Location: City wide across 6 Best Start Family Hubs and network sites
Hours: 37 Hours a week
Closing Date: 20th August 2026
Contract Type: Fixed Term
Contract Duration: 3 years
We're looking for passionate, proactive individuals to join our Family Hubs team as Best Start Inclusion Practitioners (BSIPs).
With opportunities available across our Family Hub network in Derby, you'll be based within a local community, building trusted relationships and providing early, accessible support where it can have the greatest impact.
Working across Family Hubs and community settings and with partners, you'll support Families with children aged 0–5 who may have emerging or additional needs and support the connection for families with the right support, helping build confidence, prevent challenges from escalating, and improve long-term outcomes.
If you're committed to early intervention and inclusion and want to make a real difference in the lives of young children and families, this is an exciting opportunity to join an established Family Hub Team and help shape its future.
Who We Are
Here at Derby City Council, we’re dedicated to delivering nearly 250 first-class services to citizens and businesses in the heart of the Midlands. People are at the centre of all that we do, and we have an outstanding track record of recruiting and developing talented individuals by providing them with varied and fulfilling career opportunities. Find out more about what it’s like to work for us.
What We Offer
You too could be part of something brilliant by becoming a colleague at Derby City Council; in addition to making a difference to the lives of people across the city, you’ll also receive:
- Flexible work/life balance scheme (depending on your role)
- Hybrid working (depending on your role)
- Modern office environment (depending on your job location)
- Continued professional development opportunities & career conversations
- 27 days annual leave (rising to 32 days after 5 years' service), plus bank holidays (depending on contract)
- Local Government Pension Scheme (depending on contract)
- Team Derby Rewards – retail and leisure discounts
- Tusker Car Benefit Scheme
- Cycle2Work Scheme & free cycle training
- Employee Assistance Programme, Wellbeing Calendar and Support
- Access to our Equality Employee Networks – LGBTQ+, Disabled Employee Network & Carers and our Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic Employee Support Network and Neurodiversity Network
- Support for colleagues who are carers
The Opportunity
In the role of Best Start Inclusion Practitioner, here’s an example of what you’ll be doing to make an impact:
You'll deliver a responsive, relationship-led service, supporting families through drop-in sessions, group activities and community outreach.
Your role will include:
- Being a welcoming and trusted presence in Family Hubs, offering advice, guidance and practical support.
- Identifying emerging needs in children aged 0–5 through observation and engagement with families.
- Providing short-term, early support and helping families access the right services.
- Working collaboratively with health, early years, Inclusion and community partners to provide joined-up support.
- Helping families understand and navigate local services, including Inclusion pathways, financial support and community resources.
The focus will be signposting and supporting early identification when necessary timely intervention and making support easier for families to access at the right time
About You
To be successful in this role, you’ll ideally have…
Experience of working with young children and families, alongside a genuine passion for making a difference through early intervention and inclusion.
We're looking for someone who:
- Can identify emerging needs and recognise when additional support may be required.
- Builds trusting relationships and communicate with families in a supportive, approachable way.
- Takes a practical, empathetic approach and is confident providing hands-on support.
- Works effectively across community settings and in partnership with other professionals.
- Is committed to inclusion and improving outcomes for children and families.
You'll also have:
- Knowledge and experience of SEND and inclusion, of child development and an understanding of the identification of additional needs.
- Experience supporting families in community, early years or similar settings.
- A relevant Level 3 qualification.
Above all, you'll be approachable, compassionate and committed to helping children and families thrive through high-quality early support.
Next Steps
If you would like to apply for this vacancy via an application form, please submit an application via the Derby City Council website.
The closing date for this vacancy is at midnight on Thursday 20 August 2026. Any applications received after the closing date will not be accepted.
Interviews will be held: Monday 14th September or Tuesday 15th September
If you would prefer to apply for this job using your CV, then please download and complete the attached Declaration Form and send it to [email protected] with your CV. Without a completed declaration form, your application will not be accepted. We also encourage you to download the Equalities Form and return this to [email protected] however, this is optional and will not affect your application.
For an informal chat, please contact Emma Falivena on 07789 504876.
Important Information
Links to the full Job Description and Person Specification are below.
All employees will normally be appointed to the minimum of the grade for the job.
Before you complete your application, please read our guidance on filling in your application form.
Remember to align your personal statement to the essential criteria in the Person Specification.
Please be aware that where there are colleagues within the organisation who are 'at risk' of redundancy, requirements to redeploy to another suitable role will apply and take priority.
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
We are a fair and inclusive employer and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds. We recruit for diversity and value difference. As many of our roles can now be home-based, we are able to offer more opportunities for people who need this facility.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. If you are a disabled person, you have the choice to apply under our Guaranteed Interview Scheme so long as you demonstrate that you meet the essential requirements for the job.
We feel it is essential that we recruit a talented workforce that is as diverse as the community we work for.
Please let us know of any individual requirements or reasonable adjustments you may have during the application, interview, or onboarding process and we’ll do all we can to help. We strongly believe in social understanding of disability and for us it’s all about removing barriers to equality.
If you have any questions regarding this vacancy or are having difficulty applying, please contact our Recruitment Team on 01332 640844 (Relay UK - 18001 01332 640 844) or at [email protected]. https://www.derby.gov.uk/signing-service/
