Family Practitioner

Staffordshire County Council; Cannock; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Staffordshire County Council in Cannock is seeking Family Practitioners to support children and families. The role involves early help assessments, support plans, and collaboration with social workers to safeguard children.

Minimum NVQ Level 3 or equivalent experience, flexibility for evenings/weekends, and a UK driving licence are required. Interviews will occur w/c 21st September 2026. Hybrid working arrangements apply.

Qualifications

• A minimum of NVQ Level 3 related to working with children and families OR relevant experience.
• Experience of supporting children and their families within their homes, delivering direct work and being creative in the way that you work to engage children, their families and carers.
• Be flexible with working hours as there may be occasions where evening and weekend work may be needed.
• Have a current UK driving licence and vehicle.

Responsibilities

• leading on early help assessments, plans and the delivery of targeted support interventions
• leading on child in need plans and the delivery of targeted support interventions, with the support and oversight of a social work practice lead
• working together with social workers to support children in need, children on child protection plans and children in care
• contributing to parenting assessments, supporting mediation, crisis prevention, conflict resolution and Life Story Work
• supporting on the completion of accurate documentation, reports and records relating to work you do with children, young people and their families

Education

NVQ Level 3 related to working with children and families

Job description

Working with us means collaborating across our different teams, and sharing best practice, knowledge, and experience to continually improve the way we do things. Support is important, as we work in a big county with some diverse challenges - but together we can meet all kinds of needs and demands.

We know you'll want to continually develop in your role and potentially progress your career and that's why we have created great training and development opportunities ensuring your individual growth here at Staffordshire.

You will be based within the district service area of Cannock and Rugeley.

Cannock are proud to be supporting a 'Family Help' pilot, whereby you will also be working closely with social workers to support children in need.

Hybrid working supported, with a balance of community based, office based and home working.

Main Responsibilities

Our Family Practitioners are key workers for the children and families we support. You'll be:

• leading on early help assessments, plans and the delivery of targeted support interventions
• leading on child in need plans and the delivery of targeted support interventions, with the support and oversight of a social work practice lead
• working together with social workers to support children in need, children on child protection plans and children in care
• contributing to parenting assessments, supporting mediation, crisis prevention, conflict resolution and Life Story Work
• supporting on the completion of accurate documentation, reports and records relating to work you do with children, young people and their families

And through all this great work you do, you'll be supporting children and families, with a restorative practice approach, helping them stay together where possible.

The Ideal Candidate

For the purpose of shortlisting, the minimum criteria for the role is:

• A minimum of NVQ Level 3 related to working with children and families OR relevant experience
• Experienceof supporting children and their families within their homes, delivering direct work and being creative in the way that you work to engage children,their families and carers
• Be flexible with working hours as there may be occasions where evening and weekend work may be needed
• Have a current UK driving licence and vehicle

But above all, you'll bring the desire to work with children and families to give them the right support, at the right time with the aim of keeping families together where it's safe to do so.

For further information, please contact Family Practitioner Leads, Alison Gough or Wendy Tarbuck on [e-mail] / [e-mail]

Interviews will be held w/c 21st September 2026.

This role is currently subject to a review of weekend working arrangements, including any paid enhancements.

Please note: The minimum essential criteria in the ideal candidate section detailed above will be used if you are applying under one of our Interview Guarantee Schemes.

About Staffordshire County Council

We are no ordinary county council:

Our values:

The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.

Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy:

We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future.

We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too.

Our benefits:

We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.

In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to Our rewards and benefits - Careers at Staffordshire

Our recruitment process:

As an Authority we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all background and communities

As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

As you'll know safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children and young people/vulnerable adults is important to us and that's why this position is subject to a criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service. If applicable you should disclose details of unspent and unfiltered spent reprimands, formal warnings, cautions and convictions in your application form.