Lead Child Protection Practitioner

Are you a qualified and registered Social Worker looking to take the next step in your career?

Cheshire West and Chester Council is seeking dedicated Lead Child Protection Practitioners to join our teams and help make a lasting difference to the lives of children and families.

Through the Families First Partnership Programme, we are creating integrated services that bring together Family Help, Safeguarding, and Child Protection professionals to deliver consistent, trauma-informed support tailored to each family's needs.

This role requires a recognised Social Work qualification, Social Work England registration, and substantial experience in children's social care. Applications from candidates who do not meet these essential requirements cannot be considered.

The Lead Child Protection Practitioner will be a collaborative practitioner, working together with multi-agency partners and the children & families service to ensure expert support, guidance and decision-making across the system.  The post holder will ensure that children are safeguarded in the right way at the right time. They will ensure responsibility and oversight of child protection decision-making and processes. 

The post holder will provide high support and high challenge for the wider Children and Families workforce and with partners.  They may be involved in undertaking direct practice with children alongside Family Help Lead Practitioners. 

The Lead Child Protection Practitioner will ensure they work to:

• Enable practice – Children’s welfare is paramount, and we seek to work in partnership with whole families through a trauma informed lens.
• Empower people – We will ensure children’s voices shape our response and service delivery. We will consider how we equip staff to consider all the circumstances which impact children and families.

• Deliver progress – We will proactively work with other agencies to review and develop how we work with families, including building family networks and local sufficiency.

Cheshire West and Chester Council is a place where everyone can Thrive – through our core values of Teamwork, Honesty, Respect, Innovation, Value for Money and Empowerment.

Cheshire West and Chester Council is seeking passionate Lead Child Protection Practitioner to join their teams as part of their commitment to improving outcomes for children, young people, and families. The council is implementing the Families First Partnership Programme which focuses on locality-based family help teams working closely with family help safeguarding teams and Multi Agency Child Protection Teams (MACPT) services to provide consistent, trauma-informed, and systemic support tailored to the needs of families.

The Lead Child Protection Practitioner must be a qualified and experienced social who is able to practice as a collaborative practitioner, working together with multi-agency partners and the children & families service to ensure expert support, guidance and decision-making across the system.  The post holder will ensure that children are safeguarded in the right way at the right time. They will ensure responsibility and oversight of child protection decision-making and processes. 

The post holder will provide high support and high challenge for the wider Children and Families workforce and with partners.  They may be involved in undertaking direct practice with children alongside Family Help Lead Practitioners. 

The Lead Child Protection Practitioner will ensure they work to:

• Enable practice – Children’s welfare is paramount, and we seek to work in partnership with whole families through a trauma informed lens.
• Empower people – We will ensure children’s voices shape our response and service delivery. We will consider how we equip staff to consider all the circumstances which impact children and families.

• Deliver progress – We will proactively work with other agencies to review and develop how we work with families, including building family networks and local sufficiency.

The council’s approach is rooted in trauma-informed and systemic practice, ensuring empathetic and holistic interventions. Social workers are equipped with bespoke training, including trauma-informed practice and motivational interviewing, to deliver high-quality support.

Cheshire West and Chester offer a supportive work environment with strong leadership, reflective practice frameworks, and a culture of shared learning.

We have Magic Notes in Cheshire West, and this is delivering clear benefits for both practitioners and managers, significantly reducing written administration by an average of six hours per week and allowing social workers to spend more time on direct practice. As a result, 71% of practitioners report increased job enjoyment and improved work–life balance. Practitioners describe being more physically and emotionally present with families, able to maintain eye contact, focus fully during assessments and meetings, and allow conversations to flow naturally, with positive feedback from families. The tool also reduces admin-related stress, enabling quicker case recording, deeper analysis, and greater focus on understanding lived experience, while improving accessibility for staff with additional needs such as dyslexia. From a management perspective, Magic Notes has improved morale, strengthened relationships with children and families, enhanced care planning and direct work, and is seen by all managers as having a positive impact on recruitment and retention, with most identifying it as a key factor in attracting and keeping staff.

The council is committed to professional growth, with many senior roles filled by individuals who have progressed internally. High-quality training and development opportunities are available, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

A recent survey with Frontline highlighted strong child-focused leadership, clear practice standards, and high-quality supervision. Staff feel trusted, supported, and valued, with many recommending Cheshire West and Chester as an excellent place to work. 

If you choose to join us we offer:

- Flexible remote working

- Bright, modern, recently refurbished office environments

- Free parking at all office locations

- Competitive salary and working rewards

- Up to 16 days’ flexi leave per year, in addition to annual leave

- Social Work England registration paid for by the council

- High-quality supervision

- Strong reflective practice framework

- Excellent training opportunities

- Clear progression and developmental opportunities

- We offer competitive rates of pay depending on experience. 

Please see Job Description / Person Specification.

For an informal discussion regarding the role, please contact Amanda Allen -  View email address on jobs.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

Please note that this job is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of adults at risk and children.  It’s a criminal offence for people who are barred from working in Regulated Activity (under the Safeguarding and Vulnerable Groups Act 2006) to apply for roles that require them to work unsupervised with that particular group (i.e. adults at risk, children, or both).

To find out more information about what it is like to work for Cheshire West and Chester Council including our rewards and benefits please see 

Candidates may use AI tools to support proofreading, editing and presentation. However, all application materials should represent the candidate's own experience, perspectives and thinking. We are seeking original and authentic responses, and applicants should ensure that any submission reflects their own analysis, judgement and vision for the role.  No candidate will meet every single requirement - if your experience looks a little different from what we've identified and you think you can bring value to the role, we'd love to learn more about you!  

Cheshire West and Chester Council are committed to equality and diversity in employment.  Please see the  Equality Policy for more information.

Cheshire West and Chester Council have adopted a Local Living Wage for our employees which means that all employees will receive a minimum of £13.45 per hour for all contracted hours.

For any technical enquiries please email  View email address on jobs.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk and quote job reference number in all correspondence.