Upstream Practitioner: Youth Prevention (School-Based)

Centrepoint; Manchester; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 29,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid annual leave included in term‑sum

Healthcare cash plan

Private medical insurance

Income protection

Employer pension contributions 5%

Cycle to Work loan

Interest‑free travel loan

Job summary

Centrepoint, based in Manchester, seeks an Upstream Practitioner for a fixed-term, two-year contract in a school setting. This term-time role reports to the Senior Upstream Practitioner and focuses on early intervention to reduce youth homelessness, contributing to a quasi-experimental evaluation.

You will work with schools and families, perform holistic assessments, and help ensure consistent service delivery while supporting data collection for the evaluation.

Qualifications

• Experience supporting children and families in a support role.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to build trusted relationships with children, families and professionals.
• Strong skills in completing risk assessments and managing safeguarding concerns.
• Knowledge of local services and referral pathways.
• Ability to work independently within a school-based environment while collaborating with partner agencies.
• Interest in using data and evaluation to inform and improve practice, with a commitment to accurate recording and consistent service delivery.
• A relevant qualification in Family Mediation, Social Work or a related field is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Delivering a school-based early intervention programme aimed at preventing youth homelessness, ensuring a consistent approach that supports the wider evaluation.
• Administering the Upstream Survey to children aged 11–16 to help identify hidden risk factors.
• Managing and maintaining a caseload of children and families, carrying out holistic assessments to understand children’s wellbeing, relationships and home life, and working proactively with them and their families before issues escalated to crisis point.
• Working closely with schools, families and community services to support sustained positive outcomes.
• Collecting and recording high-quality data, monitoring outcomes and tracking progress to support the QED evaluation and continuous service improvement.

Skills

Experience with children and families

Excellent communication

Risk assessment & safeguarding

Knowledge of local services

Independent, school-based work

Data/evaluation interest

Desirable related qualification

Education

Family Mediation / Social Work related qualification (desirable)

Job description

Centrepoint, based in Manchester, seeks an Upstream Practitioner for a fixed-term, two-year contract in a school setting. This term-time role reports to the Senior Upstream Practitioner and focuses on early intervention to reduce youth homelessness, contributing to a quasi-experimental evaluation.

You will work with schools and families, perform holistic assessments, and help ensure consistent service delivery while supporting data collection for the evaluation.