Lead Child Protection Practitioner

Overview Join Harrow Children’s Services Be part of an ambitious Children’s Social Care service improving outcomes for children and families. The London Borough of Harrow is embarking on an exciting period of change as we deliver a series of ambitious Children’s Reforms Programmes – including Families First, Best Start Family Hubs, Best Start in Life and SEND Reforms. We strive to help every child thrive and through the reforms we are re shaping our future support for children, young people and families across the borough. As part of the Families First Programme, we are building a practice system where relationships are key, where we work alongside children and families encouraging family led decision making and offering multi-disciplinary help when its needed.  We are building on our strengths to further improve our approach to child protection, remodelling our system to create a dedicated Multi-Agency Child Protection Service (MACPS) , to have the lead role in keeping children and adolescents safe. Are you an experienced child protection social worker with the expertise, confidence and professional curiosity to lead complex safeguarding decision-making? Harrow Council is seeking Lead Child Protection Practitioners to join our Multi-Agency Child Protection Team and play a central role in strengthening statutory child protection practice across Children’s Services. This is a specialist role for a qualified and registered social worker who can provide expert leadership across Section 47 child protection enquiries, strategy discussions, child protection conferences and multi-agency safeguarding activity. Working alongside partners from police, health, education and wider children’s services, you will help ensure that children and young people are protected from significant harm and that families receive clear, timely and proportionate intervention. The role is directly aligned to the Lead Child Protection Practitioner Standards, which set out the knowledge and skills required to effectively lead child protection processes. You will be expected to demonstrate strong capability in identifying and responding to actual or likely significant harm; engaging children and families during Section 47 enquiries; formulating risk and likelihood of significant harm; and planning and intervening to prevent or stop harm. As Lead Child Protection Practitioner, you will provide consultation, challenge and guidance to social workers and partner agencies, promoting high-quality analysis, defensible decision-making and child-centred planning. You will bring together information from across the professional network, support robust assessment of risk inside and outside the home, and ensure safeguarding responses are relational, trauma-informed, anti-racist, inclusive and proportionate. About the role You will work within a co-located Multi-Agency Child Protection Team, exercising the local authority’s statutory child protection duties in line with the Children Act 1989, the Children Act 2004, Working Together to Safeguard Children, the London Child Protection Procedures and Harrow’s local safeguarding arrangements. Key responsibilities will include: Leading and coordinating Section 47 child protection enquiries across Children’s Services. Chairing strategy meetings, child protection conferences and other complex multi-agency safeguarding discussions. Providing expert consultation, guidance and professional challenge to social workers, managers and partner agencies. Supporting timely, evidence-informed and defensible decision-making where children may be suffering, or are likely to suffer, significant harm. Contributing to protection and safety planning that is clear, purposeful and focused on improving outcomes for children and young people. Promoting high standards of recording, analysis, information-sharing and quality assurance across the child protection pathway. Modelling relational, strengths-based, trauma-informed and culturally competent prac