Are you passionate about safeguarding children and young people? Do you want to make a lasting impact in education while working for a values-led, progressive organisation?
Compass Community is a national provider of education and care for children and young people. We are seeking a skilled and experienced Advanced Safeguarding Social Work Practitioner for Education to join our team. This is a unique opportunity to influence safeguarding practice across our education settings and ensure that every child in our care is safe, supported, and able to thrive.
About the Role
As an Advanced Practitioner, you will take a lead role in embedding exceptional safeguarding practices across Compass Education services. You’ll work closely with school leaders, operational teams, and external partners to maintain a culture of vigilance, continuous improvement, and accountability.
This role requires confident decision-making, expert knowledge of safeguarding legislation, and the ability to lead investigations, develop policy, and provide high-level guidance and support.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead on safeguarding reviews, investigations, and allegations involving education staff.
- Visit schools regularly to audit safeguarding processes and provide guidance.
- Review incident reports and risk management plans, ensuring they are robust, accurate, and child-focused.
- Act as a safeguarding governor across multiple schools.
- Deliver training and workshops on safeguarding practice, policy, and legal updates.
- Mentor education leaders and designated safeguarding leads (DSLs), providing professional support and challenge.
- Promote a safeguarding-first culture that exceeds regulatory expectations.
- Ensure safeguarding records and casework demonstrate reflective practice and high-quality social work analysis.
- Contribute to strategic planning, influencing policies and practices that support excellent safeguarding outcomes.
- Support the development of safeguarding information systems and quality assurance processes.
- Participate in an office duty rota to provide responsive support across services.
What We’re Looking For
Essential:
- Degree in Social Work (or equivalent) and current registration with a relevant professional body.
- Significant post-qualification experience in safeguarding roles, including education settings.
- In-depth knowledge of child protection legislation, including Keeping Children Safe in Education and related guidance.
- Experience managing allegations, investigations, and multi-agency safeguarding processes.
- Confidence in delivering training and developing safeguarding policy.
- Strong communication and mentoring skills, with the ability to build relationships at all levels.
- A commitment to improving outcomes and driving continuous improvement across services.
Desirable:
- Postgraduate qualification in safeguarding, leadership or education.
- Experience of working within or alongside Ofsted-regulated services.
- A proactive and flexible approach to working across a multi-site organisation.
Why Join Compass?
We are a supportive, inclusive organisation that puts children—and our people—at the centre of everything we do. In return for your commitment, we offer:
- 25 days annual leave, rising to 28 days within 4 years, plus all bank holidays.
- Additional 2.5 days each year for your birthday, a health and wellbeing day and a half day festive shopping day.
- Life Assurance Scheme. Named beneficiaries qualify for 3x annual salary after successful completion of probationary.
- A contributory pension scheme.
- Cashback for various medical appointments & treatments including optical and dental with MediCash.
- Excellent career development opportunities in a growing and ambitious service.
- Team days and staff engagement activities.
- A culture that encourages innovation, collaboration, and professional growth.
Compass is committed to creating a safe workforce. All roles are subject to enhanced DBS checks and satisfactory references. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if a high volume of applications is received.
Compass is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. As we continue to grow, we know that we must have the most talented employees with diverse backgrounds, cultures, perspectives, and experiences to support our children and young people.