Senior Practitioner - Referral and Assessment (Kingston)

Achieving for Children; Kingston upon Thames; On-site; GBP 47,000 - 51,000; Full time

Job summary

Achieving for Children is seeking a Senior Practitioner for its Referral and Assessment Team in Kingston. The ideal candidate will provide social work support, mentor peers, and engage with families in crisis, contributing to the outstanding services recognized in their latest Ofsted inspection.

Benefits

29 days annual leave plus additional days after 2 and 4 years

Local Government pension scheme

Flexible working options

Qualifications

• Degree level social work qualification required.
• Experience of child protection investigation essential.
• Proven ability to mentor others in a professional setting.

Responsibilities

• Conduct child protective investigations and develop safety plans.
• Mentor and support peers while overseeing case plans.
• Engage directly with families in crisis to assess needs.

Skills

Communication

Analytical skills

Education

Degree in Social Work

Postgraduate qualification in social work or leadership and management

Job description

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Senior Practitioner - Referral and Assessment (Kingston), Kingston upon Thames

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Client:

Achieving for Children

Location:

Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom

Job Category:

Other

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EU work permit required:

Yes

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Job Reference:

23f8d7a3865d

Job Views:

5

Posted:

29.06.2025

Expiry Date:

13.08.2025

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Job Description:

Job Information

Achieving for Children is a Community Interest Company that has a public sector ethos, combined with the freedom to innovate enabling us to do things differently. As a not-for-profit social enterprise owned by three local authorities (Windsor & Maidenhead, Kingston and Richmond), we offer the freedoms of a social enterprise with the employment benefits of local government. To find out more about us.

Senior Practitioner - Referral and Assessment (Kingston)

We’re celebrating an OUTSTANDING achievement across all areas in our latest Ofsted inspection () and now, we’re looking for social workers to help build on this success.

If you’re passionate, driven, and ready to be part of something exceptional, now is the time. Come and grow with a team that’s setting the standard for excellence!

We are offering a £3000 welcome bonusplusa £3000 annual market supplement for this role!

The Referral and Assessment Team sits within Children's Social Care’s Identification and Assessmentdivision. We focus upon our initialinvolvement through new referrals, child in need, child protection and initial court proceedings. Thisincludes: Strategy discussions, Initial Child Protection Conferences; Child In Need Planning and takingcourt actions by way of Emergency Protective Orders if required. The team works directly with families intheir time of crisis which helps to prevent escalation of concerns.

Operational area Kingston and Richmond Primary place of work Civic Offices, 44 York Street, TW1 Appointment type Permanent Business area Children's Social Care Full time/Part time Full-time Salary from £47,532 (SCP35) Salary to £50,574 (SCP38) Hours 36 Estimated Interview date/s TBC Closing Date 06/07/2025 Ref No 2050 Documents

Job Information

Achieving for Children is a Community Interest Company that has a public sector ethos, combined with the freedom to innovate enabling us to do things differently. As a not-for-profit social enterprise owned by three local authorities (Windsor & Maidenhead, Kingston and Richmond), we offer the freedoms of a social enterprise with the employment benefits of local government. To find out more about us.

Senior Practitioner - Referral and Assessment (Kingston)

We’re celebrating an OUTSTANDING achievement across all areas in our latest Ofsted inspection () and now, we’re looking for social workers to help build on this success.

If you’re passionate, driven, and ready to be part of something exceptional, now is the time. Come and grow with a team that’s setting the standard for excellence!

We are offering a £3000 welcome bonusplusa £3000 annual market supplement for this role!

The Referral and Assessment Team sits within Children's Social Care’s Identification and Assessmentdivision. We focus upon our initialinvolvement through new referrals, child in need, child protection and initial court proceedings. Thisincludes: Strategy discussions, Initial Child Protection Conferences; Child In Need Planning and takingcourt actions by way of Emergency Protective Orders if required. The team works directly with families intheir time of crisis which helps to prevent escalation of concerns.

Operational area Kingston and Richmond Primary place of work Civic Offices, 44 York Street, TW1 Appointment type Permanent Business area Children's Social Care Full time/Part time Full-time Salary from £47,532 (SCP35) Salary to £50,574 (SCP38) Hours 36 Estimated Interview date/s TBC Closing Date 06/07/2025 Ref No 2050 Documents

(PDF, 582.98kb)

About the role

As a Senior Practitioner within the Referral and Assessment Team, you will have proven and extensiveexperience encompassing two main areas - the support and development of peers within the team andthe skills and knowledge in working with families.

Team based experience will include: support and mentoring of others using supervisory experience andsupporting Students, ASYE and placement experience such as Practice Educator; Facilitating and runningpeer group supervision sessions and developmental opportunities; Commitment to embracing anddeveloping learning, with use of theory and research. Experience in working with children and familieswill include: confidence in undertaking child protective investigations, alongside safety and contingencyplanning; court work and pre-proceedings experience including report writing, statements and careplanning; child focussed direct work that role models creativity and purposefulness; experience inworking with children throughout a journey of statutory services, including becoming ‘looked after’; andhaving the confidence in chairing complex meetings.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Shontelle Harries (Head of Service) via email:

About you

Educated to a degree level with a relevant professional qualification in social work (CSS/CQSW orDipSw, MA SW, BA Hons SW) and Social Work England Registered.

Postgraduate qualification in a relevant field i.e. social work, leadership and management.

Experience of building strong partnerships, maintaining relationships and co-producing solutionsto challenges across a diverse set of stakeholders, including children, young people and theirfamilies. Advocating the voices of those we are working with.

Proven ability to effectively use research, data, intelligence and evidence to create meaningfulinsight and to inform own decision making.

Experience of keeping and maintaining records (in accordance with local policy) and producingaccurate reports, presentations, written updates to a range of stakeholders (which will includefamilies, children or young people).

Knowledge of statutory legislation and national policy drivers that will affect children’s servicesand your role.

Strong analytical, and planning skills for assessing, and reviewing children and young people’sneeds, and planning packages of care across a range of cases, able to explain professionalreasoning judgements, and decision making.

About our benefits

We are focused on creating a positive supportive environment, where you will have access to a really wide range of resources, as well as a competitive salary and all the perks to enable hybrid working. In AfC you will also have access to:

29 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days after 2 years and 35 days after 4 years with an additional day off in your birthday month (Or for term-time workers, your leave entitlement consists of the non-working periods in your contract)

Tailored induction sessions commencing on the date you start working for AfC

Local Government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension)

Flexible working options - helping to keep a good work life balance

A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme

A range of staff benefits and discounts

An excellent learning and development offer to support your career pathway

To find out about all of the breadth of benefits of working for Achieving for Children . For our social work offer . For our Recruitment Journey,

Important Information

Start dates: Achieving for Children have meaning successful candidates join on a set date in each month.Candidates are advised to prepare for this should a job offer be accepted to ensure eligible continuous service is not affected.

Right to work: The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the for right to work guidance.

Equality: We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams.Achieving for Children are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

Safeguarding: We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

For more information about AfC:Drop in and meet Regina on the first Wednesday of every month at Civic Centre, Twickenham.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.