Enhanced Social Work Practitioner

Instagram; Wolsingham; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading social care organization in Wolsingham seeks an Enhanced Practitioner to blend senior social work skills with mentoring. You will build effective relationships with children and families to lead care planning. The role involves advocating for children's needs, guiding Newly Qualified Social Workers, and working within a multi‑agency team. A degree in social work and current registration are required, along with significant experience. Attractive salary and generous benefits included.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Generous annual leave

Flexible working arrangements

Training and professional development opportunities

Recruitment/retention allowance

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 skills of a case holding senior social worker with mentoring.
• Advocate for children's needs and lead care planning.
• Support Newly Qualified Social Workers in their roles.

Skills

Social work with children and young people

Mentoring newly qualified practitioners

Building relationships

Trauma informed approach

Education

Degree in social work or equivalent

Current Social Work England registration

Job description

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 practise 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 Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (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 service 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.

Qualifications

• 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.

Additional information

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 at https://www.durham.gov.uk/childrenssocialwork. We offer a competitive rewards package that includes attractive salaries, a generous annual leave entitlement of 27 days (rising to 32 after five years' continuous local government service), membership of the excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme, and a range of flexible working arrangements including hybrid working (home and office) where applicable. Explore the full range of rewards and benefits on our website. This post is eligible for a recruitment/retention allowance of £2,500 over 12 months (pro-rata for part‑time workers). Payments are made in equal instalments across a 12‑month period alongside your pay. The allowances are subject to tax, National Insurance and pension contributions. Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions.