Experienced and Advanced Practitioners
If you have already passed your newly qualified year, or have exceeded the two-year window for undertaking this opportunity, a range of possibilities are available for you in Plymouth.
We have a career-graded role profile. For experienced workers this means that you can join us at Experienced Grade or Advanced Practitioner Grade. This isn’t post specific, it is person specific - because we believe once you have earned the title of Advanced Practitioner you should be able to keep it!
Advanced Practitioner is a practitioner grade and attracts a higher rate of pay, commensurate with the knowledge and skills required for the post. New entrants at this grade must have achieved, post qualifying as a social worker, a further 60 M level credits or 120 H Level Credits. Or, if this qualification is not held, equivalence in experience defined as 5 years post qualifying experience, practicing as a registered social worker, at least three of which were worked as a front line statutory social worker in a local authority case holding children’s social work setting.
But don’t let that stop you from applying if you do not have these.
We have an excellent career progression pathway, which is well resourced and funded. If you are an experienced practitioner joining us for the first time and you do not have the credits or the experience you need for Advanced Practitioner on entry, we will tell you in interview what we can offer you to enable you to acquire the skills and knowledge to progress. We will honour what we offer or the closest alternative we can find, should the qualification cease to be available. Because we know that an investment in you is an investment for practice with children and young people in our city.
Whether you join us at experienced practitioner grade or advanced grade, you can expect access to a comprehensive induction, regular supervision, high quality training, funded qualifications and courses. Should you need it, a highly successful mentoring programme is also available. We operate a staff moves offer, where experienced staff can register an interest in another part of the service, subject to some basic rules. This allows practitioners to achieve change for development without waiting for posts to be advertised externally.
We have an excellent career progression rate internally, with significant numbers of our staff progressing to Advanced Practitioner, Team Manager, Independent Chair, Practice Educator and a range of other positions. We have good retention rates, low vacancies and low agency ratios, because the people who work here want to stay. We hope you will too.