Lead Child Protection Practitioner

About Us

North Somerset Council is committed to providing high-quality services to our community. We are committed to creating a fair, green, and more inclusive environment for all our residents. Join us and contribute to making a positive impact on our community.

The Role

We are seeking four dedicated Lead Child Protection Practitioners to join our Multi Agency Child Protection Team. Be at the forefront of safeguarding innovation and shape the future of child protection practice in North Somerset through our newly established Lead Child Protection Practitioner roles.

About Us

At North Somerset Council, we are ambitious for children and families. We are committed to ensuring every child grows up safe, cared for and able to thrive within their family and community.

As part of our ambitious plan for transformation and preparation for the implementation of Family Help reforms, we are investing in our frontline safeguarding arrangements through the creation of four Lead Child Protection Practitioner posts. These exciting new roles will strengthen system leadership, quality assurance and practice excellence across our child protection system, helping us deliver consistently high-quality, child-centred interventions.

Our practice model, Building Connections, places relationships at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to strengths-based, trauma-informed and family-led practice that creates sustainable change for children.

The Role

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced and highly skilled social work practitioner to take a leading role in strengthening child protection practice and knowledge across North Somerset.

The Lead Child Protection Practitioner will provide expert oversight, challenge and support across child protection processes, ensuring that children experiencing harm or at risk of significant harm, receive timely, effective and coordinated interventions. Working alongside Team Managers and multi-agency partners, you will drive and deliver excellent practice, be responsible for decision making and drive quality improvement in Family Support and social work practice.

You will play a key role in embedding Family Help reforms, strengthening multi-agency working and ensuring plans are focused on creating meaningful and lasting change for children and their families.

This role combines direct practice leadership with strategic influence and offers an excellent opportunity for experienced practitioners looking to develop specialist expertise while remaining closely connected to frontline practice.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead on decision making and chair safeguarding Strategy discussions for North Somerset.
• Provide oversight of Section 47 enquires in North Somerset and decision-making regarding child protection planning
• Lead and champion family-led planning approaches, ensuring children and families are actively involved in assessment, decision-making and support planning, with interventions that build on strengths, utilise family networks and deliver sustainable improvements in children's safety and wellbeing.
• Provide expert advice, consultation and challenge on complex child protection.
• Chair Child Protection conferences and drive the quality and effectiveness of child protection planning and review processes.
• Promote high-quality assessments, analysis and planning that reflect children's lived experiences.
• Strengthen multi-agency collaboration across safeguarding partnerships.
• Lead learning from audits, reviews, complaints and safeguarding practice findings.
• Coach and mentor social workers to develop practice excellence.
• Support consistency and quality across conferences, strategy discussions and child protection pathways.
• Contribute to service development, performance improvement and implementation of Family First reforms.
• Champion relational, restorative and trauma-informed practice.

About You

We are looking for a passionate and experienced social worker who is committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for children and families.

Essential Criteria

• Hold a recognised social work qualification.
• Be registered with Social Work England.
• Have significant experience of working with children and families within safeguarding services.
• Demonstrate expertise in child protection practice, assessment and planning.
• Have experience of complex decision making and working within multi-agency safeguarding environments.
• Be able to provide constructive challenge and professional leadership in a supervisory capacity.
• Have excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrate experience and competence at working as part of a multi agency group
• Demonstrate a strong understanding of trauma-informed and relationship-based practice.
• Be committed to delivering family-led interventions that build on strengths and improve outcomes and drive creative planning to keep children with their families where safe.

Desirable Criteria

• Practice Educator qualification or equivalent.
• Experience of quality assurance, audit activity or practice development work.
• Knowledge of national child protection reforms and Family Help developments.
• Knowledge of Safeguarding children partnership function
• Experience of coaching and mentoring practitioners.

What We Offer

At North Somerset Council, we value our employees and provide a supportive and inclusive working environment. We offer:

• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Local Government Pension Scheme.
• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements.
• Significant opportunities for learning, development and career progression.
• Opportunities to influence and shape safeguarding practice across the organisation.
• Inclusive Staff groups including Carers, Disabled, LGBTQ+, REACH (Race, Ethnicity, and Cultural Heritage), and Young Staff Forums
• Opportunity to purchase up to an additional 10 days annual leave each year
• Dedicated in house Wellbeing Team
• Salary sacrifice Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle schemes

Why Join Us?

This is a unique opportunity to help shape the future of safeguarding practice in North Somerset at a time of significant national reform.

You will join a service that is ambitious for children, committed to continuous improvement and focused on creating excellent outcomes through strong relationships, professional curiosity and high-quality social work practice.

If you are passionate about safeguarding children, supporting practitioners and driving practice excellence, we would love to hear from you.

This position is exempt under the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions) Order 1975 and is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check.

Valid driving licence and own transport, or be able to provide alternative, suitable method of travel is an essential condition for this role.

Work Style

At North Somerset Council, we offer a hybrid working environment based on four distinct work styles. Depending on the role and personal circumstances, you will fall into one of these categories. However, please note that during the induction period, it may be necessary to spend more time in the office to support your learning and development. We are flexible and open to discussions about your preferred working style, and if you wish to be in the office more frequently, this can be negotiated.

This role falls into the category of Flexible Worker which means you can expect to work in the following way:

• 2-3 days in the office
• Works both from home and the office, depending on the task at hand.

Training is provided to help balance work-life and manage time effectively, with an emphasis on communication for team touchpoints and planning in-office days for collaboration

Further details of our excellent rewards package can be found in our Benefits booklet.

How to Apply

If you share our vision and valuesand are ready to make an impact to North Somerset, please select the apply online button below. If you are interested in this exciting opportunity, please submit your application by 11.59pm on the application closing date. When completing our online application form, please detail how you meet the essential criteria for the role.

Contact Information

For further information about the role, please contact Shelley Caldwell, Head of Front Door – shelley.caldwell@n-somerset.gov.uk (07824 085762).

Important Information

As a Disability Confident Leader, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job role.

Interview Date: 3rd and 4th November 2026.

Please note: We are currently only able to accept applications from candidates who have full permission to work in the UK and are unable to provide Sponsorship for this role.

Equal Opportunities

At North Somerset Council we want all our employees to feel valued and appreciated. We aim to ensure equality of opportunity and prevent discrimination irrespective of your sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion or belief, race, age, disability, including neurodiversity, if you are married or in a civil partnership or are pregnant or currently on maternity leave. We strive to create a workplace that reflects the communities we serve and where everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We reserve the right to close this advertisement early or extend the closing date depending on the number of applications received.