Practice Development Leads

Swindon Borough Council; Swindon; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

An established local authority is seeking a passionate Practice Development Lead to enhance social work practices within Children's Services. This role is pivotal in implementing the Family Safeguarding model, coaching practitioners, and leading reflective practice sessions. Join a dedicated team focused on transforming lives and improving outcomes for vulnerable children and families. With a commitment to excellence, you'll play a crucial role in shaping a skilled workforce and ensuring high standards of practice. This is a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact in the community.

Benefits

Flexible working hours

Professional development opportunities

Health and wellbeing support

Generous annual leave

Pension scheme

Qualifications

• Qualified Social Worker with Social Work England registration.
• Experience in Family Safeguarding model and complex assessments.

Responsibilities

• Implement and embed Family Safeguarding practice model.
• Provide coaching and mentoring to practitioners.
• Lead training on relationship-based social work.

Skills

Relationship-based practice

Systemic approaches

Solution-focused interventions

Coaching and mentoring

Exceptional communication skills

Education

Social Work qualification

Tools

Reflective practice tools

Job description

Champion Excellence in Children's Social Work Practice

Are you an experienced social work professional with a passion for developing outstanding practice? Do you have what it takes to inspire, coach, and elevate social work across our service? Swindon Borough Council is seeking exceptional Practice Development Leads to transform how we support our most vulnerable children and families.These roles sit in our newly created Practice, Performance and Quality Assurance team and are fundamental to our improvement journey.

Your Impact

As a Practice Development Lead, you'll be at the heart of our mission to deliver exceptional social work practice. You'll champion our Family Safeguarding model and restorative practice methodology, ensuring consistency and excellence across all service areas. Through your expertise and guidance, you'll help shape a workforce that is skilled, confident, and focused on improving outcomes for children and young people.

What You'll Do

• Reporting to our Service Manager for Practice and Development (incorporating the Principal Social Worker), you will implement and embed our Family Safeguarding practice model
• Provide expert coaching, mentoring and development to practitioners at all levels
• Lead reflective practice sessions that encourage learning and growth
• Chair practice forums that review and constructively challenge assessments, plans and interventions, including learning from audits
• Deliver engaging training on relationship-based social work approaches and tools
• Identify exemplary casework that demonstrates best practice for shared learning
• Use research and evidence to continuously improve performance and practice
• Contribute to quality assurance initiatives and translate findings into practical improvements

About You

You're an experienced qualified social worker with extensive practice experience and a genuine commitment to excellence. You bring:

• Social work qualification with current Social Work England registration
• Advanced understanding of relationship-based practice, systemic approaches and solution-focused interventions
• Experience with the Family Safeguarding model (ideally)
• Substantial direct work experience with children and families, including complex assessments
• Proven ability to deliver engaging training and facilitate reflective discussions
• Experience in mentoring, coaching or supervising other social work professionals
• Strong knowledge of relevant legislation and frameworks
• Exceptional communication skills and the ability to influence at all levels
• The confidence to challenge practice constructively while being supportive
• A commitment to continuous professional development

Practice Educator or Assessor accreditation would be advantageous.

If you have expertise in the Family Safeguarding model or specialist work around Children at risk of or subject of exploitation, please do let us know in your application as we have two roles focussed purely around these specialisms.

Candidates must be fluent in the English language (as a requirement of Part 7 of the Immigration Act – for the effective performance of a customer-facing role).

Join Our Journey

This is an exciting opportunity to play a pivotal role in shaping social work practice across our Children's Services. You'll work alongside committed professionals who share your passion for making a difference in children's lives. Your expertise will directly contribute to creating a service where excellent practice is the standard, not the exception.

Now is an exciting time to join us.Swindon Borough Council is on a journey to transform service delivery and have been shortlisted for the ‘Most Improved Council’ at the Local Government Awards (LGA). We want our town to be the best it can be. Our ambitious vision in the new Swindon Plan is supported by realistic transformation programmes, with the people of Swindon at their heart. Because that’s who we’re doing it for – the communities and businesses that make our town great. As part of the Council, you’ll support a friendly local authority making decisions with real impact. It’s all for better public services. Better processes. And a better quality of life, for everyone. Join us, and Swindon will be better with you.

Please see our Vision and Values page for more details

At Swindon Borough Council, we're committed to providing the best possible support to children and families. Join us and be part of a team that's dedicated to transforming lives through outstanding social work practice.

Your next package

Please see our Rewards and Benefits offer for more details.

Your next steps

To be eligible for this role, you must be a qualified Social Worker with Social Work England registration.

As an inclusive employer, we welcome applications from a diverse range of communities, and in particular disabled people and people from ethnic minorities. Read ourstatement of commitment to equality & inclusion.

Read the role profile and select the Apply button where you will be redirected to the Swindon Borough Council website to complete our online application process. Clicking the ‘Apply’ button on this job website is not an application, you must register on the Swindon Borough Council website in order to be considered for the role.

A satisfactory enhanced DBS disclosure will be required for this role.

For a confidential conversation about this post please contact Nicola Hannaford, Head of Service Practice, Development and Quality Assurance via email on [e-mail]

If you are experiencing technical issues submitting your application please email [e-mail]

Closing date: 25 May 2025