Senior Child Protection Practitioner & Practice Leader (Hybrid)

North Somerset Council; England; Hybrid; GBP 58,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

North Somerset Council seeks an experienced Lead Child Protection Practitioner to lead the Multi Agency Child Protection Team and drive safeguarding practice improvements within North Somerset. This role combines direct practice leadership with strategic influence, shaping Family Help reforms while remaining closely connected to frontline work.

The post requires leading decision making, chairing strategy discussions, coaching social workers and ensuring high-quality assessments and planning

Responsibilities

• Lead on decision making and chair safeguarding Strategy discussions for North Somerset.
• Provide oversight of Section 47 enquires and decision-making regarding child protection planning.
• Lead and champion family-led planning approaches, ensuring children and families are actively involved in assessment, decision-making and support planning, with interventions that build on strengths, utilise family networks and deliver sustainable improvements in children's safety and wellbeing.
• Provide expert advice, consultation and challenge on complex child protection.
• Chair Child Protection conferences and drive the quality and effectiveness of child protection planning and review processes.
• Promote high-quality assessments, analysis and planning that reflect children's lived experiences.
• Strengthen multi-agency collaboration across safeguarding partnerships.
• Lead learning from audits, reviews, complaints and safeguarding practice findings.
• Coach and mentor social workers to develop practice excellence.
• Support consistency and quality across conferences, strategy discussions and child protection pathways.
• Contribute to service development, performance improvement and implementation of Family First reforms.
• Champion relational, restorative and trauma-informed practice.

Job description

North Somerset Council seeks an experienced Lead Child Protection Practitioner to lead the Multi Agency Child Protection Team and drive safeguarding practice improvements within North Somerset. This role combines direct practice leadership with strategic influence, shaping Family Help reforms while remaining closely connected to frontline work.

The post requires leading decision making, chairing strategy discussions, coaching social workers and ensuring high-quality assessments and planning