Lead Practitioner Family Help - 22.20 Hours

Application Deadline: 12 July 2026

Department: Childrens Services

Location: Torbay Council

Compensation: £31,537 - £34,434 / year

Description

Job Description & Person Specification >

Torbay Council’s Family Help Service is recruiting a Family Help Lead Practitioner role in our Kinship Team. To apply for this position, you must be able to demonstrate extensive experience of working directly with children and their families.

Our Family Help Service deliver family support to children and families, preventing problems from escalating further when vulnerabilities are present. The FHLP (Family Help Practitioner) role involves supporting kinship families and fostering their well-being. Key responsibilities include:

• Reviewing support plans for kinship families and ensuring effective communication and relationships with children, families, and partner agencies.
• Providing practical and emotional support to kinship carers, including signposting to relevant services and attending professional meetings.
• Participating in peer support offer and groups working within the Kinship delivery model to enhance family support.

You will have experience of using evidence-based interventions and relationship-based practice to work with families to address multiple and complex needs leading to improved family functioning and improved outcomes for children including family relationships and school attendance. The implementation of the Families First Partnership reforms are re-shaping how we work with children and families, this is an exciting time to join Torbay Children’s Services. You will be part of a service focussed on delivering the right support for children and families at the right time.

The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate extensive experience of direct work, interventions with families and assessment skills alongside a strong-values based practice approach rooted in empathy, kindness and compassion. You will already have some experience of working directly with children and families in a relevant health, youth work, education or social care setting.

You will work well as part of a team as well as showing initiative and a problem-solving approach. You will have excellent written and verbal communication skills and be able to demonstrate understanding of the Children Act 1989.

You will be committed to working in child-focused and strengths-based way and will have an understanding of the positive impact of whole family approaches which prevent needs from escalating. In return, you will be joining a service with a commitment to a ‘High Expectations, High Support, High Challenge’ culture and a supportive team, where we expect you to provide a high standard of support to families and will support you with good quality supervision and training and development opportunities from our Learning Academy.

This post will be carrying out Regulated Activity. As such the post will require an Enhanced Criminal Record Check plus an additional Barred List Check. The check will reveal any spent and unspent convictions and adult cautions (which have not been filtered), any local Police information and a check of either the Adult, Child or Adult and Child Barred Lists.

If you are viewing this advert on a job board, you can access the full job description by placing the below URL into your browser:
https://www.torbay.gov.uk/jobs/job-descriptions/lead-practitioner-family-help/

For an informal chat please contact Lisa Pitcher on 07920 502675 or lisa.pitcher@torbay.gov.uk.

Interviews are expected to be conducted during the week commencing 20th July 2026

This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Our adverts do sometimes close early - even where there's a published deadline - so if you're keen, please apply as soon as possible.

Skills

Essential:

• Ability to carry out assessments, plan and deliver needs-based packages of support.
• Ability to produce and maintain accurate records and reports.
• Ability to engage positively with children, young people and their parents.
• Ability to offer appropriate support to families affected by:
  • Family breakdown.
  • Homelessness.
  • Child Protection issues.
  • Drug and/or alcohol dependency.
  • Tenancy breakdown.
  • Non school attendance.
• Effective communication/interpersonal skills.

This role requires the ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence and fluency in English.

Knowledge

Essential:

• Understanding of basic human needs, physical, emotional and social.
• Knowledge of Children’s Act 1989 and 2004, Adoption legislation, Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Parenting Orders and Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003.
• Knowledge of issues facing families at risk of family breakdown.
• Self-awareness of own strengths and weaknesses.
  
  

Experience & Qualifications

Essential:

• Evidence of consistent pattern of learning from education, training and experience.
• GCSE pass in English at Grade C or above or equivalent.
• Work in a health or social care environment (paid or unpaid) with children and young people.
• Experience of working with children, young people and families displaying challenging behaviour.
• Experience of health/social care needs and services.