Job Introduction
Bradford Children and Families Trust was established in April 2023 to enhance the quality and delivery of Children’s Services across our district. Our purpose is clear, to ensure that our promise to improve the lives of children and young people in Bradford becomes a reality. It’s a tough ask. It requires dedication, determination, and resilience – but under a new Chief Executive, Senior Leadership team and an unswerving drive to deliver the best outcomes, we are confident that we’ll achieve our ambition, and yours.
So, if you’re up for the challenge we’d love to hear from you!
About The Role
The Practice Improvement Officer will be responsible for improving and influencing social care practice across the Trust by undertaking a variety of quality assurance activities for Early Help, Parenting and Family Support, Fostering, Social Work, Residential and Youth Justice Service.
In this role, you will undertake audits and other quality assurance activity using tools developed to assess each area of work to influence and improve the quality of services available to meet the needs of children and families in Bradford.
In addition, you will complete moderations of audits completed by Managers to support consistency in practice across all areas of practice and provide a forum for joint learning to understand what good looks like through coaching.
Key Responsibilities
- Undertake a variety of quality assurance activity to understand the practice and the services being delivered to children and families. This will be underpinned by restorative and relational approaches.
- Offer high support and high expectation with our aspirations to achieve good consistent service for all our children and families.
- Provide and share information on themes and practice issues arising from quality assurance activity to inform plans to improve services for children and families in Bradford.
- Review and oversee case files to ensure that recommendations for actions for monthly audits have been completed through a dip sample process to identify good practice and contribute to improvement plans.
- Complete moderations to ensure that there is consistency in practice across all areas including a coaching discussion to support managers to develop confidence with auditing to develop a shared understanding of what good looks like.
- Undertake specific audits and reviews as required for case reviews or support for service.
- Collaborate with children and families to understand quality of practice.
- Contribute and work with managers across the service as part of the quality assurance framework to ensure that audits are influencing practice.
- Provide coaching to practitioners to enable them to understand audit findings and improve as well develop practice.
- Provide training for managers on completing audits and grading to support a shared and consistent approach understanding the quality of services being delivered to our children and families.
- Remain up to date and compliant with all relevant legislation and adhere to organisational procedures, policies and professional codes of conduct to uphold a high-quality seamless service alongside identifying own continuing professional development needs and strive to meet these.
- Contribute to preparation of inspections across all practice areas.
- Influence practice standards and training to meet service need.
- Provide/offer expert opinion within the organisation and others as a result of developing expertise in one or more areas of practice and acting as a member of a professional or Service Planning Group.
About You
- You will be able to apply and consolidate knowledge of social work practice, including an understanding of Early Help, Fostering and Youth Offending Service.
- Understand and apply ILACS framework and evaluation criteria.
- Ability to apply an understanding of child development in practical situations connected to children at risk of significant harm.
- Take responsibility for own learning, identifying gaps in knowledge and researching for relevant materials.
- Be able to apply critical reflection and analysis to inform and provide a rationale for professional decision-making, including providing critical reflection, challenge and evidence-informed decision making in complex situations.
- Operate effectively within multi-agency and inter-professional partnerships and settings, working within the organisations remit, including demonstrating a sophisticated knowledge of relevant legislation and the ability to influence organisational development.
- Social work experience. Paid or voluntary work in a similar, relevant field will be considered at application stage.
- Experience of supporting the learning and development of other practitioners to improve practice and have a positive impact on outcomes of service users including the development of students, newly qualified social workers and other practitioners.
- Experience of working with professional staff to support them to deliver high quality work.
Benefits:
- Generous employer contributions in a Local Authority Pension Scheme
- Competitive salary and pay progression structure
- Real living wage as the minimum rate of pay
- Supportive carer and parental policies
- Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave
- Access to Occupational Health and confidential counselling services
- Supportive staff networks
- Access to Blue Light Card discounts
- Professional development/support
- Career progression
- Enhanced annual leave entitlement
- Social Worker Registration fees paid
- Flexible working / hybrid options subject to service need
- £3,000 Retention Bonus
Next Steps
For an informal discussion, please contact Anna Culver via anna.culver@bradfordcft.org.uk.
Closing Date: 28 April 2025
Interviews: 06 & 09 May 2025
Bradford Children and Families Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all employees to share this commitment.
If shortlisted, you will be required to disclose relevant information regarding criminal history prior to interview.
A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check including a check against the Children’s barred list, will be carried out on preferred candidates.
