If you are viewing this advert on an external website, please apply via the London Borough of Bromley website. We only accept applications submitted through our online application system. Please note that some vacancies may be displayed automatically on external job boards; for full details, including the job description, person specification, and closing date, please refer to the original advert on the London Borough of Bromley website.

Role: Senior Practitioner – Court Team (part of Safeguarding and Care Planning Service)
Salary: £46,952 to £55,749 per annum
In addition, you will receive £2,000 annual retention payment, £2,000 Golden Hello and other excellent benefits including a lease car
Location: Bromley Civic Centre/flexible working
Hours: Full-time, 36 hours
Contract: Permanent, Full-Time
To view the JD and Person Specification please click here

A specialist statutory court role where quality social work matters

Are you a qualified and registered social worker with experience in statutory children’s social care and recent court work?

Do you want a role where your professional judgement is trusted, your caseload is realistic, and you have the time and support to deliver high quality court work?

Bromley Children’s Social Care — proudly rated Outstanding by Ofsted — is seeking an experienced Senior Practitioner (Senior Social Worker) to join our established and highly supportive Court Team within the Safeguarding Service.

This is a specialist, permanent role for confident statutory practitioners who want to focus on complex court work within a stable, high performing service.

Why choose Bromley?

At Bromley, we believe great social work needs the right conditions. We focus on supporting practitioners, not overwhelming them.

We offer:

Outstanding Ofsted rated children’s services
Manageable caseloads (around 11 children)
A dedicated statutory court focused role
Strong partnership with our in house Children’s Legal Team
A stable, experienced team with consistent leadership
Flexible and hybrid working practices
Clear career progression and personalised development opportunities

About the Court Team

The Court Team is a specialist statutory team within the Safeguarding Service, working with children at significant risk of harm where court intervention is required to ensure their safety.

Many of the children supported by the team become looked after and may not be able to return to their parents. Long term outcomes may include placements with extended family, long term foster care, or adoption under a Court Order. The team plays a vital role in securing safe, timely, and permanent outcomes for children.

The team is made up of a Team Manager and six experienced Senior Practitioners, working closely with Bromley’s in house Children’s Legal Team. You’ll also be supported by a dedicated Court Proceedings Case Manager, who provides specialist assistance with preparing high quality written and oral evidence for court.

Court workloads are carefully managed so practitioners can focus on quality, not volume, with strong management and legal support throughout proceedings.

What you’ll need

To apply for this post, you must have:

A recognised social work qualification (Degree, DipSW or equivalent)
Current registration with Social Work England (or ability to register before start date)
Recent statutory children and families social work experience
Recent experience of care proceedings and court work
The ability to produce high quality court reports and assessments
Strong safeguarding knowledge, risk analysis skills, and professional judgement
This role is not suitable for newly qualified social workers or those without statutory social work experience.

The Bromley Promise – supporting your practice

We are committed to creating the right environment for excellent statutory practice. When you join Bromley, you can expect:

Manageable caseloads for every social worker
Protected reflective supervision
Small, supportive teams with consistent management
A dedicated two week induction programme
Easy access to senior leaders
Bespoke learning and development tailored to experienced practitioners

What’s in it for you?

In addition to a competitive salary, we offer:

£2,000 Golden Hello
£2,000 annual retention payment
Generous annual leave (30 days +)
Local Government Pension Scheme
Lease car, technology, gym and cycle to work schemes
Free parking at Bromley Civic Centre
Relocation allowances (where applicable)

Interested?

If you’re ready for your next step in a high performing, supportive court team, we’d love to hear from you. Informal conversations are welcome.

To apply, please complete the application form and clearly demonstrate how your experience meets the person specification.

For a confidential discussion about the role, please contact Timi Farinmade at Timi.Farinmade@bromley.gov.uk.

We are forces family friendly and are part of the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme (Bronze Award). We welcome applications from ex-Armed Forces personnel, reservists, veterans, cadet instructors and military spouses/partners.
We are committed to achieving equal opportunities in employment and service delivery and as a disability confident committed employer we encourage applications from people with disabilities. As part of this commitment, we will consider reasonable adjustment to support disability employment.
We offer a generous package including competitive pay, career average pension scheme, flexible working practices and the Bromley employee benefits scheme; Cycle2Work, Salary Sacrifice Lease Car, Technology Scheme, GymFlex and a wide range of local and national discounts.

Applicants must have Degree or equivalent qualification in Social Care, enhanced Disclosure Barring Service check, and be registered with Social Work England (or able to obtain registration prior to commencement of employment). Appropriate and relevant experience and post-qualification experience of children and families social work within a statutory, voluntary or independent sector organisation.

Please note that we do not accept CV submissions from permanent recruitment agencies. If you are a candidate and would like to reach out to the Recruitment team about this role, please email: Recruitment.Team@bromley.gov.uk

Closing date: Ongoing