Senior Practitioner – Emergency Duty Team (EDT)

Location: London Borough of Croydon
Rate: On call rate - £37.57 + Enhanced rate for weekends and call outs. 
Contract: Locum, Shift-Based
Working Arrangement: Onsite or within 30 minutes’ reach of Croydon
Start Date: ASAP

Croydon are looking for seasoned Children’s Social Workers to join their Emergency Duty Team on a shift-based locum contract. This is an out-of-hours service operating through a triage call centre model — cases are screened first, then distributed to EDT workers for response.
You’ll need to be confident working independently, making quick decisions, and handling high-risk situations without immediate management oversight. Support will be available via senior on-call managers, especially on weekend and overnight shifts.

Shift Pattern:
Day Shifts: 9am–9pm (Saturdays, Sundays & Bank Holidays)
Night Shifts: 9pm–9am (Weekdays & Weekends)
You must be within 30 minutes of Croydon – this is essential.

Your Role:

• Respond to urgent child protection and welfare concerns outside of core hours
• Undertake statutory assessments under s17/s47
• Coordinate emergency interventions with police, health and housing services
• Make decisions on placements, safety planning, and legal thresholds in real time
• Record and report case actions clearly for handover to daytime teams

What they’re looking for:

• Qualified Social Worker with SWE registration
• 10+ years’ frontline experience (Senior Practitioner level)
• Previous experience working in an EDT or high-risk assessment setting
• Strong knowledge of legislation, thresholds, and emergency response protocols

Interested and available for EDT work? Let’s have a confidential chat.

Maddie Billingham

M: 07561 805654
L: 01635 226350
E: mbillingham@sheldon-phillips.com

Referral bonus: Know someone suitable? £500 to you when we place them.