Senior Practitioner - Childrens Case Holding Team

Schools’ Choice; Coventry; On-site; GBP 45,460 - 48,216; Full time

Job summary

Coventry City Council is seeking an experienced Team Advanced Practitioner to join its West Social Worker Case Holding Team. This frontline role supports vulnerable children and families, with direct caseholding responsibility for complex statutory cases. Hybrid working and a busy duty rota are expected.

You will be responsible for assessments, planning and safeguarding planning, including care proceedings when required, with a focus on timely, high-quality outcomes for children.

Qualifications

• Social Worker eligible and registered with Social Work England.
• Proven ability to carry out complex assessments and court work.
• Experience with safeguarding planning and child protection.
• Strong analytical, decision-making and reporting skills.
• Ability to manage high caseloads in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Holding and managing complex children’s social care cases.
• Completing assessments, plans and statutory visits.
• Working with Children in Need and Child Protection cases.
• Supporting Looked After Children and Section 20 cases.
• Leading work with families in pre-proceedings and care proceedings.
• Producing high-quality assessments, reports and court documentation.
• Collaborating with partner agencies to achieve best outcomes.

Skills

Assessment

Analytical thinking

Decision making

Caseload management

Team leadership

Education

Social Work qualification

Job description

About the Role

Coventry City Council is seeking an experienced Team Advanced Practitioner to join its West Social Worker Case Holding Team. This is an exciting opportunity for a highly skilled Children's Social Worker to work within a busy frontline service supporting vulnerable children, young people and families.

Rate: £33.30 per hour (Umbrella)

As a Team Advanced Practitioner, you will work within a case holding team managing and supporting a range of statutory children's social care cases. The role involves working directly with children and families where significant support, intervention and safeguarding planning is required.

The team works with:

• Children in Need
• Children subject to Child Protection Plans
• Looked After Children
• Children accommodated under Section 20
• Families in the pre-proceedings process
• Cases where care proceedings are being initiated

You will play a key role in ensuring children receive timely and effective support, protection and permanence planning while promoting positive outcomes and family stability wherever possible.

Key Responsibilities

• Holding and managing complex children's social care cases
• Completing assessments, plans and statutory visits
• Working with Children in Need and Child Protection cases
• Supporting and safeguarding Looked After Children
• Managing Section 20 accommodated children
• Leading work with families in pre-proceedings
• Initiating and supporting care proceedings when required
• Producing high-quality assessments, reports and court documentation
• Working collaboratively with partner agencies to achieve the best outcomes for children and families
• Providing practice leadership and support within the team

Requirements

• Social Work England registration
• A recognised Social Work qualification
• Significant post-qualified experience within Children's Services
• Strong experience of child protection, court work and care planning
• Experience working with Looked After Children and Section 20 cases
• Excellent assessment, analytical and decision-making skills
• The ability to manage complex caseloads and work effectively in a fast-paced environment
• A commitment to delivering high-quality, child-centred practice

Working Arrangements

This role operates on a duty rota basis, with office attendance expectations as follows:

• Non-duty weeks (4 weeks out of 5): Minimum of 3 days per week office-based
• Duty week (1 week out of 5): Office-based every day

This hybrid arrangement supports effective service delivery, team collaboration and management oversight.

Why Join Coventry City Council?

Coventry City Council is committed to delivering outstanding services for children and families and offers a supportive environment where social workers can thrive and develop their careers.

This is an excellent opportunity to join a dedicated and experienced team making a real difference to the lives of children and young people across Coventry.

If you are an experienced Children's Social Worker looking to take the next step into an Advanced Practitioner role, we would love to hear from you.