Leicester City Council seeks a Senior Practice Educator to develop social work practice and learning

Leicester City Council is recruiting a Senior Practice Educator in the Adult and Children’s Social Care department to improve the quality and quantity of social work and social care practice learning opportunities available in Leicester.

This comes a month after the Local Government Association teamed up with the Government Equalities Office to re-launch a Return to Social Work programme, after 60 per cent of councils said the retention of care staff is one of the biggest challenges facing the sector[i].

The Senior Practice Educator role involves co-ordinating the provision of practice learning opportunities, training and supporting on-site supervisors, as well as training, supporting and assessing practice educators, supporting social worker development and undertaking the supervision and assessment of students using an off-site model of practice teaching.

To apply for the role, candidates must be a qualified social worker and hold a Practice Education qualification. The ideal candidate will be good at developing people, and have excellent supervisory, organisational, liaison and negotiation skills, the ability to work to deadlines, good analytical skills, to be able to assess the practice and have a good understanding of theories of adult learning in the context of social work practice.

Jo Dyke, Principal Social Worker, Social Care and Education at Leicester City Council said: “This is a great opportunity for someone to join Leicester City Council and contribute to improving our social work service. Currently, we have 18 trainee social workers who are managed by an existing Senior Practice Educator, but we need a second person as we will be bringing in another group of up to 17 new trainee social workers in March.

“This is a dual role so the new recruit will support and manage social work students but also support qualified social workers to become practice educators. One of the best things about this role is seeing people develop and grow, which is very rewarding. The role will appeal to social workers who enjoy the mentoring aspect of social work and we encourage those looking for a fresh challenge to apply.”

The deadline for application is 5th March 2020. To apply click here.

Leicester City Council is part of a recruitment campaign, Y/Our Future that unites five major health and social care employers – Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, LOROS Hospice, Rutland County Council and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust – to recruit doctors, nurses and health and social care workers to work in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

Y/Our Future aims to promote Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland as a leading career destination for health and social care professionals, with great career and lifestyle opportunities.

For more information on the vacancies visit: https://www.your-future.co.uk/

[i] https://www.local.gov.uk/successful-return-social-work-campaign-reignited