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Quality Assurance & Practice Improvement Lead - Ref: CH03426
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Walsall Council, Quality Assurance & Practice Improvement Lead - Ref: CH03426 - Fixed Term for 12 Months
Grade: G13; Salary Range: £60,839 - £63,567
Children are at the heart of Walsall local authority. They receive support, help and services that reduce risks for them and meet their needs. (Ofsted, 2025)
Do you want to join our OUTSTANDING local authority?
If so, we have a current opportunity for an experienced social worker to work as a Team Manager within our West Locality
Children and families are at the heart of our practice in Walsall as identified within our recent Ofsted inspection:
- Children benefit from positive, trusting relationships with their social workers.
- Social workers enable children, through direct work, to share their lived experiences, hopes and aspirations.
About The Job
Within the role of Quality Assurance and Practice Improvement Lead you will be responsible for ensuring we continue to provide “Outstanding ” support for our children and families.
You will be part of a leadership team that has “created a learning organisation that has effective and accountable relationships with each other and with partners” (Ofsted, 2025).
This is a key leadership role within the Safeguarding and Review Service, supporting high-quality practice, effective scrutiny and continuous improvement across children’s social care.
The postholder will lead quality assurance activity, and use evidence, audit findings and feedback from children, families and partners to drive learning, strengthen practice and improve outcomes for children and families.
We are looking for someone with additional experience and expertise in the role of the Independent Reviewing Officer and Local Authority Designated Officer within children’s social care. The successful candidate will take a lead role in overseeing the operational functions and strategic direction of the LADO service, ensuring that practice is effective, child-focused and aligned with statutory responsibilities.
About you:
We are looking for an experienced and motivated Quality Assurance and Practice Improvement Lead to join Walsall Children’s Services.
You will be an experienced and confident children’s social care professional with a strong understanding of safeguarding, care planning, quality assurance and practice improvement. You will bring substantial post-qualifying experience, sound professional judgement and the ability to use evidence, audit findings and feedback to identify learning and drive meaningful change.
Most importantly, you will be committed to improving outcomes for children and families, promoting equity and inclusion, and helping to sustain a learning culture where excellent practice can thrive.
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Our Offer:
To provide the right conditions for you, we are committed to manageable workloads, high support from managers, essential paperwork only, enabling technologies.
Within Walsall we offer a comprehensive training and development programme which contributed to our OUTSTANDING Ofsted grading in May 2025.
- There is a comprehensive training offer for workers in Walsall.
- There is an impressive offer to workers in gaining a social work qualification and for newly qualified social workers developing their knowledge of frontline practice.
- The general training offer is wide ranging and gives workers the opportunity to learn incrementally about their role.
Wellbeing is at the heart of our work. We offer specialised clinical supervision, to support work/life balance, flexible working and specialist employee assistance and therapeutic support when it is needed. We know we need to make social work a career people want to stay in.
Salary Scale: £60839- £63567
Would you like to talk to us about the realities of working in Walsall?
If so, please contact Dhyal Samra or Hannah Thompson who you will be working alongside in this role:
Closing date for applications: 20th July 2026
Interviews: 30th July 2026
This post is covered by the Government’s Code of Practice on the English Language Fluency Duty for public sector workers. The post holder will be required to communicate verbally with customers and provide advice and/or information in accurate spoken English.
Walsall Council takes seriously the responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all the children, young people and vulnerable adults entrusted to our care and it is our expectation that all staff will share this commitment. We will ensure continuous development and improvement of robust recruitment processes and procedures that promote a culture of safeguarding amongst our workforce. Completion of an enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check is a requirement for working with children, young people and vulnerable adults.
Note: Applicants appointed to posts that require an enhanced DBS clearance must declare any periods of time that they have lived, studied or worked abroad and be prepared to provide an Overseas Criminal Records Certificate (OCRC) or a Statement of Good Conduct (SOGC) relating to anytime they were overseas.
For this role the successful candidates must undergo a Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) check. BPSS is the minimum standard to ensure the identity and integrity of an employee who has access to official information using secure networks linking central government and local authorities. A BPSS check involves four main elements; Identity Check, National and Immigration Status, Employment History (last 3 years) and Verification of Criminal Record (unspent convictions only).
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Job Description
View Job Description and Employee Specification
Important note: When completing your online application form, you will be asked to enter supporting information. You must enter a detailed supporting information statement describing how your skills, abilities and experience meet the specific criteria included in the employee specification. If you do not include a supporting information statement, you will not be shortlisted. Please also ensure that you complete the work history and qualifications sections of your application form. Please do not add a CV as we do not accept them. Please see our Information for Applicants leaflet for further information.
We kindly request that recruitment agencies do not contact us regarding this job vacancy. We are not accepting agency applications or referrals at this time.
At Walsall Council, we appreciate that AI can be a useful tool for ideas or guidance. However, we encourage you to make sure your application reflects your own voice and experiences. Over-reliance on AI can make responses feel less personal, and we really want to understand what makes you unique. Your experiences, skills, and perspective are what set you apart, so please ensure your application as a whole - particularly your ‘Supporting Information’ - reflects your own voice.
Walsall Council’s Children’s Services are the only Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ local authority in the Black Country. During a visit in May 2025, Inspectors described Walsall Council as a place where children were at the heart of. The council’s journey of continuous improvement started in 2017 and has since transformed into a service with a clear vision, clear priorities and a clear plan, all informed by the views of our staff and children. Staff are at the core of delivering great outcomes for children and young people in Walsall, which is underpinned by our Walsall Right 4 Children vision. The latest Ofsted inspection demonstrated that staff in children’s services are proud to work for Walsall Council and feel supported to do great work.
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