Location: Inverness, Highlands Salary: circa £38,000 per annum + £700 on call allowance Directorate: Children's Services Scotland Contract Type: Permanent Full Time Closing Date: 29 April 2024 Benefits:
Vulnerable children in the UK need your help Wherever you work in the Action for Children family, you'll be helping to change the lives of the most vulnerable children in the UK. Last year, we helped more than 670,000 children and families across the UK. From direct work in communities to national campaigning, we are focused on making sure every child has a safe and happy childhood, and the foundations they need to thrive. Why Action for Children? Working here is more than a job. Everyone in the Action for Children family is passionate about protecting and supporting children. It's the sense of purpose that drives us every single day. Because we know that, when we work together, we can make a huge difference to bring lasting improvements to vulnerable children's lives. A bit about the role Action for Children's Fostering Service is a specialist fostering service that offers therapeutic care to children and young people who cannot be looked after at home. We offer the highest standard of care providing carers with excellent training, supervision, and support to achieve the best outcomes for the young people we look after. We have excellent fostering inspections and provide good quality of care to young people, always ensuring we listen to our young people every step of the way. You'll promote the highest standards of care and wellbeing for our young people, and guide and deliver training to foster carers with opportunities to really get to know young people and support them on their journey. By thinking therapeutically and creatively (with and for) young people and ensuring best practice, you'll make a real and lasting difference. You'll be part of a team that values relational- based practice, as this is at the heart of all that we do! Our Service is growing, and as a Fostering Social Worker you'll be working in Gael Og, our Fostering Scotland team covering the Highlands. Our Fostering Head Office base is in Glasgow with a local office in Inverness and we can discuss the frequency of office-based work at the interview stage. Further details and application documents here Location: Hybrid - Exeter Devon, with travel across the South West. Salary: £36000 per annum plus allowance for Out of Hours On Call Contract Type: Permanent Full Time Closing Date: 26 April 2024 Benefits:
Vulnerable children in the UK need your help. Wherever you work in the Action for Children family, you'll be helping to change the lives of the most vulnerable children in the UK. Last year, we helped more than 671,000 children and families across the UK. From direct work in communities to national campaigning, we are focused on making sure every child has a safe and happy childhood, and the foundations they need to thrive. Why Action for Children? Working here is more than a job. Everyone in the Action for Children family is passionate about protecting and supporting children. It's the sense of purpose that drives us every single day. Because we know that, when we work together, we can make a huge difference to bring lasting improvements to vulnerable children's lives. A bit about the role Action for Children Fostering Southwest Peninsula and Family Breaks Devon seek to meet the needs of the most vulnerable children and young people in society by the provision of safe, secure, and successful foster homes including short breaks for children with additional needs. We also offer the highest standard of care - providing foster families with excellent training, supervision, and support to achieve the best outcomes for the young people we look after. We strive to provide a good quality of care to young people, always ensuring they are at the centre of our approach. We offer a therapeutic framework. Carers and staff have access to skilled psychologists with specialist knowledge of the needs of looked-after children. We are looking for an outstanding Fostering Social Worker who can support carers from the Devon/Somerset borders to Cornwall - so flexibility to travel across this cluster as and when needed is imperative for this role. You will also have the opportunity to assess applicants to foster. Participation in an out-of-hours telephone support service for carers is an expectation of this role. Further details and application documents here Salary: £36000 per annum Location: Hybrid - Exeter Devon homebased with travel across the South West. Contract Type: Permanent Full Time Closing Date: 9 April 2024 Circa Salary: £36,400 per annum plus allowance for Out of Hours rota
Contract/Hours: Permanent Full-time 37 hours per week. Benefits:
Vulnerable children in the UK need your help. Wherever you work in the Action for Children family, you'll be helping to change the lives of the most vulnerable children in the UK. Last year, we helped more than 671,000 children and families across the UK. From direct work in communities to national campaigning, we are focused on making sure every child has a safe and happy childhood, and the foundations they need to thrive. Why Action for Children? Working here is more than a job. Everyone in the Action for Children family is passionate about protecting and supporting children. It's the sense of purpose that drives us every single day. Because we know that, when we work together, we can make a huge difference to bring lasting improvements to vulnerable children's lives. A bit about the role Action for Children Fostering Southwest Peninsula and Family Breaks Devon seek to meet the needs of the most vulnerable children and young people in society by the provision of safe, secure, and successful foster homes including short breaks for children with additional needs. We also offer the highest standard of care - providing foster families with excellent training, supervision, and support to achieve the best outcomes for the young people we look after. We strive to provide a good quality of care to young people, always ensuring they are at the centre of our approach. We offer a therapeutic framework. Carers and staff have access to skilled psychologists with specialist knowledge of the needs of looked-after children. We are looking for an outstanding Fostering Social Worker who can support carers from the Devon/Somerset borders to Cornwall - so flexibility to travel across this cluster as and when needed is imperative for this role. You will also have the opportunity to assess applicants to foster. Participation in an out-of-hours telephone support service for carers is an expectation of this role. How you'll help to create brighter futures.
Further details and application documents here Location: Bristol, Southwest England. Salary: £22,500 per annum pro rata Contract Type:Fixed Term Part-Time Closing Date: 15 March 2024 Interviews: Week Commening 26 March 2024 Contract/Hours: Fixed Term/ Part Time working 18. 5 hours a week (Fixed Term till March 2025)
Benefits: 29 days annual leave PLUS bank holidays pro rata, excellent training and development opportunities, flexible maternity, adoption, and paternity packages, up to 7% employer contribution pension, and a discount portal with your favourite brands. Blue Light Card eligibility with 15,000 discounts from national retailers. Why Action for Children? Working here is more than a job. Everyone in the Action for Children family is passionate about protecting and supporting children. It is the sense of purpose that drives us every single day. Because we know that, when we work together, we can make a huge difference to bring lasting improvements to vulnerable children's lives. A bit about the role Our three linked services, Fostering Southwest, Fostering Southwest Peninsula and Family Breaks Devon provide high quality foster families to vulnerable children and young people from our offices in Bristol and Exeter. As a Transitions Worker you'll be providing one to one (and possibly group based) practical and emotional support to our young people to make the transition from foster care/continuing care into independent living. You'll coordinate and direct the support to young people by agreeing and providing interventions, enabling positive and agreed outcomes to be achieved, in accordance with organisational policies, procedures and regulatory requirements. How you'll help to create brighter futures You'll offer support and advice to our young people to overcome barriers that can include housing, homelessness, confidence and self-esteem issues, poor social skills, lack of qualifications and employment opportunities. You will also support young people with emotional wellbeing and provide resilient and nurturing support, even in challenging and demanding situations. Key responsibilities of your role will be to:
Further details and application documents here A year ago today, the government set out its 'Stable homes, Built on Love' strategy to reform children's social care. Here's what's happened since. ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, published a year ago today, is a mixture of short-term ambitions and ‘pathfinders’ to test major social care reforms and longer-term ambitions. These were picked by government from years of research, reviews and hours of consultation with young people, families, and practitioners. However, it has taken much longer than a year to get to where we are, and there is still much further to go to create a children’s social care system fit for the future. What has been the journey so far? December 2019: the Conservative Manifesto pledged to review the care system in England. December 2020: Josh MacAlister was announced as chair of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care. March 2021: the Care Review began and the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) launch a study of children’s social care provision. December 2021: a national child safeguarding practice review was triggered in response to the murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson. March 2022: the CMA publish their final report declaring the children’s social care market ‘dysfunctional’. May 2022: the national child safeguarding practice review and the Care Review’s final report are published. The government immediately announced more funding for family hubs, set up a National Implementation Board to oversee delivery of reforms, and boost efforts to recruit more foster carers. November 2022: consultation on the Care Review’s final report closes. February 2023: the government published their strategy, ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’. Change takes time It has already been nearly three years since the Care Review began. The average time of a single episode in care is just under two and a half years. So for lots of children in the care system right now, their whole care experience will have been untouched by the Care Review. Read more about the Care Review We support the pathfinder approach and acknowledge that major reforms need to be tested and evaluated. However, the current phased (pathfinder) approach taken by government to implement improvements, means wholesale reform is delayed until 2025. "By not investing into the system in the meantime, we estimate that this delay will cost an additional £1bn over 10 years. [1]" Further delays must be avoided after the general election. Meanwhile, children and families are struggling to get the support they need or are receiving it too late. And more children are in care than ever before. There are:
What about the general election?
There is a high level of uncertainty about what the next general election will mean for the children’s social care reform programme. The next general election is expected to happen sometime this year. Yet, opposition parties have not explicitly committed to taking it forward and there’s no guarantee that the existing reforms will be delivered. We’re working hard to make sure all parties commit to improving children’s social care. Over the last few months we have:
"Overall, we’d like to see all parties commit to investment in, and reform of, children’s social care, to ensure that children in need of help and protection get the right support, at the right time, to achieve good outcomes." Member News from Action for Children: 4 ways we're supporting children and young people in care12/1/2024
1 in 50 children spend some time in care in their lifetimes. Find out how we're helping these children have safe and happy childhoods. There are over 108,000 children in care across the UK today. And even more children and families rely on wider social care services – such as the support of social workers and family support services. So, what are we doing to help children in care? 1. We work with 40,000 children in care and care-experienced young people every year Every year around 30,000 children enter care and 30,000 leave care. We provide a range of support to 40,000 of these children and young people each year.
This year, we hope to support more children as we open new children’s homes, family hubs, and other services that reach children in care and children with care experience. 2. We have 45 children’s homes across the UK Children go into the care system for lots of reasons. Most commonly it’s because they’re abused or neglected. 5% are unaccompanied migrant children. Some children are victims of domestic abuse or have parents with mental health issues. We have approximately 118 places for children in our family-style homes. And for all those we support, we know this setting best meets the needs of each child. One of these places is home to 15-year-old Rhys. Rhys has been in care since he was 10 years old, and it hasn’t been easy. He's moved through eight placements before arriving at our children’s home in Tan y Bryn. Life has changed a lot for Rhys since joining us two years ago – now he’s thriving. 3. We’ve partnered with the John Lewis Partnership to support children in care We’ve launched a year-long partnership with the John Lewis Partnership to support their commitment to young people across the UK who are in care and have care experience. We’ll use this partnership to grow our expert services to:
4. We're campaigning for change
The children’s social care system faces huge challenges. We see this every day in areas such as: Early help: Each year, 60,000 children are referred to social care who were referred to social care the year before but weren’t offered any support. Children and families don’t get help soon enough. Quality of care: Too many children don’t get the safe and happy home they deserve. Instead, they’re placed far away from home, have unstable placements, or are placed in accommodation that’s badly run or unsuitable. Support for children and families when children leave care: When children and young people leave care, the support they rely on is often withdrawn. Because of this, care experienced young people are less likely to go onto further education, more likely to be unemployed, and more likely to interact with the criminal justice system. We’re calling the government to prioritise children. They need to invest in fixing the care system to prevent more children from needing to enter care. And improve the outcomes for children in, and leaving the care system. Source: www.actionforchildren.org.uk Salary: £68,800 per annum Location: Mainland Scotland Contract Type: Permanent Full Time Closing Date: 26 January 2024 Location: Mainland Scotland. (Geographical area will include a mix of Central and North Scotland locations).
Benefits: 29 days annual leave pro rata PLUS bank holidays, excellent training and development opportunities, flexible maternity, adoption, and paternity packages, up to 7% employer contribution pension, discount portal with your favourite brands. Closing Date: Friday 26th January 2024. Interviews are scheduled for Thursday 22nd February in Glasgow. Why Action for Children? Working here is more than a job. Everyone in the Action for Children family is passionate about protecting and supporting children. It is the sense of purpose that drives us every single day. Because we know that, when we work together, we can make a huge difference to bring lasting improvements to vulnerable children's lives. A bit about the role Are you a strong communicator and creative thinker with a flair for innovation who is focused and passionate about changing the lives of children and their families? We have a unique opportunity for an Operational Director of Children's Services to provide leadership and management across Scotland. This is an exciting and rewarding role with the opportunity to make a huge personal impact. Reporting to the National Director of Scotland, you will lead, develop, and manage a dedicated team of managers who deliver a range of children's services across a specified area. Scotland has ambitious plans to grow residential, fostering, criminal exploitation and mental health services whilst ensuring our existing service footprint remains strong and sustainable. This is an exciting opportunity for an inspirational leader who wants to make a difference to the lives of children and young people as part of an enthusiastic and ambitious Scotland team. How you'll help to create brighter futures
Let's talk about you
Please see the Job Description for the full list of accountabilities and requirements. Contact: David Simpson, Recruitment Partner on 01923 361732 or email david.simpson@actionforchildren.org.uk Diversity, equality, and inclusion At Action for Children, we're dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace. We actively encourage applications from Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic, and disabled candidates as they are under-represented within Action for Children. We want to take deliberate and purposeful action to ensure equal opportunity to all groups in society and for Action for Children. Don't meet every single requirement? Studies show that women and Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic people are less likely to apply for a job unless they meet every qualification. So, if you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with the job description, we'd love you to apply anyway. You might just be the perfect person for this role, or another role within the Action for Children family. Full details and application documents here Member News: Action for Children - Celebrating six years of Secret Santa: our campaign so far2/1/2024
Christmas is a wonderful time of year. A time of mince pies, stockings, and Christmas music. But at Action for Children, this period is even more magical: it is also the time of our Secret Santa campaign. Secret Santa is our Christmas charity appeal. Each year, we ask people like you to help a vulnerable child, young person, or family in the UK. How? By buying a gift that could put the magic back into their Christmas. And each Christmas, our supporters remind us of their incredible generosity. But this year also marked six years of our Secret Santa campaign. Six years of seeing the incredible difference that people like you can make. To mark the event, we have reflected over the last six years and the wonderful milestones and impact that our supporters have helped us make. 2018: The birth of Secret Santa 2018 saw the launch of our first ever Secret Santa campaign. It started with just an illustration style of a child at Christmas and an animated video that spoke to people across the UK. Each year since, the magic has only grown... 2019: From Covent Garden to virtual gifting Our second year saw our Secret Santa campaign grow even more – taking to London with its first ever charity pop-up shop. The shop was in the Christmassy haven of Covent Garden. And for sale were "Safe and Happy" jumpers and T-shirts, each designed by celebrity supporters. But the designs were not only cosy and Christmassy; they also embodied our vision of trying to create safe and happy childhoods across the UK. 2019 also saw the introduction of our virtual gifting, which allowed supporters to buy a charitable gift for their loved ones anywhere in the world. All of a sudden, becoming a Secret Santa was easier and more accessible than ever before. 2020: Pivoting our campaign 2020 and the wake of Covid-19 saw us pivot our Secret Santa campaign and embrace the need for virtual gifting and events even more. Having introduced virtual gifting the year before, it soon became a cornerstone of our Christmas appeal. A cornerstone that has remained to this day. We also introduced our Starry Night carol concept: a virtual event hosted by journalist and TV presenter, Jon Snow, with dazzling performances from Leona Lewis and Liam Gallagher. It was a night of carols and comedy, and brought together households across the UK in festive cheer and the message of giving back at Christmas. 2021: Celebs, partnerships, and Santa takeovers 2021 was an exciting year for our Secret Santa campaign. A new partnership with First Direct meant we could share our mission of delivering safe and happy childhoods to even more people. We also hosted a Radio Times Santa takeover that reached millions of listeners nationwide. This was an exciting highlight for our Christmas campaign, as people across the UK heard and supported our message of putting the magic back into Christmas for a vulnerable child. 2022: Secret Santa takes its first award In its fifth year, Secret Santa had one of its greatest achievements yet: we received the Poverty award at The Drum Awards for Social Purpose. This award was a milestone in our campaign, making 2022 a year to remember. 2022 also saw the launch of out first ever Secret Santa TV ad... The advert features Nathan, Lucy and Tripti and was narrated by Larry Lamb. He shares their individual stories as they come to life through Christmas cards displayed on a festive mantlepiece. The advert was a marked milestone in our campaign, which even made an appearance on ITV's This Morning, reaching even more people across the UK. An unexpected gift Perhaps the icing on the Christmas cake in 2022, however, was the unexpected support from comedian Peter Kay. During a live performance, Peter Kay graciously contributed £14,000 to our cause - £1 for each person who attended. Whilst on stage, he said: "I think Christmas is about doing good things for other people so we’re gonna take a pound off each of you. I’m going to put it in a children's charity, and I was looking at my phone on the way down and I found one called Action for Children. They do a Secret Santa, and it seems really lovely. There’s 14,000 people here, so if I take a pound that’s £14,000 for children on your behalf. So, thanks!” Read more about Peter's donation here 2023: Festive baubles and wonderful carols Finally, this year too was a year to remember for our Secret Santa campaign. In November, we launched our first ever range of charity Christmas baubles. The baubles were designed by Jess – a young person who received support from Action for Children – and TV personality Billie Shepherd. Both are sustainable, plastic-free and locally sourced. They are also handmade, which makes each one beautifully unique. But whether Jess' baubles, with its shades of blossom pink and festive green, or Billie's mother of pearl and gold, each will add a touch of festive glamour and charitable giving to homes across the UK this Christmas. Carols at 'Together at Christmas' In December, our extraordinary Young Carers Aloud choir showcased their talent. Not only did they give a magical performance at our Starry Night Gala at the end of November. But on ITV's This Morning and at our royal patron’s, the Princess of Wales, Christmas carol event 'Together at Christmas'. The Princess of Wales never fails to amaze us with her support for Action for Children. But the invite to our young carers choir to perform as people arrived at the Together at Christmas carols was the star of our Christmas celebrations this year.
Their medley of Christmas songs brought warmth and festivity to all in attendance. Whilst the collective talent and dedication of the Young Carers Aloud choir added a magical touch to our festive season. It was truly a celebration to remember. Learn more about the Young Carers Aloud choir Source: www.actionforchildren.org.uk Location: Hybrid – Horfield Bristol Salary: £37,000 per annum Contract Type: Permanent Full Time Closing Date: 21 December 2023 Salary: c£37,000 per annum dependant on experience - Plus on call allowance.
Contract/Hours: Permanent Full- time 37hrs per week. Location: Hybrid – Horfield Bristol - You will be expected to travel around the Southwest, but we do offer the flexibility to work from home on occasions. Benefits:
Please note we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role. Vulnerable children in the UK need your help. Wherever you work in the Action for Children family, you'll be helping to change the lives of the most vulnerable children in the UK. Last year, we helped more than 670,000 children and families across the UK. From direct work in communities to national campaigning, we are focused on making sure every child has a safe and happy childhood, and the foundations they need to thrive. Why Action for Children? Working here is more than a job. Everyone in the Action for Children family is passionate about protecting and supporting children. It's the sense of purpose that drives us every single day. Because we know that, when we work together, we can make a huge difference to bring lasting improvements to vulnerable children's lives. Action for Children does what's right, does what's needed and does what works for children in the UK. Every year, our team changes the lives of thousands of children. A bit about the role Our three linked services, Fostering Southwest, Fostering Southwest Peninsula and Family Breaks Devon provide high quality foster families to vulnerable children and young people working closely with nearby Action for Children Services. We offer the highest standard of care-providing carers with excellent training, supervision, and support to achieve the best outcomes for the young people we look after. We strive to provide a good quality of care, always ensuring the young people are the centre of our approach. We are looking for an outstanding Fostering Social Worker who can support placements in the Southwest of England. How you'll help to create brighter futures.
Let's talk about you.
Working here is so much more than a job. Whether this is a career change for you or the next step in your journey, we'd love to hear from you. Good to know. Application Process There are five sections to complete: Personal Details, CV, Supporting Statement & Information, Equality & Diversity, Submission & Declaration. Contact: Recruitment Partner David Simpson on 01923 361732 or email david.simpson@actionforchildren.org.uk for any further information. Diversity, equality, and inclusion At Action for Children, we're dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace. We actively encourage applications from Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic, and disabled candidates as they are under-represented within Action for Children. We want to take deliberate and purposeful action to ensure equal opportunity to all groups in society and for Action for Children. Male staff are under-represented within our Children Service roles. We would like to encourage more male applicants for our Children Service roles. Don't meet every single requirement? If you're excited about this role ad qualified as a social worker but your experience doesn't align perfectly with the job description, we'd love you to apply anyway. You might just be the perfect person for this role, or another role within the Action for Children family. Full details and application details here Location: Bristol, South West England. Salary: £24,000 per annum (pro-rata). Contract Type: Fixed Term Part-Time Closing Date: 20 December 2023 Contract/Hours: Part Time Fixed Term Contract – for 12 months – 18.5 hours a week.
Benefits: 29 days annual leave PLUS bank holidays pro rata, excellent training and development opportunities, flexible maternity, adoption, and paternity packages, up to 7% employer contribution pension, and a discount portal with your favourite brands. Blue Light Card eligibility with 15,000 discounts from national retailers. Why Action for Children? Working here is more than a job. Everyone in the Action for Children family is passionate about protecting and supporting children. It is the sense of purpose that drives us every single day. Because we know that, when we work together, we can make a huge difference to bring lasting improvements to vulnerable children's lives. A bit about the role As a Transition Worker, you will support care experienced people aged 16-24 with significant transitions. This might involve preparing them to move into independent living or supported accommodation. For young people moving on, this may be a move onto their own tenancy/suitable accommodation, or another planned destination. Where young people are moving towards more independence you will assist them to develop the necessary life skills to manage their own tenancy independently, and responsibly and to budget effectively. You will also support young people with skills to Transition to new environments whilst they live with their carers – this will include supporting them to move to college or exploring work-based options and experiences. It will be your role to build a trusting relationship with the young people and support them to sustain positive relationships with other adults involved with them, as they move into the next stage of their lives. Where young people are moving on to live independently you will assist them to develop the necessary life skills to manage their own tenancy independently, and responsibly and to budget effectively. How you'll help to create brighter futures You'll offer support and advice to our young people to overcome barriers that can include housing, homelessness, confidence and self-esteem issues, poor social skills, lack of qualifications and employment opportunities. You will also support young people with emotional wellbeing and provide resilient and nurturing support, even in challenging and demanding situations. Key responsibilities of your role will be to:
Let's talk about you! We're looking for someone with great planning and organisational skills. Do you have the ability to communicate effectively and find it easy to build and engage with young people and professionals? If so, we would love to hear from you! Some other requirements we have for the role are:
For any recruitment related queries or help with your application please contact: David Simpson on 01923 361732. At Action for Children, we're dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace by actively encouraging applications from Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic candidates and people with disabilities, as they are under-represented within Action for Children. We want to take deliberate and meaningful action to ensure fair opportunity to all groups in our communities and for AFC. Don't meet every single requirement? If you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with the job description, we'd love you to apply anyway. You might just be the perfect person for this role, or another role within the Action for Children family. Full details and application documents here |
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