Enhanced Social Work Practitioner

Durham County Council; North East; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A local authority council in England is seeking an Enhanced Practitioner to support children and young people in care. The ideal candidate will have a degree in social work, relevant experience, and be passionate about mentoring newly qualified social workers. This role offers competitive benefits, including hybrid working options and professional development opportunities. Join a dynamic team committed to improving outcomes for children.

Benefits

Competitive salary

27 days holiday per year

Hybrid working model

Qualifications

• Significant experience of social work with children, young people and their families.
• Commitment to work towards Practice assessor qualification PA1 and 2.

Responsibilities

• Blend case holding with mentoring newly qualified social workers.
• Build relationships with children, young people, and families.
• Ensure children lead their care planning based on assessments.

Skills

Social Work with children

Mentoring

Building relationships

Education

Degree in social work or equivalent

Current Social Work England registration

Job description

Overview

As an Enhanced Practitioner, you will blend the skills of a case holding senior social worker with those of mentoring newly qualified colleagues. You will build effective relationships with children, young people, and families and ensure that children and young people lead their care planning. You will advocate and appreciate individual need to achieve outcomes based on evidence-based assessments. You will spend quality time with children in our care, understanding their views, their life events and supporting them to understand and recover from what has happened. You will consistently model exceptional social work practice and skill to inspire and guide our Newly Qualified Social Workers, providing ongoing advice and support to them. Working closely with the Practice Leads in the Social Work Academy and the Team Manager, you will ensure that the NQSWs have appropriate caseloads in terms of number and complexity, and that their ASYE progresses well. You will guide the team, supporting the Team Manager and be a point of contact in their absence. You will be part of a strong multi-agency team including education, health and our own therapeutic service Full Circle. You will be part of a team that is constantly seeking to improve outcomes for children in our care and be part of developing this service further. Your ideas and aspirations will be very important to us.

WHAT IS INVOLVED?

We work with children and young people aged 0 – 18 who are looked after, living with foster carers or with family and friend carers, or in a children’s home. We care plan with children, their carers and family to ensure the child’s needs are met well, and we plan for their future. The views of the child and their family are embedded within our care plans and lead everything we do. Relationships with children and their families are very important to us, as is our relationships with the multi-agency teams we work with. We take a trauma informed approach, seeking to help the child recover and maintain relationships with important people in their lives. We work under a Signs of Safety framework which takes a strength-based approach and works towards the child and family goals. We encourage you to contact Sarah Hugh via email at [e-mail] to arrange an informal discussion about the role.

HOW WILL I BE SUPPORTED?

We are passionate about social work in County Durham. We are committed to providing a culture where good practice can flourish. We ensure our social workers are highly supported and encourage flexible working to achieve a good work-life balance. You will benefit from a range of training opportunities and professional development through personalised induction, professional supervision, and mentoring. Take a closer look: https://www.durham.gov.uk/childrenssocialwork

WHAT WILL I NEED?

You will need:

• A degree in social work or equivalent social work qualification
• Current Social Work England registration
• Significant experience of social work with children, young people and their families
• Commitment to work towards Practice assessor qualification PA1 and 2 in line with skills for care good practice

We encourage applications from a diverse range of candidates and aim to have a workforce that represents the society that we serve.

Please refer to the attached person specification for the full criteria. If successful, you will be required to apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service Enhanced Disclosure.

REWARDS AND BENEFITS

We offer generous rewards and benefits that are designed to help you perform at your best:

• Competitive salaries and 27 days holiday per year rising to 32 days after five years continuous local government service
• Option to purchase up to 10 additional days annual leave per year
• Excellent work/life balance through schemes including job sharing, compressed hours and flexi-time (allowing up to 13 flexi days per year)
• Hybrid working (home and office working)
• Excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with top up options
• Wellbeing Portal and access to an Employee Assist Scheme
• Wide range of learning and development opportunities including professional qualifications, coaching and mentoring
• Employee Benefits Portal and Lifestyle Savings Scheme (discounts across a host of major retailers)
• Discounted DCC gym membership
• Staff networks run by staff for our staff, including Race Equality and Diversity, Disability, LGBT+, Armed Forces, Carers, Menopause
• Trade Union membership
• A range of other salary sacrifice schemes such as car leasing

Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions. Take a closer look at the rewards and benefits section: Durham County Council rewards and benefits page.

HYBRID WORKING

Durham County Council currently operates a hybrid working policy where a model of 2 days in the workplace and 3 days at home/remote will apply. This model is pro-rated for part time roles and arrangements are at managers discretion, alternatively you can work all of your contracted hours within the workplace if you prefer.

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION

We are a proud equal opportunities employer and recognise that a diverse, talented workforce brings new ideas and new perspectives, which will facilitate growth and improvements to services. We are committed to ensuring that our employment policies and processes are fair and equitable to all. We welcome job applications from everyone, and successful candidates are considered only on their skills and ability to do the job. As a Disability Confident Leader, we encourage applications from disabled people and provide support throughout the recruitment process. Take a closer look: Durham Equality and Diversity in our workforce.

INTERVIEWS

Interviews will be held week commencing 13th October 2025. We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that can show they meet all the essential criteria and have indicated they have a disability, are a looked after young person, care leaver or a veteran.

HOW TO APPLY

In line with the County Council's Recruitment and Selection Policy, please note that we are unable to accept CVs. Applications must be submitted online via the Northeast Jobs portal. Please use the ‘Person Specification’ section of your application form to demonstrate essential and where possible desirable experience, skills, and knowledge. Candidates who do not evidence that they meet the essential qualifications and experience listed on the person specification will not be short-listed. If you have any support needs or require assistance when applying, contact the Recruitment Team via email or telephone. We collect personal information from you when you register with North East Jobs and make an application. Details on how we process your personal data are available in our Privacy Notice. Take a closer look: Durham Council privacy notice.