Advanced Practitioner (16+ Care Leavers)

We are currently recruiting for Advanced Practitioners to join our 16+ teams. The teams are based in Cheltenham, Gloucester, and Stroud.

About the team

As Advanced Practitioner in one of our new Care Leaver teams you will support the Team Manager in the oversight of pathway-planning and independence work for care leavers from 16 upwards.

About you

As an Advanced Practitioner, you will be instrumental in delivering a first-class service which will deliver the best outcomes for the children and young people of Gloucestershire. You will be a resilient, driven individual who can play your part in making our vision for children’s services a reality. Taking on a protected case load, you will work to create the best outcomes for children and young people with complex and challenging needs, risks and circumstances.

You will take a lead in promoting and supporting quality control and improvement activities within the team and across the service and support performance activities within the team. Your role will also include oversight for the practice and development of Trainee Social Workers on placement and NQSW within the team.

As well as your experience as a frontline senior social worker, there are some things we require of you to be successfully appointed to this post:

- Social Work England registration
- a recognised qualification in Social Work
- to have passed your Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE)
- a full driving licence and willingness to drive
- DBS clearance


Right child, right support, right time, every time

Working together to support families and communities to give every child the best chance of a happy and rewarding life, especially those who need more help.

For those looking for a future in public service and Children’s Social Care in particular, Gloucestershire offers a myriad of opportunities to start or develop your career, supported by a phenomenal Social Work Academy offer, a developing systemic practice methodology, an ambitious leadership team and an award-winning workforce. Our Children’s Services are improving. Our latest Ofsted inspection (February 2022) identified that:

‘Significant progress has been made in many areas of Gloucestershire’s children’s services… significant financial investment and the backing of political leaders, has led to improved services that are now more effective in meeting the needs of children and families’.

We are a local authority adopting, and training all colleagues in, systemic social work practice. If you would like to join an authority that takes a relational approach to working with families and focuses on what needs to change in the system around a child and family to enable children to thrive, then consider this role with GCC.

Our team structures are designed to ensure there is the right level of support available to staff and that caseloads are kept at a manageable level with a Team Manager, Advanced Practitioner, 5 Leaving Care Personal Advisors making up each team’s full complement of staff. You will work across two teams. We need resilient, driven individuals who will play their part in making our vision for Children’s Services a success. You will be joining an authority with a strong set of values that underpin the work we do: Accountability, Empowerment, Excellence, Integrity and Respect.

Reward and support

For all your hard work, you will receive the following:

- between £45,441 - £48,474 per annum per annum subject to experience
- welcome payment of £4,000*
- annual retention payment of £2,000*
- up to £8,000 relocation package
- flexible and agile working opportunities
- 25.5 days annual leave rising to 30.5 days after 5 years continuous service
- an option to purchase 10 days of additional leave per year (pro rata for part-time staff)
- family friendly policies and benefits to help support you and your family
- supportive and positive working environment with regular, robust supervision
- Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
- access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) that provides free, confidential, counselling and advice for employees, available 24 hours a day, online and by telephone.
- an in-house Occupational Health service
- employee discount scheme
- cycle to work scheme
- salary sacrifice green car scheme (T&Cs apply)
- links to employee networks such as Prism (LGBT+) and the Young Employees Network
- career development and qualification opportunities
- access to our Social Work Academy
- paid SWE registration renewal

How to apply

For an informal chat about this role, please email David.Stewart@gloucestershire.gov.uk or alternatively please apply before the closing date.


*Please note that welcome payments and retention payments are subject to tax and national insurance deductions