Advanced Practitioner

Advanced Practitioner | Children in Care Team | Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council | £41.00 per hour

Position: Advanced Practitioner
Team: Children in Care Team
Contract: Agency
Hours: 37 hours per week
Pay Rate: £41.00 per hour
Location: Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
Start Date: ASAP
Working Pattern: Full Time | Hybrid Working

Sheldon Phillips are working in partnership with Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council to recruit an experienced Advanced Practitioner to join their Children in Care Team. This is an excellent opportunity for a highly skilled social worker looking to take on a leadership role while continuing to work directly with children and young people in care. You will support the Team Manager by providing practice leadership, mentoring less experienced colleagues, and ensuring high-quality interventions that improve outcomes for children.

The Children in Care Team works with children and young people who are subject to Care Orders or accommodated under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989. The team is committed to achieving permanence, promoting stability, and ensuring every child has the opportunity to thrive through effective care planning and relationship-based practice.

Role Overview

As an Advanced Practitioner, you will hold a complex caseload while providing day-to-day guidance and professional support to colleagues within the team. You will be expected to model outstanding social work practice, contribute to service development, oversee complex casework, and ensure statutory responsibilities are fulfilled to a high standard.

Working closely with partner agencies, carers, families, education providers and health professionals, you will play a key role in promoting permanence, reducing drift and delay, and ensuring children achieve the best possible outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage a complex caseload of children in care, ensuring all statutory duties are completed within required timescales.
• Develop high-quality care plans focused on permanence, stability and positive outcomes.
• Complete statutory visits, direct work with children and young people, and maintain purposeful relationships.
• Chair and contribute to professional meetings where appropriate.
• Support children through care planning, pathway planning and transition to independence where applicable.
• Undertake comprehensive assessments and produce high-quality reports for court, reviews and planning meetings.
• Work closely with foster carers, residential providers, independent reviewing officers and partner agencies.
• Provide mentoring, coaching and informal supervision to less experienced social workers.
• Support the Team Manager with quality assurance, practice development and case audits.
• Assist with the induction and development of newly qualified and less experienced staff.
• Promote reflective practice and ensure legislation, policies and safeguarding procedures are consistently applied.
• Maintain accurate and timely case recordings using the council's electronic case management system.
• Contribute to service improvement initiatives and embed best practice across the team.

Benefits

• Competitive agency rate of £41.00 per hour.
• Hybrid and flexible working arrangements.
• Opportunity to undertake an Advanced Practitioner leadership role while maintaining direct practice.
• Supportive management team with regular supervision.
• Stable and experienced Children in Care Service.
• Opportunity to mentor and develop other social workers.
• Excellent administrative and multi-agency support.
• Immediate start available.

Requirements

To be considered for this role you will need:

• Social Work England registration.
• Recognised Social Work qualification (Degree, DipSW, CQSW or equivalent).
• Significant post-qualified experience within Children's Services.
• Strong experience working within Children in Care services.
• Previous experience managing complex safeguarding and permanence cases.
• Excellent knowledge of the Children Act 1989, Care Planning Regulations, Working Together to Safeguard Children and relevant legislation.
• Experience supporting, mentoring or supervising other social workers.
• Strong assessment, court report writing and analytical skills.
• Excellent communication and partnership working abilities.
• Full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle (where required).

Interested?

If you're an experienced Children's Social Worker ready to take the next step into an Advanced Practitioner position, we'd love to hear from you.

Emily Cooper
Recruitment Consultant | Sheldon Phillips
07745 200325 | ecooper@sheldon-phillips.com