce development by designing and delivering training, sharing best practice, and promoting a culture of learning and professional curiosity.

The successful candidate will have substantial experience in domestic abuse within a social work setting and demonstrate specialist knowledge in safeguarding both children and adults. You will be confident in managing complex risk, making defensible decisions, and influencing practice across teams and partner agencies.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced practitioner who is passionate about improving outcomes for children and families, has strong leadership skills, and is committed to driving high‑quality, trauma‑informed practice within a dynamic front‑door service.

Working as part of a multi‑agency team, you'll gather, review and evaluate information to make timely and informed decisions that safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This is a non‑case holding role, ideal for professionals who thrive in a dynamic environment and want to make an immediate impact.

You’ll be part of a service committed to early help, prevention and high‑quality safeguarding practice, helping children and families achieve safe, healthy and successful outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Work within safeguarding procedures to assess contacts and ensure children receive appropriate support and protection
• Progress referrals quickly and effectively, using a whole‑family approach while prioritising children's safety and wellbeing
• Gather and analyse information from multiple sources to make evidence‑based recommendations
• Build strong relationships with professionals, partners and agencies to support joint working
• Respond to contacts from professionals and the public, including those in crisis situations
• Apply threshold guidance to ensure the right level of intervention at the earliest opportunity
• Maintain accurate, timely records and contribute to high quality decision making
• Engage in supervision, continuous learning and development to enhance your practice

You’ll be part of a team that relies on each individual to play their part to the best of their ability. As well as the colleagues that you work closely with every day, you’ll also be part of Team Reading, playing your personal part in making Reading a successful and vibrant place.

Our vision

Our vision is to ensure that Reading realises its potential as a great place to live, work and play, and that everyone shares the benefits of this success.

Our values and behaviours

• Work Together as one team - work collaboratively, with each other and with our partners, and demonstrate the Team Reading values in everything we do
• Drive Efficiency - show initiative, be adaptable to change and put forward ideas to help improve delivery and efficiency. Take responsibility for our own learning and development and for reaching our potential
• Be Ambitious - be demanding of our own performance - striving to be even better - and be prepared to engage with and challenge leaders in a constructive and positive way
• Make a Difference to Reading - maintain the highest levels of customer service and be flexible and willing to provide the services needed at the time they are needed

We offer a supportive environment to grow and develop your career with the opportunity to put your ideas across. Innovation and ambition is strongly encouraged, and you’ll get a great feel for that working in our friendly and collaborative environment.

Benefits

• Generous holiday entitlement - 25 days holiday each year plus bank holidays - rising to 30 days after 5 years' service and 33 days after 10 years' service, with the option to buy additional leave
• A wide range of flexible working opportunities
• Modern working environment at the Civic Offices in the heart of Reading
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Life Assurance - three times your annual salary (for members of the LGPS)
• On-site day nursery (Kennet Day nursery) rated outstanding by Ofsted
• Season Ticket Loan - a loan to help with the cost of your rail or bus journey, to and from work
• Lease car salary sacrifice scheme allowing you to lease a brand new, greener car for three years. The monthly fee includes insurance, servicing and road tax