Family Hub Senior Practitioner: Inclusion (Best Start Family Hubs)

Grade H scp 27 £38,220 to scp 31 £41,771 , essential car user allowance up to £963pa pay award pending
Contract: permanent
Hours: 37 per week
Essential requirement: full driving licence, DBS
Essential qualification: Relevant level 4 qualification in Early Years, Teaching, NPQICL, Health, or Social Care.
Interview date: 17 September 2026
For further information about this role, contact: Emily.bagnall@bolton.gov.uk

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

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The Role

Join us at Bolton Best Start Family Hubs and become part of an ambitious, creative team leading innovation for children and families across our eight Best Start Family Hubs. Guided by the Best Start in Life Strategy, we’re transforming how services connect and collaborate to make a real difference to local families. With a model that blends vibrant hub activity and strong community-based work, this is a fantastic opportunity to help shape new approaches, strengthen partnerships and contribute to a bold vision that puts families at the centre of everything we do.

We are seeking an enthusiastic and dynamic Senior Family Hub Practitioner to support the ongoing development of the Best Start Family Hub’s inclusion offer for families. This role combines effective management, good understanding of requirements and innovative thinking to ensure Bolton’s Best Start Family Hubs offer joined up, inclusive support and activities that are accessible to all families, both within the hubs and within local communities. You will contribute to the organisation of stay, play and learn activities and build on the effective partnerships with the VCSE sector, as well as building partnerships with other community groups. You will work effectively with colleagues and partners to understand the strategy for inclusion, including evidence-based interventions, and how this can be implemented effectively across the service, to best support families at an early intervention and prevention level.

You will play a key role in coordinating the work of a team of Best Start Inclusion Practitioners to deliver the universal development check for every child across Bolton at 18-months old and consequent provision of support, to improve the early identification of need, as well as contributing to networks, workshops, consultation activity and community events.

This post is office based across the eight Best Start Family Hubs and an essential car user allowance is payable as boroughwide travel is required between different Hubs and to other community-based locations.

About You

As a Senior Family Hub Practitioner, you will have experience working within partnership and multi-agency environments. Your strong analytical, organisational and communication skills will underpin your ability to contribute to the leadership of inclusion across the Best Start Family Hub programme. You will confidently work with partners and use insight to guide decision-making, enhance timely support for families, and drive continuous service improvement.
You will have experience of working directly with families and possess extensive knowledge of child development. You will understand the importance of supporting families to create strong home learning environments. Your enthusiasm for early intervention will make you a valuable asset to this team of managers.
Your previous experience of managing staff will enable you to inspire and motivate Best Start Inclusion Practitioners through positive, collaborative leadership. You will coordinate service delivery and use evidence to champion effective and innovative practice across all levels of the service.
Highly proactive and organised, you will manage your own workload with confidence, prioritising effectively while maintaining oversight of practitioner delivery and ensuring high standards of practice. You will thrive in a dynamic and varied role that directly strengthens outcomes for children and families across Bolton's Best Start Family Hubs.

About Us
This is your opportunity to join us at an exciting time as we have strong ambitions for the borough.

Bolton is a great place to work. We are a welcoming organisation that wants to contribute to a place where people feel active, connected and prosperous. We are passionate about improving the outcomes and experience of Bolton people. We want Bolton to be a vibrant place built on strong cohesive communities, successful businesses and healthy, engaged residents.

As an employer we want to thank our employees for their hard work and commitment, by giving them the opportunity to access a range of exclusive rewards and benefits, including discounts and exclusive gym membership prices and salary sacrifice schemes. In addition, we offer a generous annual leave allowance, flexible work opportunities, access to a Pension Scheme, as well as a range of employee wellbeing and support services.

Our Values are really important to us, read all about them below, along with all our great staff benefits, the job description/person specification for the role and the important legal bits, and our Top Tips too.

Ready to apply? Then please click Apply and upload your anonymised CV and supporting statement discussing your relevant skills and experience and explain how you believe they make you a strong fit for this role.

Within Greater Manchester, local authorities have made a commitment to improve the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, care leavers, carers, and ex-military personnel. Please see greater.jobs for further information before you apply.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable adults and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) clearance - this post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (amended in 2013). Employment offers are conditional subject to satisfactory clearances. For roles where a criminal records check from the DBS is required, this includes satisfactory clearance of this check. The possession of a criminal record will not necessarily bar an individual from working with us. This will depend on the nature of the position and the circumstances and background of an individual’s offence/s. Information provided by you or the DBS will be dealt with in a confidential manner and in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice which can be viewed here. Bolton Council’s policy on the Employment of Ex-Offenders is available here.

This post is a designated customer facing role under the fluency duty and requires a specified level of spoken English as per the person specification.

This organisation has signed up to the Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment. That means we will recognise your continuous or ‘unbroken’ service in any Greater Manchester local authority or NHS organisation that has signed the commitment, Transport for Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service or Greater Manchester Combined Authority, giving you access to our service-related benefits. Please see the home page of greater.jobs for more information.

For more information about working for Bolton Council, please see greater.jobs; for advice and support with your application, contact recruitment@bolton.gov.uk