Family Support Practitioner in Larne

Salary: £25,000 per annum. (From 1st April 2026 this will rise to £26,006.84 per annum).

Location: Larne Office – working across the Northern Trust area but primarily covering the Larne, Carrick and Newtownabbey areas.

Contract/Hours: Permanent, 37 hours per week (generally Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm but some flexibility may be required).

Benefits:

• 29 days annual leave PLUS bank holidays, with up to 5 additional days for continuous service and option to buy or sell leave.
• On call allowance.
• Gain professional qualifications and excellent training/development opportunities.
• Flexible maternity, adoption, and paternity packages.
• Pension with up to 7% employer contribution with included life assurance cover.
• Staff discounts and Blue Light Card eligibility with 15,000 national retailers discounts.

About Action for Children and Service:

Vulnerable children in the UK need your help. Wherever you work in the Action for Children family, you’ll be helping to change the lives of the most vulnerable children in the UK. Last year, we helped more than 687,000 children and families across the UK. From direct work in communities to national campaigning, we are focused on making sure every child has a safe and happy childhood, and the foundations they need to thrive.

Why Action for Children?

Working here is more than a job. Everyone in the Action for Children family is passionate about protecting and supporting children. It’s the sense of purpose that drives us every single day. Because we know that, when we work together, we can make a huge difference to bring lasting improvements to vulnerable children's lives.

About the Service:

Choices Family Support Service (CFSS) aims to support young people aged 10-17 years and their families to overcome and manage issues regarding low level mental health, family breakdown and emotional well-being. CFSS provides one-to-one support for young people, family work, and parental support. We aim to enable young people to make positive choices and express ambitions for the future.

As a Family Support Practitioner, you’ll be working with families experiencing complex challenges and will need to be creative in your approaches in engaging families who may be avoidant and resistant to your efforts. CFSS is an outreach service working in families' homes, schools or other community venues. The service works across the Northern Trust area however this role is primarily to cover the Larne, Carrick, and Newtownabbey areas. It can include some early evening work to suit working parents.

How You’ll Help To Create Brighter Futures:

• Supporting young people to overcome and better manage difficulties they are facing by assessing needs, agreeing to a service plan, conducting agreed work, and reviewing on a regular basis.
• Carrying out assessments and devising action plans to work towards achieving positive outcomes.
• Carrying out individual work with young people aged 10 to 17 and their parents/carers on an outreach basis.
• Updating and maintaining digital records.

Let’s Talk About You:

As a Family Support Practitioner, ideally you will have:

• Diploma in Health and Social Care Level 3 or above or equivalent/related health, counselling, or social care qualification.
• Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team providing services to families and children aged 10-17 years.
• Experience of working with various issues particularly low-level mental health issues (anxiety, self-harm, low mood) and low esteem etc.
• Good working knowledge of safeguarding and child protection procedures.
• Access to a car with Business Insurance cover.
• The job requires the ability to travel according to the needs of the job, with reasonable adjustments, if required, according to the Equality Act.
• Registration with NISCC or the willingness to register.

Contact and Application:

If, for any reason, you need support with your application, please contact quoting reference 12628. Closing Date: 17th February 2026. Interviews are scheduled for Thursday 26th February in Antrim face to face.

Additional Information:

Application Process: Please note we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role. There are five sections to complete: Personal Details, CV, Supporting Statement & Information, Equality & Diversity, Submission & Declaration.

Talent Pool: We know talent when we see it. But sometimes we find the right person but not for the right job. We’d love to keep your details for when the right job comes up. Let us know if you’d rather we didn’t.

To be eligible for this position you must complete an Access NI Enhanced Disclosure. Having a criminal record will not necessarily be a bar to obtaining a position. A copy of the Access NI Code of Practice can be found here. Policies on Recruitment of Ex-Offenders & Access NI Disclosure Handling Policy are also available on demand.

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion: At Action for Children, we’re dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace. We actively encourage applications from Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic and disabled candidates as they are under-represented within Action for Children. We want to take deliberate and purposeful action to ensure equal opportunity to all groups in society and for Action for Children. Male staff are under-represented within our Children Service roles. We would like to encourage more male applicants for our Children Service roles.

Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with the job description, we’d love you to apply anyway. You might just be the perfect person for this role, or another role within the Action for Children family.