Senior Family Support Practitioner

Salary details: £ - £

Derbyshire Youth Justice Service has a fixed term maternity cover full-time post based within the Amber Valley, Bolsover and NE Derbyshire Area Team. The office base for the candidate is Chesterfield but there will be a requirement to attend the office base at Ilkeston as the team is split over two bases.

About our Service:

Derbyshire Youth Justice Service works with young people aged 10-17 on both court orders and out of court disposals.  We had an HMIP inspection in June 2022 with an outcome of good and are continuing to further develop our service offer to children at risk of offending. Our culture is enshrined in our mission statement: "Child First in everything we say, do and write. We build on the strengths of children, families and communities to achieve their potential and in turn, protect the public and victims. We never give up on our children and young people".

Embedded within the team and service is a trauma informed, relationship based culture with high support, expectations and outcomes for our children.

In relation to priorities for the service we work towards ensuring that young people are not criminalised unnecessarily. In this respect Youth Justice Panels are held fortnightly where the police refer cases for consideration of court of court disposals. From the panel various outcomes are considered.

About the role

The successful candidate will provide full line management to the Family Support Workers within the team based at both Chesterfield and Ilkeston offices. This includes 1-1 supervisions, quality assurance and addressing any HR issues that may arise. The postholder also deputises for the Team Manager in their absence. 

Experience of  working with young people and supervising staff is necessary. The successful candidate should also be able to demonstrate administration and IT skills and have a flexible approach to work. Good communication skills and the ability to work to deadlines are essential

 What will you be doing?

• Provide day to day advice, guidance, and formal casework supervision to Family Support Workers, including “My Plans” and ensure the consistent implementation of relevant safeguarding policies and other legislation and policies.
• Monitor the quality of assessments and action plans and provide advice and support to staff to ensure a consistent high standard of these.
• Contribute to and influence the continual development of the Team to improve the delivery of a range of high quality services and activities and to help staff implement learning from Serious Case Reviews and evidence based practice.
• Assure the work quality of Family Support Workers in order to maintain a high level of service delivery. Challenge any underperformance including the use of capability procedures where appropriate.
• Deputise for the Team Manager as appropriate.
• Through working with partner agencies build effective and sustainable working relationships and where necessary seek to resolve any difficulties as they arise.
• Work with partners to develop and maintain the availability of co-ordinated family support and ensure that support is targeted at those children and families most in need.
• Use the Stronger Families Safer Children model of intervention with children and families and promote its use by practitioners working in multi-agency teams.

If you would like to talk to someone informally about this post, please contact Team Manager, Michelle Barr -  michelle.barr@derbyshire.gov.uk

What benefits do we offer you?

• Local Government Pension Scheme
• generous annual leave and flexi-time scheme
• travel expenses
• discount on leisure centre memberships
• free car parking at most sites
• an in-house counselling service
• occupational health service
• access to sessions with a trained physiotherapist
• cycle to work scheme

Provisional Interview Date: 17 October 2025

Due to this post having access to children and/or vulnerable adults, the successful candidate will be required to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service check. The possession of a criminal record will not necessarily prevent an applicant from obtaining this post, as all cases are judged individually according to the nature of the role and information provided. Click here to see our policy on criminal background checks.

Apply now and take the first step towards a fulfilling career with us! By joining Derbyshire County Council you will have access to a range of amazing rewards and employee benefits, including our generous annual leave scheme, excellent local government pension and fantastic employee discounts. To discover more detail about the rewards and benefits available to you, click here

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We welcome applications from individuals who share our values — being Collaborative, Innovative, Empowered and Accountable. These values describe who we are and what we stand for as a council. They help shape our culture, encourage consistent behaviour and guide how we work together to make a positive difference for both our employees and the residents we serve.