Family Help Practitioner

Job Description

• Suffolk County Council
• Address: Bury St Edmunds IP33 3YU, Ipswich IP1 2BX or Lowestoft NR33 0EQ - Hybridand community based
• Salary: £29,542 per annum (pro rata for part time)
• Hours: 37 hours per week, flexible working options available
• Contract: Permanent

At Suffolk County Council, every role is a chance to create positive change. As a Children with Disabilities Family Help Practitioner in the County Children & Young People Disability Service, based within Team Around the Family, you’ll see the direct impact of your work with children and young people with disabilities and their families which makes Suffolk special. Join us and turn your passion for childhood disability and positive change into action.

Reimagine the possibilities.

Your role and responsibilities

As a CwD (Children with Disabilities) Family Help Practitioner, you’ll play a key role in supporting children, young people and families to achieve positive and lasting change.

In this role you will:

• act as the CwD lead professional for families, building trusted relationships and working collaboratively to understand needs and develop meaningful plans.
• carry out home visits, assessments and planned interventions, using the Signs of Safety and Wellbeing framework to guide your approach.
• provide practical and emotional support, helping families navigate early signs of social, emotional, health or behavioural issues.
• work alongside social workers, health colleagues and other agencies to provide coordinated support.
• maintain clear, accurate and timely case records, making sure every child’s story is captured respectfully and professionally.
• recognise safeguarding concerns and escalate them appropriately with support and oversight from management.
• You’ll organise your own workload, problem solve effectively and contribute to group or multi-agency meetings.

Every day, you’ll be helping families move towards strength, resilience and safety.

You will need:

We hope you’ll bring:

• A Level 4 practitioner qualification or equivalent experience in a relevant area of work.
• A strong commitment to Suffolk’s WE ASPIRE values.
• An understanding of early intervention, prevention and child development.
• Experience working directly with children and families, including those with complex needs or safeguarding concerns.
• Confidence in delivering evidence‑based interventions and working creatively to help families make changes.
• The ability to identify risks, communicate effectively and work collaboratively with a wide range of professionals.

Due to the nature of this role, you will be required to have a driving licence and access to personal transport. If you feel you can meet these travel requirements through other suitable means, please contact the Hiring Manager before applying to discuss.

Take a look at what makes our Ideal Worker, shaped by the voices of young people: find out more.

Even if you don’t meet every criterion, we encourage you to apply — we would appreciate the opportunity to consider your application.

The team

You’ll join one of our dedicated CwD Family Help Teams - multi‑disciplinary groups of social workers and occupational therapist committed to improving outcomes for children and young people across Suffolk.

We work creatively, collaboratively and with compassion, always striving to ensure every child and young person with disabilities can live their best life.

Hybrid working, community engagement and flexible approaches are all part of how we operate.

Empowering Everyone

We are big believers in potential, possibility and the power of different ideas. We are always searching for ways to encourage, respect and enable everyone to be the best they can be. We want to represent the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all individuals, especially those from groups that are currently underrepresented in the organisation, as shown in our Workforce Equality Report.

For more information

For a casual chat about the role, please emailFran.Arnold@suffolk.gov.ukor contact Fran Arnold by calling 01473264620

How to apply

Step 1 - Read the Job and Person Profile (JPP)

Step 2 - Click ‘Apply Now’ to start your online application.

Step 3 - Upload asupporting statementanswering the following questions below (no more than 400 words per question). You should use the Supporting Statement template (Word).

1. Describe your experience of working with children and young people with disabilities and their families.
2. Give an example of when you carried out, or contributed to, an assessment and developed a support plan for a child or family.
3. Tell us about a time you worked with other professionals to coordinate support for a child or young person with additional or complex needs.
4. Describe a time when you supported a child or young person with a disability whose needs were changing or becoming more complex. How did you assess their needs, work with the family and partner agencies, and ensure the support remained focused on achieving positive outcomes?

Please note: Without a supporting statement, your interest will not be progressed. Any supporting documents must be in either PDF or MS Word format.

For guidance on completing your application, please see ourHow to Apply page.

Planning to use Artificial Intelligence (AI)?Please ensure your application still reflects your own skills, experience and ideas. If used inappropriately, your application may not be processed. Please read ourguidance for using AI to understand what’s acceptable.

Do you need any reasonable adjustments to help you to apply? If you are disabled and/or have additional support needs, you can request reasonable adjustments. You can do this by contacting our Recruitment Team at recruitment@suffolk.gov.uk or 03456 014412. You can find examples of possible adjustments on ourReasonable Adjustment pages.

Closing date: 11.30 pm, 4 October 2026

This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts. #LI-Hybrid

About us

As a modern and effective council, we offer a wide variety of careers to suit people with a range of skills, abilities and ambitions. We offer working options that flex to reflect the way people work today and take the time to understand and support your individual needs. We’re driven to make a positive difference to the world around us and encourage everyone with drive and focus to join us and build an influential and impactful career. Reimagine the possibilities.

In return, you’ll enjoy:

• up to 29 days annual leave entitlement (pro rata), plus UK bank holidays and two paid volunteering days
• membership of a competitive Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• travel, lifestyle, health and wellbeing benefits
• performance-related annual pay progression, in addition to an annual cost-of-living pay increase
• training and encouragement to expand your knowledge
• a variety of career development opportunities across our organisation
• diverse and active staff networks
• flexible working options, with the right to request flexible working from your first day

If you want to know more about our benefits, values and equality commitments please visit our Suffolk County Council careers website (careers.Suffolk.gov.uk).