Vacancies

Practice Educator

Please Note: The application deadline for this job has now passed.

About the role

WNC has successfully implemented the Degree Apprenticeship in Social Work and is looking forward to supporting our fourth cohort start the programme in September 2024. In addition, to promote local recruitment, we need to support more traditional student placements and Newly Qualified Social Worker’s.

In order for that vision to be a success, we recognise that we need to invest in consistent and high quality practice education for our learners. We are creating a second Practice Educator role, currently on a temporary basis until 31/07/25, to support this.

A practice educator is a social worker who supports, teaches and assesses students whilst on placement, Social Work apprentices and Social Workers completing their Approved and Supported year in Employment. They are a mentor, teacher, assessor and supervisor and a consistent presence to ensure the student and staff feels safe and secure whilst on their placement and in doing their role

What will you be doing?

Primarily, you will be supporting a cohort of Apprentices through year 1 of the Degree Apprenticeship in Social Work. You may also be providing some support to the ASYE programme and contributing to the development of our professional support programmes.

About you

You will be an experienced Practice Educator, preferably qualified to Practice Educator Professional Standards Stage 2, or Qualified to stage 1, and with considerable experience of supporting and assessing Social Work Students, Newly Qualified Social Workers and/or supervisory experience.

In return, you benefit from being part of a motivated and supported team and will receive CPD opportunities and regular supervision.

We are open to discussion about part time hours.

For an informal discussion, please contact Julia.hambleton@westnorthants.gov.uk/07436 057046 or carla.gama@westnorthants.gov.uk/07880 275 558

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

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.

Our vision 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

We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential.  We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner

The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us.

If you need additional support or reasonable adjustments during the application process, including needing the job description in another format or language, please email careers@westnorthants.gov.uk for support.

West Northants Council, where careers thrive.