Locality Senior Social Work Practitioner
SO3 (£42,488- £48,062 inclusive of 10% market supplement), plus essential car user allowance and reimbursement of Social Work England registration fees.
37 Hours, Full Time
Permanent
Hybrid Stockport Civic Complex and Home Working

Application Deadline: 1 July 2025, 11:59pm

Please be aware that we may close this vacancy early if a high volume of applications are received. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
Shortlisting date: 3 July 2025
Interview Dates: 9 July 2025
Interview Type: Face to face

While we embrace the use of AI as an innovative tool to maximise our services at Stockport Council, we are looking for authenticity in applications we receive. We therefore ask you to think carefully if choosing to use AI when completing your application and ask that you ensure you read all instructions carefully and that your application is written by you and reflects your skills, knowledge and enthusiasm.

Your role

We’d love you to come and join our Stockport Family! Here in Stockport, we’re looking for driven, dedicated, and caring children’s social workers to help support some of our most important people, our children and their families.

We have a unique way of working which is centred all around relationships; our social workers assess and deliver interventions from the point of a family needing support until that family no longer requires a statutory service from us, meaning for our families there are no transition points. They’ve told us that this is really important to them.

As a Senior Practitioner in Stockport Family, you will get to meet families, build relationships with them, and retain these relationships across all levels of intervention, meaning you’ll see the outcomes of the hard work you’ve put in. This will also provide you with a breadth of different skills and experiences, which will go some way in enhancing your social work knowledge.

Our Senior Practitioners are key people in our management structure. We ask our Senior Practitioners to be real sources of support to our Team Leaders; you will be crucial to performance management, the development of student and ASYE social workers, and hold a reduced but more complex caseload, in order to support you to develop professionally, but also to give you the time and space you need to really develop your team.

In Stockport, career development is key. Our Team Leader cohort grew their careers from being social workers in Stockport. We are committed to growing our Senior Practitioners and supporting you with your long-term career goals. We have a system of mentoring and buddying to support you to develop your career in whatever direction interests you, and our yearly PDRs have received very positive feedback from our social workers in terms of how they support career development.

You will be a part of a friendly and welcoming team, with each team having two experienced senior practitioners and a skilled, nurturing team leader.

Here’s what some of our current social workers have said about their experience with Stockport Family:

"I have been really lucky to have been supported by some incredible colleagues, who have offered me guidance and support and also challenge where appropriate, and this has helped me reflect on who I am and the kind of practitioner I want to be. I have felt like I mattered as a person and am part of a family." - Leoni, social worker.

"I have a brilliant team and I’m lucky to be able to do some really purposeful direct work with children and with parents. I feel like working in Stockport lets me be the social worker that I want to be." - Jess, ASYE social worker.

About You

In Stockport, we are driven by our values so we want social workers who are motivated by building relationships with children and families and to take an empowering approach to working with families. We would ideally like our Senior Practitioners to have experience of working across both duty and locality systems and to have held both private and public court proceedings, as well as experience of the pre-proceedings process.

To help us meet the needs of our children and families and to help them when they need it most, we need social workers just like you, people who are hard-working, passionate about making a difference, and wanting children to reach their full potential. You’ll also be a team player, so you’re able to share your own knowledge with others and continue to learn.

We know however, that this is a tough job and it’s a big ask. So to do it well, you need to be fully supported every step of the way. This is why we have an excellent package of benefits, including additional tailored support if you need it, all of which are detailed below.

Learning and development is a key part of our culture, at every stage. We know you’ll come with a host of skills and things to share, but we know you need to continue to learn so you can thrive. So we will support you to flourish and develop in your career.

We would love to speak to you about our offer, our career development pathways, and the difference you could make for the children and families in Stockport.

About Us

In Stockport, our vision is for all children to have the best start in life. We co-designed an outcomes framework that we are committed to as our vision for supporting children and families in Stockport, which includes:

• I feel safe
• I feel part of my local community
• I enjoy good health and wellbeing
• I am confident and able to reach my goals
• I am happy and have people I can trust
• The people that love and care for me are enabled to do this
• My voice is heard and acted upon

We have a model of restorative practice which means relationships are central to everything we do, not just with our families but with our colleagues too. We care about our use of language and are very ambitious for the families we work with.

We believe that change is possible through building strong relationships with high support and, when necessary, high challenge. All colleagues are offered training to develop this restorative approach.

To support our social workers, we have experienced leaders and a dedicated workforce development team providing reflective and clinical supervision. We also offer innovative support services for families, praised by the DFE, including New Beginnings and Comma.

Our commitment to our staff

• Access to a team leader and two senior practitioners overseeing six social workers per team.
• Strong workforce development programmes, including training in restorative practice and working with SEND needs.
• Supportive ASYE programmes with a year-long series of practice development sessions.
• Encouragement of CPD with protected time and annual professional development reviews.
• Solid induction process with gradual increase in caseload and complexity.
• High-quality reflective supervision, including group and mentorship support for ASYE’s.
• Access to specialist advice from various services such as IROs, Aspire, and disability teams.

What we offer

• Modern, refurbished offices with the latest technology, hybrid working options, and central location.
• Reimbursement of Social Work England registration fees.
• Access to Research in Practice publications.
• Discounted onsite parking.
• Essential Car User Allowance from £846 per annum.
• Recognition awards for living our values.
• Opportunity for experienced social workers to become Practice Educators and mentors, with payment.

Why Stockport?

Stockport offers a supportive, vibrant environment with dedicated teams working for the best outcomes for children and families. We are committed to creating opportunities for all and are proud to be recognized under the Good Employment Charter for fair wages, staff engagement, and flexible working.

If you would like to find out more about the role, please contact Sophie Shaw at Sophie.shaw@stockport.gov.uk for an informal discussion.

The successful applicant will undergo pre-employment checks, including DBS. Stockport Council holds a Visa sponsorship license, but this role does not qualify for sponsorship.

We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We guarantee an interview for candidates meeting the Guaranteed Assessment Scheme criteria and role requirements. Find out more at Greater Manchester Guaranteed Assessment Scheme.

For updates on vacancies and recruitment events, follow our team on X, Instagram, and Facebook.

Stockport Council promotes a diverse, inclusive workforce with flexible working arrangements and staff engagement forums. We listen, learn, and develop our workforce.