Senior Practitioner, Children in Care | Lead & Mentor Team in Colchester

Essex County Council understand how important flexibility and wellbeing is for our colleagues working across children's Social Care and that we need to think differently. We have therefore developed a nine‑day working fortnight for full‑time frontline Social Workers within Children's services.

We are a friendly, supportive, and hard‑working team where we always hold children at the centre of what we do. We have created an open, reflective and learning culture where social workers feel enabled and supported to raise issues, consider different perspectives, challenge authority, and try out different approaches in a safe and non‑blaming environment. Good quality reflective supervision is provided to all social workers and senior practitioners.

The Children in Care (CIC) teams work with children and young people up to the age of 18 who are in care – they are unable to live at home and are either placed with a foster carer or live in residential homes. They work with children and young people to ensure their experiences in care are a good one and that the work undertaken prepares them for their transition into leaving care or returning home to family. The CIC teams receive cases in proceedings after the first hearing, visit children and young people in placement, develop permanency plans which include Special Guardianship Order (SGO) and adoption, undertake life‑story work to enable a child to understand the reasons for being in care, and support children to return home to birth family.

As a Senior Practitioner you will provide leadership in the team, providing both support and mentoring to newly qualified or less experienced staff, facilitating reflective group supervision, overseeing the team’s duty service, deputising for the Team Manager when needed and having responsibility to lead in a practice area. This position sits at the heart of a stable, experienced team where relational and systemic practice is genuinely embedded. You will work closely with children and young people in care, building consistent, trusting relationships that prioritise permanence, identity, and long‑term outcomes.

What makes this role stand out is the balance between hands‑on practice and leadership influence:

• Hold a manageable, purposeful caseload that enables high‑quality direct work with children in care.
• Provide practice leadership, mentoring, and modelling for less experienced social workers, including Newly Qualified Social Workers (ASYE).
• Have real input into decision‑making, care planning, and permanence planning, shaping better outcomes at both an individual and service level.

About You:

• A recognised social work qualification i.e. Diploma, degree or master’s in social work, CQSW, CSS or equivalent, with current registration with Social Work England as a registered social worker.
• Evidence of continuing professional development, aligned to any relevant Professional Competency/Capability frameworks or Knowledge and Skills Statements.
• Significant experience of social work, demonstrating a comprehensive and up‑to‑date understanding of all relevant legislation, regulation and guidance.
• Experience of mentoring both Social Work students and newly qualified and experienced Social Work staff, being a subject matter expert in professional social work practice.
• Experience of chairing meetings involving clients, family members and/or carers and other multi‑agency professionals.
• Developing strong relationships with partners, other agencies and the local community to achieve joint objectives and offer a supportive framework for children, young people and families.
• In‑depth understanding of delivery of value for money interventions balanced against need.
• Proven track record of clear decision making in order to highlight and limit the potential risks associated with intervention.
• Extensive experience of report writing, court attendance and giving evidence.

The role requires you to be mobile throughout a wider operational area including travelling around the county of Essex and beyond, transporting service users and their belongings and to be able to do so in an emergency. Driving licence and car or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means is essential.

Once you have secured your role, you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We are committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the role. We also interview all veterans and care leavers who meet the minimum requirements of the role.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) you may be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service is an annual subscription and you will be responsible for ensuring it is maintained.