Senior Practitioner - Social Work Academy
| Posting date: | 02 July 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £41,511.00 to £44,711.00 per year, pro rata |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 08 July 2025 |
| Location: | Luton, Bedfordshire |
| Remote working: | On-site only |
| Company: | Luton Council |
| Job type: | Contract |
| Job reference: | LBC03982 |
Summary
About the job
Salary: £41,511 - £44,711 a year pro rata plus £963 essential car user allowance and £5,000 market supplement allowance
Hours per week: 37
Contract type: Fixed Term for 12 months
This position is available as a secondment opportunity for 1 year. If you are a permanent LBC employee, you must have written approval (an email will suffice) from your manager prior to applying and a copy will need to be submitted with your application. Please note: we will not be able to proceed with your application form without your manager’s permission.
Are you a passionate and experienced social work professional with a deep commitment to making a lasting difference in the lives of children and families? We're looking for someone just like you to join our Social Work Academy in Children’s Services.
This is an excellent opportunity for a Senior Practitioner who thrives on sharing knowledge, leading by example, and driving the highest standards of practice.
You’ll be supporting practice development of our Newly Qualified Social Workers [NQSW}s through their assessed and supported year of employment within the Social Work Academy.
The Social Work Academy also aims to:
Attract and develop capable, motivated, pro-active, and reflective social workers
Support NQSW’s to gain a comprehensive understanding of social work roles, responsibilities and Luton’s policies and practice standards
Support continuing professional development, to ensure sustained delivery of outstanding services to Luton’s children, young people and families
Promote evidence-based practice, informed by current research and grounded in theory
Facilitate values-based leadership at all levels and promote a positive learning culture.
With your understanding of child development and family dynamics, you’ll support other practitioners through role modelling and reflective supervision to develop confidence in making professional judgements, negotiate resources and plan interventions. This may see you making informed judgements and decisions in challenging situations. No matter the task, you’ll always promote anti-discriminatory practice and empower others.
Please note this role does not attract sponsorship.
About you
You bring substantial post-qualifying experience, particularly in child and family social work, with a strong background in safeguarding and risk management.
You're a natural mentor and coach, experienced in practice teaching, and dedicated to supporting and developing Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSWs).
You lead with confidence and compassion, ensuring quality through effective co-working, challenge, guidance, and support.
Your organisational skills are top-notch, and your professional judgement is grounded in sound understanding and assessment of risk.
You build strong, respectful relationships – whether with children and families, colleagues, or external partners – and you know how to influence and negotiate effectively.
We are looking for someone with excellent knowledge of legislation, national guidance, and best practices, with an in-depth understanding of the social care needs of children and families.
We do ask that you are registered with SWE and have a relevant professional qualification, e.g.: Dip SW, CQSW.
If you're ready to step into a role where you can truly inspire, guide, and lead others – while continuing to grow yourself – we want to hear from you.
About us
Luton Council has been selected to deliver the government’s Families First for Children Pathfinder programme.
Luton is one of seven new areas in the second wave to be chosen with the aim of protecting vulnerable children from harm and improving services to help more children stay with their families in safe and loving homes.
The programme is an amazing opportunity for Luton to shape future social care practice, which includes closer working relationships with our health, police, education and voluntary sector partners.
Children are at the heart of everything we do in Luton, and we are very proud of the tremendous work that is already taking place together with our partners, including the development of our Family Hubs and working towards making Luton a child-friendly town where our children and young people can grow up feeling happy, healthy and secure.
Our ambitious Luton 2040 Vision – that no-one in Luton will have to live in poverty – is at the heart of everything we do. We recognise that our people are remarkable, talented, committed and passionate about serving our residents.
The people of Luton depend heavily on this council – and that means our workforce! Are you ready to realise the remarkable and help us deliver our vision?
We welcome applications from all sections of the community and are committed to developing a workforce that reflects the diversity of our borough
Application process
Because of the nature of this job, it will be necessary for the appropriate level of criminal record disclosure to be undertaken. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare all unspent cautions and convictions; and also any adult cautions (simple or conditional), and spent convictions that are not protected as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020). A person’s criminal record will not in itself prevent a person from being appointed to this post. Applicants will not be refused posts because of offences which are not relevant to, and do not place them at or make them a risk in, the role for which they are applying. However in the event of the employment being taken up, any failure to disclose such offence, as detailed above, will result in dismissal or disciplinary action by the Authority.
staff to get together to socialise after work
Salary: £41,511 - £44,711 a year pro rata plus £963 essential car user allowance and £5,000 market supplement allowance
Hours per week: 37
Contract type: Fixed Term for 12 months
This position is available as a secondment opportunity for 1 year. If you are a permanent LBC employee, you must have written approval (an email will suffice) from your manager prior to applying and a copy will need to be submitted with your application. Please note: we will not be able to proceed with your application form without your manager’s permission.
Are you a passionate and experienced social work professional with a deep commitment to making a lasting difference in the lives of children and families? We're looking for someone just like you to join our Social Work Academy in Children’s Services.
This is an excellent opportunity for a Senior Practitioner who thrives on sharing knowledge, leading by example, and driving the highest standards of practice.
You’ll be supporting practice development of our Newly Qualified Social Workers [NQSW}s through their assessed and supported year of employment within the Social Work Academy.
The Social Work Academy also aims to:
Attract and develop capable, motivated, pro-active, and reflective social workers
Support NQSW’s to gain a comprehensive understanding of social work roles, responsibilities and Luton’s policies and practice standards
Support continuing professional development, to ensure sustained delivery of outstanding services to Luton’s children, young people and families
Promote evidence-based practice, informed by current research and grounded in theory
Facilitate values-based leadership at all levels and promote a positive learning culture.
With your understanding of child development and family dynamics, you’ll support other practitioners through role modelling and reflective supervision to develop confidence in making professional judgements, negotiate resources and plan interventions. This may see you making informed judgements and decisions in challenging situations. No matter the task, you’ll always promote anti-discriminatory practice and empower others.
Please note this role does not attract sponsorship.
About you
You bring substantial post-qualifying experience, particularly in child and family social work, with a strong background in safeguarding and risk management.
You're a natural mentor and coach, experienced in practice teaching, and dedicated to supporting and developing Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSWs).
You lead with confidence and compassion, ensuring quality through effective co-working, challenge, guidance, and support.
Your organisational skills are top-notch, and your professional judgement is grounded in sound understanding and assessment of risk.
You build strong, respectful relationships – whether with children and families, colleagues, or external partners – and you know how to influence and negotiate effectively.
We are looking for someone with excellent knowledge of legislation, national guidance, and best practices, with an in-depth understanding of the social care needs of children and families.
We do ask that you are registered with SWE and have a relevant professional qualification, e.g.: Dip SW, CQSW.
If you're ready to step into a role where you can truly inspire, guide, and lead others – while continuing to grow yourself – we want to hear from you.
About us
Luton Council has been selected to deliver the government’s Families First for Children Pathfinder programme.
Luton is one of seven new areas in the second wave to be chosen with the aim of protecting vulnerable children from harm and improving services to help more children stay with their families in safe and loving homes.
The programme is an amazing opportunity for Luton to shape future social care practice, which includes closer working relationships with our health, police, education and voluntary sector partners.
Children are at the heart of everything we do in Luton, and we are very proud of the tremendous work that is already taking place together with our partners, including the development of our Family Hubs and working towards making Luton a child-friendly town where our children and young people can grow up feeling happy, healthy and secure.
Our ambitious Luton 2040 Vision – that no-one in Luton will have to live in poverty – is at the heart of everything we do. We recognise that our people are remarkable, talented, committed and passionate about serving our residents.
The people of Luton depend heavily on this council – and that means our workforce! Are you ready to realise the remarkable and help us deliver our vision?
We welcome applications from all sections of the community and are committed to developing a workforce that reflects the diversity of our borough
Application process
Because of the nature of this job, it will be necessary for the appropriate level of criminal record disclosure to be undertaken. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare all unspent cautions and convictions; and also any adult cautions (simple or conditional), and spent convictions that are not protected as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020). A person’s criminal record will not in itself prevent a person from being appointed to this post. Applicants will not be refused posts because of offences which are not relevant to, and do not place them at or make them a risk in, the role for which they are applying. However in the event of the employment being taken up, any failure to disclose such offence, as detailed above, will result in dismissal or disciplinary action by the Authority.
staff to get together to socialise after work
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About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.