Senior Practitioner – Family Safeguarding – Stoke-on-Trent City Council

Job Description

Advanced Social Worker – Family Safeguarding Team – Stoke-on-Trent City Council

Join one of the UK’s friendliest cities and make a real difference! Stoke-on-Trent City Council is recruiting an Advanced Social Worker to join our Family Safeguarding Team. This role focuses on safeguarding children while supporting family-led solutions and contributing to the professional development of colleagues.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage a complex caseload of families subject to Child in Need, Child Protection, and Care Proceedings.
• Support the team manager with peer mentoring, supervision of less experienced colleagues, and championing good practice.
• Work collaboratively with multi-agency professionals to safeguard children and reduce risk in families.
• Develop strengths-based, family-focused plans that deliver long-term positive change.
• Ensure practice is compliant with statutory duties and aligned with Family Safeguarding principles.

Essential Requirements:

• Qualified Social Worker (QSW) registered with Social Work England.
• Minimum 3 years’ post-ASYE experience with a focus on safeguarding and complex family work.
• Previous experience in contributing to practice development or supervising peers is desirable.
• Sound knowledge of safeguarding legislation, court proceedings, and multi-agency working.

Why Join Stoke-on-Trent City Council?

• A locality-based model = minimal travel across a small geographical patch.
• Free parking across city-wide locations.
• Become a practice ‘champion’ with opportunities to specialise and support service improvement.
• Benefit from newly funded Family Hubs supporting early help, parenting programmes, and community initiatives.
• Regular supervision, team learning sessions, peer reviews, and a collaborative team culture.
• Hybrid working available (minimum 3 office-based days per week).

Ardent Social is an equal opportunities employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all candidates. We welcome applications from all backgrounds, regardless of race, gender, disability, age, religion, or sexual orientation.