Child protection officer

Child protection officers promote children's wellbeing and protect them from harm or abuse.

Also known as: Safeguarding officer

• Starter salary£25,000 a year
• Experienced£40,000 a year
• Typical hours37 to 40 a week

What you'll do

In your daily tasks you may:

• speak with children, families and carers to assess their needs
• investigate concerns and allegations
• promote children's rights, safety and wellbeing
• write report, care plans and arrange support
• make referrals to partner agencies
• give evidence in court

Working environment

You could work in an office or visit sites.

Your working environment may be emotionally demanding and you may spend nights away from home.

Skills and knowledge you'll need

You'll need:

• counselling skills and a non-judgemental approach
• sensitivity and understanding
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• to be flexible and open to change
• the ability to work well with others
• knowledge of psychology
• the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
• active listening skills
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

How to become a child protection officer

You can get into this job through:

• an apprenticeship
• working towards this role
• applying directly

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do a Safeguarding Support Officer Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship with an organisation, then move into child protection work after further training.

This takes up to 2 years to complete.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Work

You could do professional development training with your employer to move into child protection work.

For example, you may be a police officer and complete a course before moving to a child protection unit in your area.

Volunteering

Experience of working with vulnerable children is essential.

You can get experience by volunteering. You can get information on volunteering opportunities from:

• NSPCC
• The Children's Society
• Do IT

Direct application

You can apply directly for jobs if you're a qualified professional.

Employers often look for social workers but other roles that involve child protection include:

• youth worker
• teacher
• police officer
• family support worker
• probation officer

You'll need several years of experience working with children, young people, their parents and carers. Management experience will also be helpful.

Restrictions and requirements

You'll need to:

• pass enhanced background checks as you may work with children and vulnerable adults

You'll usually need a driving licence.

Career path and progression

With further training and experience, you could:

• become a lead officer of your organisation's child protection team
• work for a safeguarding partnership
• become a children's services inspector
• become a self-employed consultant who gives child protection advice and delivers training

Professional and industry bodies

You could join the Association of Child Protection Professionals for career development opportunities and to meet others doing this job.

Guides for this industry

• Administration: pay, interviews and getting started →

Related roles

• Job roleSocial worker
• Job roleFamily support worker
• Job roleEducation welfare officer
• Job roleYouth worker
• Job roleOfsted inspector

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0