Senior Lead Child Protection Practitioner - Ref: CH06326

We Manage Jobs(WMJobs); Walsall; On-site; GBP 57,000 - 61,000; Full time

Job summary

Walsall Council is seeking a Senior Lead Child Protection Practitioner to oversee and lead child protection practice within a multi-agency network. You will work alongside social workers and professionals to initiate Child Protection Enquiries, oversee plans and ensure timely, robust decisions for children at risk.

The role includes line managing a small team of Lead Practitioners, contributing to training across the partnership and driving initiatives to reduce risk and progress plans.

Qualifications

• Extensive post-qualifying social work experience.
• Experience as a practice supervisor, team manager or child protection chair.

Responsibilities

• Lead alongside the multi-agency network around a family to ensure child protection practice is of the highest standard.
• Undertake Child Protection Enquiries and oversee Child Protection Plans.
• Line manage a small group of Lead Child Protection Practitioners and support delivery of training.
• Lead initiatives to oversee child protection plans, ensuring that children’s plans progress and risk reduces.

Job description

Senior Lead Child Protection Practitioner - Ref: CH06326

Grade: G12; Salary Range: £57,499 - £61,453

1x Permanent

2x Fixed Term for 12 months

“When children need help or protection, they receive a timely and effective response. Workers engage parents sensitively, so they understand the concerns about their children and the role of children’s social care. There is robust management oversight of the work, ensuring that work is timely and thresholds are appropriate.”

Walsall began implementing the Families First Programme in 2024, based on the National Children’s Social Care Review and Stable Homes Built on Love. To do this we have created a combined, multi-agency locality Family Help Service, with locality social workers supported by a team of Lead Child Protection Practitioners.

As we progress the full implementation of the Families First Programme and MACPT, we are recruiting to permanent and fixed term Senior Lead Child Protection Practitioner positions.

About the job:

The Senior Lead Child Protection Practitioner role will lead alongside the multi-agency network around a family to ensure child protection practice is of the highest standard and supported by the right expertise, careful, rigorous thinking, care and respect. You will work alongside allocated social workers and other professionals to undertake Child Protection Enquiries and oversee Child Protection Plans. You will directly line manage a small group of Lead Child Protection Practitioners, work directly with our partners in the Multi Agency Child Protection Team, support the delivery of training across the partnership and lead initiatives to oversee child protection plans ensuring that children’s plans progress and risk reduces. As a Senior Lead Child Protection Practitioner you will use your experience and expertise across the service to ensure decisions are made for children at risk of significant harm in a timely and robust way, utilising your multi agency network.

About you

Your background will include extensive post qualifying social work experience within a local authority or equivalent. You will have experience as a practice supervisor, team manager or child protection chair. You will utilise your practice knowledge and experience to influence the direction of child protection right across Walsall.

Our Offer:

To provide the right conditions for you, we are committed to manageable workloads, high support from managers, essential paperwork only, enabling technologies.

Within Walsall we offer a comprehensive training and development programme which contributed to our OUTSTANDING Ofsted grading in May 2025.

There is a comprehensive training offer for workers in Walsall. There is an impressive offer to workers in gaining a social work qualification and for newly qualified social workers developing their knowledge of frontline practice. The general training offer is wide ranging and gives workers the opportunity to learn incrementally about their role.

Wellbeing is at the heart of our work. We offer specialised clinical supervision, a 9-day fortnight to support work/life balance, flexible working and specialist employee assistance and therapeutic support when it is needed. We know we need to make social work a career people want to stay in.

Salary Scale £57,499 to £61,453 plus retention bonus once you have completed 2 years of service.

Closing Date:

21st September 2026

Interview Dates:

To be arranged

View:

Job Description and Employee Specification

This post is covered by the Government’s Code of Practice on the English Language Fluency Duty for public sector workers. The post holder will be required to communicate verbally with customers and provide advice and/or information in accurate spoken English.

Walsall Council takes seriously the responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all the children, young people and vulnerable adults entrusted to our care and it is our expectation that all staff will share this commitment. We will ensure continuous development and improvement of robust recruitment processes and procedures that promote a culture of safeguarding amongst our workforce. Completion of an enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check is a requirement for working with children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Note: Applicants appointed to posts that require an enhanced DBS clearance must declare any periods of time that they have lived, studied or worked abroad and be prepared to provide an Overseas Criminal Records Certificate (OCRC) or a Statement of Good Conduct (SOGC) relating to anytime they were overseas.

Important note:

When completing your online application form, you will be asked to enter supporting information. You must enter a detailed supporting information statement describing how your skills, abilities and experience meet the specific criteria included in the employee specification. If you do not include a supporting information statement, you will not be shortlisted. Please also ensure that you complete the work history and qualifications sections of your application form. Please do not add a CV as we do not accept them. Please see our Information for Applicants leaflet for further information.

We kindly request that recruitment agencies do not contact us regarding this job vacancy. We are not accepting agency applications or referrals at this time.

At Walsall Council, we appreciate that AI can be a useful tool for ideas or guidance. However, we encourage you to make sure your application reflects your own voice and experiences. Over-reliance on AI can make responses feel less personal, and we really want to understand what makes you unique. Your experiences, skills, and perspective are what set you apart, so please ensure your application as a whole - particularly your ‘Supporting Information’ - reflects your own voice.

Walsall Council’s Children’s Services are the only Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ local authority in the Black Country. During a visit in May 2025, Inspectors described Walsall Council as a place where children were at the heart of. The council’s journey of continuous improvement started in 2017 and has since transformed into a service with a clear vision, clear priorities and a clear plan, all informed by the views of our staff and children. Staff are at the core of delivering great outcomes for children and young people in Walsall, which is underpinned by our Walsall Right 4 Children vision. The latest Ofsted inspection demonstrated that staff in children’s services are proud to work for Walsall Council and feel supported to do great work.