Advanced Practitioner Children in Care

Advanced Practitioner G9 54267- 58461pa (plus 4k Market Supplement)

Service Area: Children in Care

As an Advanced Practitioner within the Children in Care Team you will play a vital role in delivering highquality statutory social work to children and young people who are looked after by the Local Authority. You will hold a reduced but complex caseload working with children where practice requires enhanced expertise professional oversight and skilled intervention. Your focus will be on ensuring that care planning is childcentred aspirational and outcomefocused and that childrens lived experiences remain central to all decisionmaking.

You will provide practice leadership within the team supporting and developing social workers to deliver consistently strong relationshipbased and strengthsfocused practice. This will include offering professional consultation modelling highquality direct work with children and young people supporting reflective supervision and contributing to the development of confident and skilled practitioners. You will play a key role in embedding high standards of permanence planning lifestory work and preparation for independence.

The role includes oversight and quality assurance at critical points in a childs journey including Looked After Reviews care planning permanence planning and pathway planning for careexperienced young people. You will support robust assessment planning and review processes ensuring that statutory responsibilities are met and that plans are purposeful timely and responsive to childrens needs.

You will work closely with children carers and families as well as a wide range of multiagency partners including health education commissioning and independent reviewing services to ensure coordinated and effective care arrangements. You will also contribute to service development through audit activity learning reviews and reflective practice forums helping to drive continuous improvement across the Children in Care Service.

Havering offers a supportive and learningfocused environment with strong management support regular supervision and access to professional development through the Social Care Academy. This role provides an excellent opportunity for an experienced practitioner to influence practice strengthen outcomes for children in care and make a meaningful difference to the lives of careexperienced children and young people.

Key aims and objectives of the role include:

• Delivering highquality childcentred practice for children and young people in care
• Providing professional leadership and expert consultation to support and develop social workers
• Promoting high standards of care planning permanence planning and corporate parenting
• Supporting effective oversight quality assurance and defensible decisionmaking
• Contributing to service learning development and continuous improvement

This is a rewarding opportunity for a skilled and reflective practitioner who is passionate about improving outcomes for children in care and supporting excellence in social work practice.

About You

You will be an experienced confident and highly skilled social work practitioner with a strong commitment to improving outcomes for children and young people in care. You will bring advanced professional judgement a clear understanding of corporate parenting responsibilities and the ability to support highquality practice in complex and emotionally demanding situations.

You will be a qualified Social Worker holding a CQSW Diploma in Social Work or equivalent qualification and be registered with Social Work England. You will have substantial postqualifying experience within childrens social care including significant experience of working with Children in Care care planning permanence planning and care proceedings. You will demonstrate a strong understanding of attachment trauma and the impact of care experiences on childrens development and identity.

As an Advanced Practitioner you will have demonstrable experience of providing practice leadership supporting mentoring and developing social workers to deliver consistently strong relationshipbased and childcentred practice. You will be confident in offering professional consultation modelling highquality direct work with children and young people and contributing to reflective supervision learning and quality assurance activity.

You will have a strong working knowledge of relevant legislation statutory guidance and best practice including the Children Act 1989 Care Planning Regulations and statutory guidance relating to children in care. You will be skilled in care planning permanence planning and pathway planning ensuring that plans are timely aspirational and focused on achieving stability and longterm positive outcomes.

You will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills enabling you to work effectively with children young people carers and families and to build strong working relationships with multiagency partners including health education commissioning and independent reviewing services. You will be confident in contributing to Looked After Reviews court processes and other statutory forums ensuring that childrens voices wishes and lived experiences are clearly evidenced and central to decisionmaking.

Nonnegotiable qualities for this role include:

• A clear and unwavering commitment to children in care and corporate parenting responsibilities
• Advanced professional judgement and confidence in managing complexity and challenge
• Strong practice leadership skills with the ability to support challenge and develop others
• High standards of professional integrity accountability and reflective practice
• A valuesled inclusive approach aligned with Haverings commitment to learning development and workforce wellbeing

If you are a skilled reflective and motivated practitioner who is passionate about improving outcomes for children in care and supporting excellence in social work practice we would welcome your application.

Please view Job Profilehere

For an informal discussion about the post please contact

The closing date for the receipt of applications is 29/3/26 however interest in this job may be high and we therefore reserve the right to close the vacancy early.

You will be notified if your application has been successful. .Shortlisting date: w/c 30^th March and Interview date: w/c 6^th April

Should you require any help or advice with your online application please contact the Recruitment Helpdesk on

Additional Information

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The London Borough of Havering has important responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children young people and vulnerable adults. If you are appointed to a job that involves working with these groups you may be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

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