Flying Start Team Leader – Early Intervention and Prevention (SWQ)

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Contract: Fixed Term until 31 March 2027 (likely extension)

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Flying Start Team Leader – Early Intervention and Prevention within Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council.

This is a new and pivotal leadership post, responsible for driving forward the Early Intervention and Prevention (EI&P) agenda within the Flying Start programme. The postholder will lead the delivery and ongoing development of a whole-family, proportionate universal model, ensuring that all children aged 0–4 and their families receive the right support at the right time to stop needs escalating

The role will play a key part in improving outcomes in school readiness, child development, and family resilience, while contributing to the Council’s wider corporate ambitions around prevention and reducing the impact of poverty.

About Flying Start

Flying Start is the Welsh Government’s flagship early years programme, supporting children aged 0–4 and their families in areas of disadvantage.

In Blaenau Gwent, Flying Start has evolved into a progressive, whole-system model, integrating:

• Antenatal Support
• Enhanced Health Visiting
• Parent Infant Mental Health Support
• Early Years Nutrition Guidance
• Parenting support
• Speech, Language and Communication development
• High-quality childcare
• Whole-family support through Family Support Workers and Dads Support Workers
• Voluntary and Community Support

Our Blaenau Gwent CBC model is built on proportionate universalism, ensuring universal access alongside targeted and intensive support based on need, starting from the antenatal stage through to school entry.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Lead on the development and delivery of Early Intervention and Prevention within Flying Start
• Drive implementation of a proportionate universal service model across the programme
• Contribute to the Council’s Corporate Plan, the Education Improvement Strategy, The Safer Reduction of Children Looked After and the Mission 1 “Building Brighter Futures” agenda

Operational Management

• Manage and support a cluster team of Family Support Workers and other practitioners
• Ensure high-quality, consistent service delivery across all Flying Start hubs
• Oversee caseload management to ensure equitable and effective support

Partnership Working

• Develop and maintain strong partnerships with Health, Education, Childcare and Families First services
• Promote integrated working across the 0–5 system

Performance and Impact

• Lead on performance management, ensuring services are data-driven, outcome-focused and inspection-ready
• Manage the interventions for the most vulnerable children including auditing current practice.
• Monitor impact on school readiness, child development outcomes, and family resilience

Safeguarding and Quality Assurance

• Ensure safeguarding is embedded in all practice
• Promote high standards of professional practice and continuous improvement
• Prepare services for inspection (e.g. CIW, Estyn)
• Provide reflective supervision for all FS staff

Service Development

• Lead innovation including school readiness pathways and antenatal-to-5 models
• Strengthen early identification and support for additional needs

Essential Criteria

• Degree level qualification in Social Work (SWQ)
• Professional registration
• Significant experience in early years or family support
• Experience managing teams
• Strong strategic leadership capability
• Experience of multi-agency working
• Knowledge of safeguarding, child development, and Welsh Government policy

Desirable Criteria

• Experience within Flying Start
• Experience of service transformation
• Knowledge of performance frameworks
• Inspection readiness experience

Safeguarding

Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. This post is subject to an Enhanced DBS check and robust pre-employment screening.