Lead Child Protection Practitioner

If so, we have a current opportunity for an experienced social worker to work as a Lead Child Protection Practitioner within our Safeguarding and Review Service as a 12 month fixed term contract.

Children and families are at the heart of our practice in Walsall as identified within our recent Ofsted inspection:

"When children need help or protection, they receive a timely and effective response. Workers engage parents sensitively, so they understand the concerns about their children and the role of children's social care. There is robust management oversight of the work, ensuring that work is timely and thresholds are appropriate."

Walsall is implementing the Families First Programme, based on the National Children's Social Care Review and Stable Homes Built on Love. To do this we are creating a combined, multi-agency locality Family Help Service, with locality social workers supported by you a Lead Child Protection Practitioner.

About the job:

The Lead Child Protection Practitioner role will lead alongside the multi-agency network around a family to ensure child protection practice is of the highest standard and supported by the right expertise, careful, rigorous thinking, care and respect. You will work alongside allocated social workers and other professionals to undertake Child Protection Enquiries and oversee Child Protection Plans.

About you

Your background will include extensive post qualifying social work experience within a local authority or equivalent. You will utilise your practice knowledge and experience to influence the direction of child protection right across Walsall.

Our Offer:

To provide the right conditions for you, we are committed to manageable workloads, high support from managers, essential paperwork only, enabling technologies.

Within Walsall we offer a comprehensive training and development programme which contributed to our OUTSTANDING Ofsted grading in May 2025.

There is a comprehensive training offer for workers in Walsall. There is an impressive offer to workers in gaining a social work qualification and for newly qualified social workers developing their knowledge of frontline practice. The general training offer is wide ranging and gives workers the opportunity to learn incrementally about their role.

Wellbeing is at the heart of our work. We offer specialised clinical supervision, a 9-day fortnight to support work/life balance, flexible working and specialist employee assistance and therapeutic support when it is needed. We know we need to make social work a career people want to stay in.

Salary Scale £51,356 to £54495, Note: Applicants appointed to posts that require an enhanced DBS clearance must declare any periods of time that they have lived, studied or worked abroad and be prepared to provide an Overseas Criminal Records Certificate (OCRC) or a Statement of Good Conduct (SOGC) relating to anytime they were overseas.

This post is covered by the Government's Code of Practice on the English Language Fluency Duty for public sector workers. The post holder will be required to communicate verbally with customers and provide advice and/or information in accurate spoken English.

[a name="_Hlk218852588"] At Walsall Council, we appreciate that AI can be a useful tool for ideas or guidance. However, we encourage you to make sure your application reflects your own voice and experiences. Over-reliance on AI can make responses feel less personal, and we really want to understand what makes you unique. Your experiences, skills, and perspective are what set you apart, so please ensure your application as a whole - particularly your 'Supporting Information' - reflects your own voice.

Walsall Council's Children's Services are the only Ofsted 'Outstanding' local authority in the Black Country. During a visit in May 2025, Inspectors described Walsall Council as a place where children were at the heart of. The council's journey of continuous improvement started in 2017 and has since transformed into a service with a clear vision, clear priorities and a clear plan, all informed by the views of our staff and children. Staff are at the core of delivering great outcomes for children and young people in Walsall, which is underpinned by our Walsall Right 4 Children vision. The latest Ofsted inspection demonstrated that staff in children's services are proud to work for Walsall Council and feel supported to do great work.

Grade: G11 ; Salary Range: £51,356 £54,495 (pay scales under review)

Children are at the heart of Walsall local authority. They receive support, help and services that reduce risks for them and meet their needs. (Ofsted, 2025)

Do you want to join our OUTSTANDING local authority and shape the future of child protection practice?