Family Practitioner

Salary - Grade 6 - £39,276-£42,771pa

Starting Well – MASH & Family Intervention/Early Help & Targeted Family Support

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Family Practitioner to join our Early Help Service. We are looking for someone who is passionate about working with children and families to provide targeted, individual and group interventions to improve outcomes for children and families.

The primary purpose of this role is to work with children and families alongside social workers with the service and other agencies to provide tailored support and interventions based on the identified needs of the family. This could also include intensive work with those in care, on the cusp of care or stepping down from statutory services. Promoting positive and healthy outcomes for children, young people and families ensuring safeguarding at all times.

We provide systemic care with lasting effects through our Face to Face model of practice – achieving sustainable positive outcomes. Havering’s ethos is embodied by our approach to fitting the system to the family rather than asking the family to fit to the system. This is done by working collaboratively with children, young people and families by having ongoing conversations so they can receive the most effective forms of intervention. With your expertise and motivation to support our children, young people and families, Havering is the ideal place to work

Duties and Responsibilities

Manage a caseload of families with additional and multiple needs and to attend Court to give information on specific cases if and when required.
Carry out whole family focused assessments of both children and their families working to support them in their home and community building on individual family strengths.
Work directly with children and young people to ensure their voice is heard and incorporated into all assessments and planning process; promoting good use of ‘Mind of My Own’, ‘Citizen Space’ and other relevant feedback tools.
Utilise training such as NVR (Non-Violent Resistance Programme), and others to facilitate parenting workshops.
Working in collaboration with the adolescent safeguarding service to support young people experiencing exploitation concerns (CCE, CSE), and support with the transition plans from care to home.
The post holder will be expected to travel to visits and meetings across the borough and nationally on occasions.
Responsible for maintaining good performance management and meeting the agreed performance indicators.
To participates in regular 1-2-1 and case supervisions, performance appraisals and attend skills development sessions in line with London Borough of Havering policy.

As a Family Practitioner in our team you will work collaboratively with our families, partners as well as colleagues, ensuring a multi-disciplinary approach that aims to achieve excellent outcomes, which in turn supports our children and families to lead happy, healthy lives.

About you

The London Borough of Havering Starting Well Service require an experienced Family Practitioner to sit within their Supervised Family Time Contact service.

The successful applicant will be responsible for providing support to vulnerable children and their families during separation, enabling family connections and relationships to be maintained and strengthened. To be able to offer structured guidance, advice and sign posting to other relevant services.

Experience in supervised family time contact is desirable, the successful applicant would be expected to work well within a team setting and have the ability work independently and assertively, to have the ability to assess risk and ensure safeguarding procedures are followed. To work effectively in challenging situations.

The applicant will be required to provide written professional reports, attend professional meetings/reviews and attend court if necessary. Excellent communication skills are essential to the role to engage a diverse range of families and to be able to share relevant information to the professional network if required.

However, these are not the only skills and characteristics we are looking for. To be shortlisted for the position, you must be able to clearly evidence the following skills and experience within your application:

Experience of delivering of high quality, outcome focussed support to children, young people and their families

Ability to work collaboratively along with positively building relationships and partnerships, both internally and externally

Providing innovative, tailored support and interventions based on the identified needs of the family and committed to continued development of skills and expertise

An understanding of effective practice and policies that effect children and families

Actively promotes equality, diversity and inclusion both within the organisation and in the services provided

Willingness to work flexibly supporting families to meet their needs, including evening and weekends

Experience:

Experience of working with children, young people and families including, undertaking systemic assessments and, co-producing effective outcome focused plans with families.

Experience of working with children and families from a variety of backgrounds and developing and delivering effective provision in either the public or voluntary sector.

Experience of working in ways which empower and encourage participation of families.

Experience of effective partnership or cross sector, multi – agency work.

Experience of working with families on practical parenting tasks and/or delivering parenting programmes.

Experience of preparing reports and assessments in respect of children this may include presenting to Court.

Effective engagement and communication with other agencies to carry out comprehensive assessments addressing identified needs to ensure sustainable long term change is achieved.

Please view Job Profile here

For an informal discussion about the post, please contact Paul Sibanda – paul.sibanda@havering.gov.uk or Alisha Gumbs Alisha.Gumbs@havering.gov.uk

The closing date for the receipt of applications is 5/7/26 however interest in this job may be high and we therefore reserve the right to close the vacancy early

Shortlisting is 5/7/26 .

Interview week commencing 13/7/26

Additional Information

We want everyone to choose Havering. When you apply for a job with us, your application is considered on its merits regardless of your age, disability, ethnicity, faith, gender identity or sexual orientation. Our residents and service users come from all walks of life, and so do our employees. Find out what it means to Choose Havering.

The London Borough of Havering has important responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. If you are appointed to a job that involves working with these groups, you may be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Please attach your supporting statement, explaining in no more than x2 A4 sides why and how you meet the criteria for this role.

We practice anonymised recruitment. Please ensure that you remove all personal information from any documents that you upload.