Job at a glance
An exciting permanent opportunity has arisen within the Fostering Service for a Senior Practitioner to join one of our three dedicated Kinship Assessment Teams . We are a passionate and committed social work service, led by experienced leaders who are dedicated to supporting, advising and guiding prospective kinship carers throughout the assessment process. Our work is central to the Trust's commitment to ensuring children can remain within their family networks wherever it is safe and appropriate to do so, helping them achieve the best possible outcomes throughout their childhood.
The service delivers a high-quality, robust and fast-paced assessment service, including Regulation 24 viability assessments, Form K Kinship Fostering Assessments and Special Guardianship Order (SGO) Assessments . We pride ourselves on providing thorough, evidence-based assessments that support timely decision-making and positive outcomes for children and families. As a Senior Practitioner, you will bring significant experience of kinship assessment work and court proceedings.
You will play a key role in supporting and developing a skilled team of Senior Social Workers, helping to drive service excellence and continuous improvement. You will provide professional guidance, reflective supervision and practice leadership, fostering a culture of learning, development and high-quality social work practice. Working within a supportive and experienced team, you will lead on embedding and enhancing best practice across the service.
You will provide expert advice and consultation to colleagues across the Trust on kinship assessments and permanency planning. In addition, you will quality assure kinship assessments and support plans, ensuring they are robust, child-centred, evidence-based and completed within required timescales. Through your leadership and oversight, you will help ensure that assessments and plans are effective in promoting children's welfare, securing permanence and keeping children safe.
This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced practitioner who is passionate about kinship care and making a lasting difference to the lives of children and families. We have been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted, following a 2023 inspection. This is a fantastic achievement for Birmingham Children's Trust, with many positive highlights focusing on areas including the quality of staff leadership, partnership working, safeguarding and corporate parenting.
This is a hybrid role based in Birmingham so you must reside within a suitable commutable distance around Birmingham and have the correct right-to-work documents to work in the UK. Sadly, we do not support those who require sponsorship. About you The ideal candidate will: Be a qualified Social Worker and registered with Social Work England (SWE) Have a minimum of 3 years’ post-qualified experience (PQE) Demonstrate the ability to supervise, support, and mentor others in developing their practice Provide guidance and leadership in social work practice Show flexibility, enthusiasm, and a strong commitment to collaborative working Have proven experience working effectively with multidisciplinary teams, including statutory and voluntary agencies Possess a solid understanding of relevant legislation, enabling confident analysis and effective intervention Exhibit excellent organisational and time management skills Communicate clearly and effectively, including experience using communication aids Take a compassionate, patient, and person-centred approach to delivering high-quality care Work collaboratively with colleagues, professionals, and a wide range of stakeholders Our offer to you You will receive a retention payment of up to £5,000 (terms and conditions apply).
A generous annual leave package of 30 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days after 5 years of service and 35 days after 10 years of service. Salary Sacrifice Car Scheme which gives you the chan