Early Help practice lead

Make a real difference to children and families in Sheffield

Our Intensive Family Support Team works alongside children and families at some of the most challenging points in their lives. We provide intensive, practical and relationship-based support to help children remain safely at home wherever possible, build family resilience and create lasting positive change.

Families may be experiencing neglect or safeguarding concerns, challenging behaviour, difficulties with parenting, housing problems, substance misuse, domestic abuse, school refusal, mental health difficulties or physical ill-health. By building trusted relationships, our workers help families recognise their strengths, develop problem-solving skills and make sustainable changes.

We recognise that parents can find themselves overwhelmed by difficult circumstances. Our approach is compassionate, strengths-based and focused on the whole family. Following a referral, we consider what will help the child feel safe, nurtured and supported, what needs to change, and which family strengths we can build on.

What you'll be doing

This is a varied and rewarding role where you will:

• Deliver intensive one-to-one work with children and parents.
• Help families make positive changes so children can remain safely at home and, where appropriate, support reunification.
• Improve children's educational attendance, behaviour and attainment.
• Support families to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.
• Help young people and parents improve their employment and future opportunities.
• Work closely with social care colleagues and partner agencies across the statutory, voluntary and private sectors.
• Provide practical and emotional support during periods of crisis, using structured, evidence-based interventions.

You'll be part of a service committed to keeping children safely within their families when it is right to do so. You'll work alongside professionals across health, education, training, employment and placement services, contributing to coordinated support around each child and family.

About the opportunity

We have a number of full-time, permanent posts available in our teams based in the South of Sheffield but covering work city wide.

We're looking for someone who can build effective relationships with children and families, remain confident when faced with conflict or challenging behaviour, and work positively with colleagues across different agencies.

You'll need:

• Knowledge of the Children Act and Leaving Care legislation.
• English GCSE Grade 9–4, or equivalent.
• QCF Level 4 in Child Care, or significant experience of direct work with vulnerable children and families.
• Experience of working with multi-agency partners.

If you're motivated by helping families build on their strengths, supporting children to stay safe and creating meaningful, sustainable change, we'd be keen to hear from you.

For further information, contact:Claire.Crownshaw@sheffield.gov.uk

We are investing in our workforce and are promoting opportunities to our under-represented groups. We value equality, diversity and inclusion and are focused on increasing the diversity of our workforce, particularly the number of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, Disabled and LGBTQ+ people, so that our teams reflect the communities in the city we serve. We are also supporting staff with unpaid caring responsibilities to work flexibly.

It is a great time to join us and we welcome your application.

Under the Guaranteed Interview scheme, applicants who are disabled, care leavers, or armed forces veterans will be guaranteed an interview if they meet the essential criteria and indicate their eligibility on the application form. Sometimes, if lots of people apply, we might not be able to interview everyone who qualifies for the Guarantee. In these cases, we’ll interview the candidates who best meet the essential criteria for the job.

Full-time employees work 37 hours for 52 weeks of the year and we offer a generous holiday entitlement. We are open to discussions about a wide range of flexible working opportunities which benefit you and the Council, including reduced hour contracts, working part time or as a job share.

If you are appointed to this role, your starting salary will be at the bottom of the grade. If you provide payslip evidence that your basic pay is greater than the bottom of the grade, we will consider starting you at the point of minimum advantage within the grade.

Equality of pay is extremely important to us. All roles at Sheffield City Council are going through an evaluation process which may result in changes to some pay arrangements from 2026. Find out more on our Sheff news page.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all individuals, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for everyone and where appropriate to the role the successful applicant will be required to undertake relevant safeguarding checks.