Practice Educator

What will you be doing?

In collaboration with the Practice Development Lead and Lead Principal Social Worker for Adults you will be supporting our learners and involved in developing workforce learning opportunities. Your key responsibilities will be:

• Supervision and Guidance: Provide regular supervision and guidance to social work students or newly qualified social workers, ensuring they have a safe and supportive environment to learn and grow.
• Assessment and Evaluation: Assess the learning needs and progress of the student or newly qualified social worker, and provide constructive feedback to help them meet the required standards of practice.
• Reflective Practice and Critical Thinking: Encourage the development of critical thinking skills and the ability to reflect on practice, helping the individual to analyse and learn from their experiences.
• Teaching and Training: Develop and facilitate learning by offering formal and informal teaching sessions, workshops, and training opportunities related to social work practice, policies, and procedures.

About you

The postholder will need to have a Social Work degree or equivalent qualification with experience of supporting learning. In addition, you will need to be registered with Social Work England and be able to evidence continuous professional development, which must include Practice Educator Professional Standards (PEPS) stage 2.

The ideal candidate will:

• Be forward thinking, innovative and self-driven
• Be able to demonstrate knowledge, skills and experience of an Experienced Social Worker, in accordance with the Professional Capabilities Framework
• Be an excellent communicator, in terms of clear and effective verbal and written communication. This includes active listening and providing constructive feedback.
• Be an expert in Social Work Practice, demonstrating a thorough understanding of social work principles, values, and legislation.
• Be committed to Continuous Professional Development, committed to your own, and others, ongoing learning and development by remaining updated with the latest research, policies, and best practices in social work.

Our benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, these include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement starting at 28 days annual leave per year, 29 days for senior managers (pro rata, depending on how many hours per week you work), plus bank holidays. An additional 5 days, linked to continuous service, and ability to purchase up to 6 weeks additional leave per year.
• Cycle to Work scheme. 
• Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health protection.
• Employee discounts with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.
• Car Lease scheme
• Payment of professional subscription / membership - If your job description requires that you are registered with or are a member of a professional body, WNC will pay for your professional subscription or membership fees.
• Employee Assistance Programme - We have an employee support programme run by Health Assured, an independent, external organisation. Health Assured is available for you and your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, legal advice, bereavement support and medical information.
• Ongoing training and development opportunities.
• A variety of flexible working options to support your work/life balance, including full or part time, term time, 9-day fortnight, etc. (subject to business needs).
• Our West Ways of Working – We want our workforce to thrive, and we equip our employees with the right technology to support hybrid and collaborative working, on or off site, depending on the role.
• Making a difference - If you want to use your skills and experience with an organisation that are genuinely invested in making a difference, are committed to improving people's lives, and whose success has a direct impact on the wellbeing of your family, friends and people in your local area, then West Northamptonshire Council is the place for you.

About us

We’re a new council, following one of the largest shake-ups in local government reform in recent history. As a new authority, we’re embarking on an exciting journey to deliver exceptional services for our residents, customers and communities.  

Our vision at West Northamptonshire Council is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services. 

Hear more from our Chief Executive, Anna Earnshaw, about what it's like to work at West Northants Council https://youtu.be/lV0EfeUF4aU 

At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.

When potential is unlocked, talent thrives.

Choose a career that offers you a true sense of achievement, fills you with pride and challenges you in a positive way, every day.

West Northants Council, where careers thrive.