Action for Children
Family Support Practitioner
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Family Support Practitioner
Salary: £26,006.84 per annum pro rata.
Location: Derry, Northern Ireland.
Contract/Hours: Permanent/Part -Time, working 30 hours a week.
Benefits
- 29 days annual leave PLUS bank holidays pro rata, with up to 5 additional days for continuous service and option to buy or sell leave.
- Gain professional qualifications and excellent training/development opportunities.
- Flexible maternity, adoption, and paternity packages
- Pension with up to 7% employer contribution with included life assurance cover
- Staff discounts and Blue Light Card eligibility with 15,000 national retailers’ discounts.
Vulnerable children in the UK need your help
Wherever you work in the Action for Children family, you'll be helping to change the lives of the most vulnerable children in the UK.
Last year, we helped more than 687,000 children and families across the UK. From direct work in communities to national campaigning, we are focused on making sure every child has a safe and happy childhood, and the foundations they need to thrive.
Why Action for Children?
Working here is more than a job. Everyone in the Action for Children family is passionate about protecting and supporting children. It's the sense of purpose that drives us every single day. Because we know that, when we work together, we can make a huge difference to bring lasting improvements to vulnerable children's lives.
A bit about the role
The Family Support Worker provides intensive support to children, young people, parents, and carers who may be experiencing a range of social, emotional, behavioural, or family difficulties within the level 2 Hardiker model.
Working across the Derry and Strabane district, the role focuses on empowering families to make positive and sustainable changes through therapeutic and strengths-based interventions.
The postholder will manage a caseload of families, carrying out assessments of need, developing tailored support plans, and delivering practical and emotional support within the family home, community settings, and partner agencies. A key aspect of the role is helping parents develop effective parenting skills, strengthen family relationships, improve communication, and build resilience to achieve better outcomes for children and young people.
The role requires the use of therapeutic approaches such as trauma-informed practice, solution-focused interventions, emotional wellbeing support, and attachment-based work to address identified needs. The successful candidate will work closely with schools, health professionals, social workers, and other support services to ensure a coordinated response for families.
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Accurate record keeping is essential and includes maintaining confidential case files, writing case notes and reports, monitoring progress against agreed outcomes, and ensuring compliance with safeguarding, child protection, and data protection policies. The postholder will contribute to service development through participation in team meetings, supervision, training, and the sharing of good practice, while working collaboratively with colleagues to achieve the organisation's objectives. The post holder must be able to drive, hold a valid licence and business insurance.
This role requires strong communication and relationship-building skills, the ability to work independently and manage competing priorities, and a commitment to supporting families in a respectful, non-judgemental, and person-centred manner.
How you'll help to create brighter futures
Some key responsibilities of the Family Support Practitioner role are:
- Adhering to safeguarding, risk management, and child protection policies to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all children attending the service.
- Be aware of the general issues and concerns that affect young people currently and be open for training if required.
- Attend internal and external meetings as directed by your line manager and collaborate and work in partnership with all statutory and voluntary agencies.
- Being able to present information and facts regarding young carers to varied professional groups is also a part of the Family Support Practitioner role.
- Be clear on the importance of keeping files up to date as required by the organisation.
Let's talk about you
Ideally you will have:
- Diploma in Health and Social Care Level 3 or above or equivalent/related health, counselling, or social care qualification.
- Experience of direct work/engagement with children and families.
- Good report writing skills.
- Good working knowledge of safeguarding.
- Excellent communication skills.
- Excellent IT skills including use of Microsoft (Outlook, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint).
- Registration or the willingness to register with NISCC.
- Business class 1 insurance and a Clear UK Driving Licence is essential for this role.
Contact
recruitmentservice@actionforchildren.org.uk quoting reference 13392.
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Closing Date: Thursday 23rd July 2026.
Please note: Interviews are planned to be held week commencing 3rd August 2026.
Please note we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.
There are five sections to complete:
Personal Details, CV, Supporting Statement & Information, Equality & Diversity, Submission & Declaration.
Talent Pool
We know talent when we see it. But sometimes we find the right person but not for the right job. We'd love to keep your details for when the right job comes up. Let us know if you'd rather we didn't.
Diversity, equality, and inclusion
At Action for Children, we're dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace.
We actively encourage applications from Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic and disabled candidates as they are under-represented within Action for Children. We want to take deliberate and purposeful action to ensure equal opportunity to all groups in society and for Action for Children.
Male staff are under-represented within our Children Service roles. We would like to encourage more male applicants for our Children Service roles.
Don't meet every single requirement?
If you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with the job description, we'd love you to apply anyway. You might just be the perfect person for this role, or another role within the Action for Children family.
Want to know more about Action for Children?
Find us on Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/company/action-for-children/], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/ActionforChildren] or YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/actionforchildren] to get to know us better.
Job Description [https://actnforchildren.sharepoint.com/:b:/s/Employee_Recruitment_Information/IQCMsB95oabAS6BelkgNoXsJAdd_v3BAVOcbWrShxfdnsEA?e=WNoTFF]
See below for further information about working with us:
Action for Children Employee Benefits [https://fa-evrg-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/cs/idcplg?IdcService=GET_FILE&fldFile=fFileGUID:1C4B42CBF404E1D732B45E2934BFA235&fldBrowsingMode=contribution]
AfC Commitment Statement [https://fa-evrg-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/cs/idcplg?IdcService=GET_FILE&fldFile=fFileGUID:DE3442BDED111C3501F5DA7BBAB815B8&fldBrowsingMode=contribution]
Action for Children Northern Ireland Booklet [https://fa-evrg-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/cs/idcplg?IdcService=GET_FILE&fldFile=fFileGUID:5867C8658DA84E960460CC5DE8EDF3A8&fldBrowsingMode=contribution]
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