Lead Child Protection Practitioner

Join Cheshire East Council’s new Multi-Agency Child Protection Team (MACPT) and play a pivotal role in safeguarding children and young people across the borough. As a Leading Child Protection Practitioner, you will be the lead decision-maker for child protection enquiries and conferences, working closely with children, families, carers and partner agencies to ensure children are safe, supported and able to achieve positive outcomes. This is a specialist leadership role where you will champion high-quality child protection practice, provide expert advice and guidance to practitioners, and help shape services that put children’s needs at the heart of every decision.

About us

At Cheshire East Council we are resident, and partner focused with a vision to enable prosperity and wellbeing for all. People really are at the heart of everything we do and that starts with our incredible workforce. We promote a culture of high performance where people can aspire, thrive and flourish, where we strive to deliver best value in everything we do.

For us, success isn’t just about what we achieve, but how we achieve it together. We promote curiosity, excellence, innovation and continuous improvement.

We are values led and committed to wellbeing and inclusion for all, where our employees co-created our values of drive, integrity, respect and collaboration which inform all that we do.

We are proud to work for Cheshire East Council and believe you would be too!

Join us on a meaningful journey in Children’s Social Care at Cheshire East Council

We’re on a meaningful journey in Children’s Social Care and we’d love for you to be part of it. Joining us means becoming part of a supportive, forward-thinking team that’s passionate about making a real difference in the lives of children and young people. Everything we do is about putting them first, helping them grow, thrive and reach their full potential so they can build brighter futures.

If this sounds like the kind of impact you want to make, we’d be delighted to hear from you. Come and join us in shaping positive change for our young people.

About the role:

We are looking for an experienced and passionate social work professional to join Cheshire East Council’s new Multi-Agency Child Protection Team (MACPT) as a Leading Child Protection Practitioner. This is a key safeguarding leadership role where you will lead child protection decision-making, work closely with children and families, and drive high-quality practice across the service to achieve the best outcomes for children and young people.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading child protection enquiries, investigations and decision-making.
• Chairing strategy meetings and child protection conferences.
• Working directly with children, families and partner agencies to manage risk and promote positive outcomes.
• Providing expert guidance, support and leadership to practitioners.
• Promoting high standards of safeguarding practice and continuous improvement across Children's Services.

This is just a snapshot of some of the exciting things you’ll be doing in the role, to find out more about the other key responsibilities of the role please view the attached job description.

About you:

You will be a confident and experienced social work professional with a strong track record in child protection and safeguarding. Passionate about achieving the best outcomes for children and young people, you will bring excellent decision-making skills, the ability to work collaboratively with partner agencies, and a commitment to supporting and developing high-quality practice

We're looking for someone who:

• Holds a recognised social work qualification and is registered with Social Work England.
• Has substantial experience in child protection and multi-agency safeguarding work.
• Has a strong understanding of relevant legislation, policy and statutory guidance.
• Can make sound decisions in complex and high-risk situations.
• Is able to influence, support and develop practitioners through effective leadership and professional guidance.
• Builds positive relationships with children, families and partner organisations to achieve the best outcomes.
• Shares our values of Drive, Integrity, Respect and Collaboration.

To find out more about the essential and desirable criteria for the role please view the attached job description specification document.

What we offer in return:

• A competitive salary- Between £48,072 per annum - £54,994 per annum(CEC NJC – Grade 11) with guaranteed yearly pay increases!
• Enhanced annual leave- Start with an impressive 34 days of annual leave(including bank holidays) from day one, and watch it grow to 39 days after just five years of service
• Purchase of annual leave – Want more time off? You can purchase up to 10 extra daysof annual leave each year, giving you the flexibility to balance work and life just the way you want (Pro-rata for part-time staff)
• Flexible working pattern - Enjoy a 37-hour standard full-time work weekwith the added perks of flexitime and hybrid/remote working arrangements where possible. Your work-life balance just got a whole lot better!
• Salary sacrifice green car scheme- Drive green and save green! Lease a brand-new electric or hybrid car through our salary sacrifice scheme. There’re no credit checks, no deposits, just significant savings and exclusive offers on a three-year lease
• White goods salary sacrifice scheme - Upgrade your home with ease. Purchase home and electronic items through our salary sacrifice scheme, spreading the cost of big-ticket purchases like appliances, computers, and tech gadgets directly from your salary
• Enhanced public pension- Secure your future with our career average pension, where contributions are built at a rate of 1/49th of your yearly pensionable pay
• Cycle to work scheme - Save up to 25-39% on the retail price of bikes and safety equipment through Income Tax and National Insurance savings. Get fit and save money!
• Employee assistance programme- Access a completely free and confidential assistance service to help manage, reduce, and overcome life’s challenges, both at work and in your personal life
• Discounted gym membership -Stay active and healthy with corporate membership prices for Everybody Leisure, including:

• Gym, Swim and Group Fitness at all 16 facilities
• Off-Peak Racket Sports
• Athletics Tracks
• Sauna/Steam/Spa

Organisation

Cheshire East Council

Location

Crewe, Macclesfield

Job Category

Children and Young People Services

Grade

CEC NJC - Grade 11

Salary Min

£48,072 per annum

Salary Max

£54,994 per annum

Hours per week

37

Weeks per year

52.143

Employment Type

Permanent

Closing Date

30/09/2026

Ref No

E3737

Documents

• Leading Child Protection Practitioner Job Description and Specification.pdf
  (PDF, 1731.79kb)

How to apply

We’re delighted that you’re considering applying for this role!

As an equal opportunities’ employer, we warmly welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We believe that a diverse workforce helps us better reflect and serve our local communities, and together, we can build something truly special.

To join our team, simply click ‘Apply for this job’at the bottom of the page. If you’d prefer an informal chat first or have any questions about the role, feel free to reach out to Katherine Oldacre at: Show email, they will be happy to hear from you! Please remember to include the job reference so we know which role you are interested in.

Once you’ve applied for the position, please keep an eye on your email inbox (including your junk and spam folders), as we’ll send any correspondence there to stay in touch with updates about your application.

If you haven’t heard from us within four weeks of the closing date, it likely means we weren’t able to move forward with your application at this time but please don’t let this discourage you as your interest means a lot to us, and we’d truly love to hear from you again in the future!

We wish you all the best in your application and if you run into any technical issues, our friendly team are here to help at: Show email.

Cheshire East Council is committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults across the Borough. As such, any cautions, convictions, reprimands or final warnings that are ‘not protected’ as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) order 1975 (as amended in 2013) relating to the non-disclosure of spent convictions do not apply to this job. You must therefore, disclose whether you have any previous convictions where prompted to do so within the application process.