Senior Practitioner - Referral and Assessment (Richmond)

Achieving for Children; Kingston; Hybrid; GBP 49,000 - 53,000; Full time

Job summary

A community interest company in Kingston is seeking a Senior Practitioner for Referral and Assessment to support children and their families. The ideal candidate will possess a relevant Social Work qualification and registration, contribute to case management, and strengthen family connections. This full-time role offers a competitive salary ranging from £49,056 to £52,194, along with various benefits including a welcome bonus, hybrid working options, and significant professional development opportunities.

Benefits

£3000 welcome bonus

29 days annual leave, increasing with service

Local government pension scheme

Hybrid working options

Professional development opportunities

Qualifications

• Effective communicator capable of working in a team or independently.
• Resilient worker with ownership of assigned cases.
• Knowledge of statutory and regulatory frameworks.
• Experience championing inclusion and making a positive difference.
• Ability to handle sensitive issues with a solution-focused mindset.

Responsibilities

• Support children and young people in protection investigations.
• Build strong relationships with families and partner agencies.
• Work on complex cases, including court work.
• Contribute to team management and supervise junior staff.
• Ensure children’s voices are captured in case recordings.
• Engage in reflective and group supervision.

Skills

Effective communication

Resilience

Knowledge of statutory and regulatory framework

Championing inclusion and diversity

Solution-focused approach

Education

Relevant Social Work qualification

Completion of ASYE

Active Social Work England registration

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 (Richmond)

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 bonus plus a £3000 annual market supplement for this role!

About Our Benefits

We are focused on creating a positive, supportive environment, where you will have access to a wide range of resources, as well as a competitive salary and the technology and equipment to enable hybrid working.

At AfC you will also have access to…

• a welcome payment and retention bonus for selected roles
• access to free parking at your main place of work
• 29 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days after 2 years and 35 days after four years with bank holidays in addition
• local government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension)
• hybrid working, enabling you to work from home, office or the community, with access to the technology and equipment to support you
• working with a wide range of families from diverse backgrounds with different presenting issues
• travel assistance package for business use, including car and cycle mileage reimbursement, annual season ticket loan or business Oyster cards
• a minimum of 12 protected Development Days each year for all staff
• support and recognition from a stable senior leadership team with an open door culture
• managers who recognise complexity of cases and load, value hard work, provide reassurance, build confidence and facilitate career development and progression opportunities
• a huge range of additional professional development opportunities as part of our regional Social Work Teaching Partnership.

About you

• an effective communicator
• resilient worker, able to work effectively in a team or on your own, taking ownership and responsibility for the cases you are assigned
• confident and competent with relevant statutory and regulatory framework and have knowledge of an appropriate range of professional interventions
• evidence of championing inclusion and diversity whilst making a positive difference to the lives of children and young people
• solution focused person with the ability to deal with sensitive issues.

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 £49,056 (SCP35) Salary to £52,194 (SCP38) Hours 36 Estimated Interview date / s TBC Closing Date 31 / 12 / 2025 Ref No 2202 Documents

About the role

• Supporting children and young people by undertaking child protection investigations alongside safety and contingency planning
• Building strong and respectful working relationships with families, their support network and our partner agencies
• Work on cases with increased complexity, including court work and pre-proceedings experience
• Contribute to team management, deputising for the team leaders and potentially supervising work of an ASYE or students
• Ensuring that children and young people are actively involved in our work and their voice is captured in our case recording
• Actively taking part in reflective supervision and group supervision

Qualifications

• Relevant Social Work qualification
• Completion of ASYE
• Active Social Work England registration

Important Information

Start dates : Achieving for Children have meaningful 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).

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.