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Child protection officers promote children's wellbeing and protect them from harm or abuse.
You could work: between 8am and 6pm; on a rota
There will be
3.9% more Child protection officer jobs in 2029.
In your local area
In your daily tasks you may:
You could work in an office or visit sites.
Your working environment may be emotionally demanding and you may spend nights away from home.
You can get into this job through:
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.
You'll usually need:
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.
Experience of working with vulnerable children is essential.
You can get experience by volunteering. You can get information on volunteering opportunities from:
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:
You'll need several years of experience working with children, young people, their parents and carers. Management experience will also be helpful.
You'll need to:
You could join the Association of Child Protection Professionals for career development opportunities and to meet others doing this job.
You can find out more about working in child protection from NSPCC Learning.
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