Lead Child Protection Practitioner

Gloucestershire County Council; Stroud; On-site; GBP 54,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

LGPS

Employee Assistance Programme

Relocation package

Flexible & agile working

Leave entitlements up to 30.5 days

Cycle to Work scheme

Green Car Salary Sacrifice Scheme

Job summary

Gloucestershire County Council is seeking an experienced Lead Child Protection Practitioner to lead complex safeguarding work in Gloucestershire. You will provide decisive leadership, oversee multi-agency responses, chair strategy meetings and child protection conferences, and ensure rigorous analysis and risk-based decision making.

You will work within Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams, guiding learning, quality assurance and service improvements, while supporting families and partners to

Qualifications

• Expert knowledge of child protection legislation and safeguarding practice.
• Ability to lead multi-agency teams and chair strategy meetings.
• Strong analytical and decision-making skills in complex cases.

Responsibilities

• Provide decisive leadership and decision-making in key child protection moments.
• Chair child protection strategy meetings and initial/review conferences.
• Oversee section 47 enquiries and ensure risk-informed planning and decisions.

Skills

Expert knowledge of child protection

Leadership and coaching

Analytical decision making

Communication with families

Education

Social Work qualification

Job description

Lead Child Protection Practitioner

Job Location: Gloucestershire

This is a Gloucestershire County Council job.

• Job Location: Stroud or Gloucester

• Salary: £54,143 - £56,293 per annum

• Hours per Week: 37.00

• Contract Type: Permanent

• Closing Date: 13/10/2026

• Job Requisition Number: 14754

• This post is open to job share

Be at the forefront of protecting children in Gloucestershire

Following our 2025 Ofsted judgement of Good, Gloucestershire is continuing to invest in children, families, and our workforce as we continue the drive to excellence for our children and implement the ambitious Families First Partnership Programme.

Gloucestershire’s Multi-Agency Child Protection Team model has been at the forefront of national developments. We have worked with partners across the county and nationally to test and refine our model through a pilot in North Gloucestershire, ensuring that the voice of children and families is at the heart of our design. You can hear more about our learning by watching the recent DfE Webinar on the Families First Knowledge Hub.

We are now ready to set up our Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams across the county. Our teams are comprised of: Lead Child Protection Practitioners, Health Leads, Police Detective Sergeants, Police Decision Makers, Education Safeguarding Leads, Harm outside the Home social workers, Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs) and linked Probation Officers. They will be co-located alongside Family Help teams enabling responsive, timely engagement with local Family Help social workers focused on improving the quality of our response for children at most risk in the area.

About the role

We are seeking experienced social workers, who have substantial post qualifying experience in child protection work and who have the capability to meet the requirements set out in the new national Lead Child Protection Practitioner Standards.

As a Lead Child Protection Practitioner, you will provide decisive leadership and decision-making in some of the most important moments in a child’s life. Alongside overseeing some of our most complex child protection work, you will provide practice leadership, model exceptional social work, and support colleagues to further develop their confidence, professional curiosity and critical thinking.

Working as part of our Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams, you will play a key role in enabling strong partnership working with health, education, police and other agencies, ensuring children receive the best help and protection, and at the right time.

You will provide advice and consultation, chair child protection strategy meetings, oversee section 47 enquiries, and chair initial and review child protection conferences. You will ensure that assessment, planning and decision making is grounded in strong analysis and a clear understanding of risk and harm.

You will lead multi-agency reflective supervision, practice development, quality assurance, learning objectives and service improvement. Within this role you will assist in building on our strong culture of learning, innovation and continuous improvement.

You will work directly with children and families, supporting them to understand and contribute to their plans. You will also support them to work with their professional and family networks to facilitate sustained and meaningful change.

Reward and Support

For all your hard work, you will receive the following:

• between £54,143 - £56,293 per annum/pro rata for part time

• annual retention payment of £2,000*

• welcome payment of £4,500*

• up to £8,000 relocation package

• flexible and agile working (although this role is predominantly office-based)

• 25.5 days annual leave rising to 30.5 days after 5 years continuous service

• option to purchase 10 days of additional leave per year

• family friendly policies and benefits to help support you and your family

• supportive and positive working environment with regular, robust supervision

• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)

• access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) that provides free, confidential, counselling and advice for employees, available 24 hours a day, online and by telephone

• an in-house Occupational Health service

• employee discount scheme

• links to employee networks such as Prism (LGBT+) and the Young Employees Network

• career development and qualification opportunities

• access to our Social Work Academy

• Cycle to Work scheme (eligibility criteria and t&cs apply)

• Green Car Salary Sacrifice Scheme (eligibility criteria and t&cs apply)

About you

We are looking for social workers who can:

• demonstrate expert knowledge and application of child protection legislation, statutory guidance and safeguarding practice

• build effective relationships with children and families whilst maintaining a clear focus on safety, risk and permanence

• undertake sophisticated analysis and decision making in highly complex situations and often fast-paced situations

• lead and influence professional networks around children experiencing significant harm or vulnerability

• model excellent direct work with children and families and support others to develop their practice

• challenge respectfully and constructively across professional boundaries to achieve the best outcomes for children

• coach, mentor and develop social workers and other practitioners

• use evidence, research and reflective practice to improve outcomes and strengthen professional practice

• undertake and coordinate quality assurance, learning and service development activities

• thrive within a relational practice culture that values collaboration, curiosity and continuous improvement

You will also need:

• Social Work England registration

• a recognised qualification in Social Work

• to meet the requirements of the Children’s Social Care National Framework

• a full driving licence and willingness to drive

• DBS clearance (Enhanced Adults and Children’s)

If you would like to find out more about our Children’s Service please take a look here: Children's Social Care Careers | Gloucestershire County Council

Interviews will be w/c 19th October 2026

*Please note, our welcome and retention payments are non-contractual, pro rata for part-time staff and subject to National Insurance and tax deductions.

We reserve the right to close an advertisement earlier than the stated closing date if we receive a suitable amount of applications or fill the vacancy/vacancies.

The council will consider sponsorship for this role, in line with Home Officeregulations and subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks.