Family Centres Practitioner

Milton Keynes Council; Bletchley; On-site; GBP 23,000 - 31,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

28 days annual leave

Local Government Pension Scheme

Family friendly policies

Health cash plan

Bike purchase scheme

Discounts

Job summary

Milton Keynes City Council is recruiting a Family Centres Practitioner for the Children and Families service to help ensure children get the best start in life. You will engage with families in communities, deliver Stay and Play sessions, and provide guidance to parents of children under five within a safeguarding-focused team.

You will work from a designated workplace as part of a site-based role, with DBS checks and strong emphasis on developing trust with families and partners.

Qualifications

• Recognised early education or childcare qualification is essential.
• Knowledge of child development and early years learning to support families.

Responsibilities

• Promote and deliver activities supporting Early Years Foundation Stage and school readiness.
• Plan and deliver Stay and Play sessions for children and families.
• Provide one-to-one support, advice and guidance to parents of children under five.
• Deliver outreach activities to engage families who may access services.
• Build relationships with local communities, volunteers and partner organisations.
• Work with education, health and early help services to support positive outcomes.
• Complete assessments and maintain records where required.

Skills

Child development knowledge

Early years learning

Communication skills

Microsoft Office

Digital systems

Team player

Safeguarding

Education

Early education/childcare qualification

Tools

Microsoft Office

Digital systems

Job description

Package Description

In addition to your salary, we offer a range of benefits including:

• Great holiday benefits - most roles include 28 days annual leave every year on top of public (bank) holidays, increasing to 32 days after five years. In addition, there is a holiday purchase scheme allowing staff to purchase up to 5 additional days of leave each year.
• Excellent pension - everyone who works for us can join the national Local Government Pension Scheme, widely regarded as one of the best available.
• A full range of family friendly policies including enhanced maternity, adoption and paternity support.
• Access to an award-winning employee benefits programme that includes a health cash plan, a low-cost bike purchase scheme as well as high street discounts and money off entertainment and travel.
• Salary sacrifice car scheme - eligible employees can lease an electric or low-emission vehicle at a reduced cost through salary sacrifice, subject to National Minimum Wage and other eligibility requirements.
• Blue Light Card - employees working within social care can qualify for an additional range of discounts from national retailers and local businesses.

Why join us?

Along with more on our Benefits, discover why Working at the City Council could be the right move for you here Working at the Council | Milton Keynes

Roles are either ‘site based’ or ‘home based’.

Site based roles are mainly based at the workplace, with the option to work from home for up to two days a week, depending on service needs.

Home based roles are mainly based at home, with the expectation of attending the workplace up to one day a week.

The working arrangement for each role is set by the manager, based on service requirements.

Job Introduction

We’re recruiting a Family Centres Practitioner to join our Children and Families service at Saplings Children Centre. Helping ensure children get the very best start in life.

At Milton Keynes City Council, our aim is to make our city a better place to live. Every day, our colleagues work with local people, partners and communities to support children and families and reduce inequalities across our city. Our values are simple: we are Dedicated, Respectful and Collaborative.

As part of Best Start for Life Family Hubs, we have clear objectives to meet in order to secure all elements of the grant funding that supports this work. One of these objectives is to provide dedicated outreach support to engage children and families living in the expansion areas of Whitehouse, Newton Leys, Glebe Farm and Eagles Rest.

This rewarding role is focused on building relationships with families who may not currently access Family Centre services. You’ll help families understand the support available to them, provide a welcoming and positive introduction to services, and encourage participation in activities that improve outcomes for children.

You’ll spend time engaging directly with families in their communities, supporting those who may be harder to reach and helping them access local services, information and opportunities. Through positive and meaningful engagement, you’ll help children and families feel confident about attending sessions and accessing support, even where a Family Centre is not located nearby.

You’ll also play an important role in delivering activities that support children’s development and school readiness, while working with parents to strengthen their confidence and understanding of their child’s learning and development.

This is a Fixed Term position - 30 months

Site-Based role

This is a Site-Based role, and you’ll be expected to work from the designated workplace.

Interviews for this role will be held on 10th October 2026

At Milton Keynes City Council, we aim to make a difference every day. We’re dedicated, respectful and collaborative. We act as one council, and we work hard to create cleaner, safer and healthier communities while tackling inequalities and supporting people to thrive.

Find out more about working with us here: www.mkcounciljobs.org.uk

Role Responsibilities

• Promote and deliver a range of activities that support the Early Years Foundation Stage and help children become ready for school.
• Plan and deliver Stay and Play sessions for children and families.
• Provide one-to-one support, advice and guidance to parents of children under five years old.
• Deliver outreach activities that engage families who may find it difficult to access services.
• Build strong relationships with local communities, volunteers and partner organisations to increase community involvement in Family Centre services.
• Work with professionals across education, health and early help services to support positive outcomes for children and families.
• Complete assessments, contribute to support plans and maintain accurate records where required.

Ideal Candidate

• A recognised early education or childcare qualification is essential.
• With strong knowledge of child development and early years learning, you'll be confident supporting children and families to achieve positive outcomes.
• You enjoy building trusted relationships with parents, carers and community partners and can communicate clearly with a wide range of people.
• Experience of working with children under five years old and their families will help you quickly make a positive impact within the service.
• Comfortable managing a busy and varied workload, you can organise your time effectively while maintaining high standards of service delivery.
• Practical understanding of safeguarding responsibilities and the impact safeguarding concerns can have on children's wellbeing and development.
• Confident using Microsoft Office and digital systems to maintain accurate records and share information appropriately.
• A team player who demonstrates our values of being Dedicated, Respectful and Collaborative in everything you do.

Safer Recruitment

Safer Recruitment applies to this role. This means that, before any appointment is confirmed, we’ll carry out a range of pre-employment checks to help ensure the safety and wellbeing of children, young people and vulnerable adults. These checks may include identity verification, where candidates will be required to provide original identification documents, including a full birth certificate, employment history and reference checks, qualification checks and an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, (unless you are currently registered with the DBS Update Service). check where required.

About The Organisation

Milton Keynes City Council is a large, modern and financially stable employer with around 2,500 people working across our eight areas. Together we provide local residents and businesses with a wide range of important round-the-clock services and aim to make our city a better place to live.

We work hard because of the demands placed on us, like protecting children from harm or preventing homelessness. However, working for the city is always rewarding and everyone has the opportunity to make a real difference.

We’re very proud of our diversity and are committed to having a workforce that reflects the community we serve. Whatever your background, you will be welcome here if you share our values of being dedicated, respectful and collaborative.

We offer great training and support and because of the size and scale of the organisation there are always new opportunities to explore when it’s time for a new role.

If you’d like to know more about how we do things and what matters to us, take a look at our short booklet What makes us Milton Keynes City Council, see attached.