Location: Remote with in-person Board meetings in London Salary: This is an unremunerated role. All reasonable expenses will be reimbursed Hours: Three days per month on average Closing Date: 12/01/2024 TACT is the UK’s largest dedicated fostering charity, with over 500 foster carers currently providing loving homes for over 600 children and young people across England, Scotland and Wales. We have annual income of £25million and 200 staff.
Since we were founded in 1993, we have strived to offer excellent care for all our children entrusted to us and to instil positive change in the wider care system. We have also sought to innovate so we can improve the experiences of children and young people in the care system to transform outcomes for the better. TACT has continued to undertake a wide range of innovative work across the UK. We have recently added a health service to our successful education service, which is proving to be both a much-needed resource in improving educational outcomes for our children. We have also launched TACT Connect, initially with support from the Rank Foundation and now with a significant four-year Lottery grant. TACT Connect recognises that parenting never stops and we aim to stay in touch with all of the children we have cared for so that we can celebrate their successes and offer support when required. TACT Connect is a wholly unique service in the sector. We aim to remain at the leading edge of improving the UK care system. Underpinning all of this vital work are our excellent staff and, of course, our amazing and inspirational foster carers. They are caring for children and young people who are vulnerable, but also full of hopes, dreams, potential and joy. Good foster families provide safe and stable homes and help children fulfil their potential and enable them to lead happy and successful lives. This is an important and exciting time to be joining as Chair. Despite a challenging market, with continued cuts to local authority funding, we have remained in a strong financial position, generating a surplus for the past two years. We are now in a fortunate position to be able to further invest in growth and innovation for the years ahead, creating more, tailored services to better support our children and their families. We are therefore looking for a Chair who can build on our ambition by attracting a diverse range of skills and personal lived experiences to our Board through the appointment of new Trustees, and by providing critical challenge and oversight to our work. We are looking for an experienced and inspiring board member who brings an understanding of best-in-class governance and exceptional board development skills; a leader who can get the best out of teams but who can also hold people to account. You will likely have knowledge of Children’s Social Care, and an understanding of fostering and adoption services would be useful, although not essential. An ability to maintain financial resilience within a commissioned environment will be important though. We are all excited about the opportunity this appointment presents to lead our charity into the next phase of its journey, with our foster carers and children at the heart. We hope that you want to be part of it. In addition to welcoming applicants from all backgrounds, we are particularly interested in hearing from candidates who bring personal experience as a carer. How to Apply Tall Roots is acting as an employment agency partner to TACT. Applications should be made online at tallroots.co.uk/tact-chair and include:
The closing date for applications is Friday 12th January 2024. Candidates will be informed of the outcome of their application by Friday 19th January 2024. Preliminary interviews with Tall Roots will be held virtually during w/c 22nd January 2024. Informal stakeholder sessions (remote) and final panel interviews (in-person) with TACT will be held during w/c 5th February 2023. If you have any questions relating to the role or the process, or would like any adjustments made to accommodate your needs, please contact Mark Crowley at Tall Roots by email at mark.crowley@tallroots.co.uk. Full details and application documents here Location: Homebased - Liverpool Salary: £31,764 p.a (Supervising Social Worker) or £35,893 p.a. (Senior Supervising Social Worker) + £750 Homeworking Allowance p.a + £1,500 OOH Allowance p.a. once participating on the rota. Hours: 35 hours per week - Fixed term for 12 months Closing Date: 02/01/2024 Interview Date: 09/01/2024 Job Title – Supervising Social Worker / Senior Supervising Social Worker
Pay - £31,764 p.a (Supervising Social Worker) or £35,893 p.a. (Senior Supervising Social Worker) + £750 Homeworking Allowance p.a + £1,500 OOH Allowance p.a. once participating on the rota. Hours - 35 Hours per Week Contract – Fixed Term Contract for 12 months Location – Home based with travel required in the Liverpool City and Greater Manchester areas As a ‘not for profit’ organisation, TACT puts the needs of our children and carers first and look to appoint individuals who are as passionate about fostering as we are. TACT invests all surplus income into staff, carers, and child development. This means that we have been able to establish expert in-house support services such as our TACT Health and Education Services and create TACT Connect, our ground-breaking scheme for care experienced young people and adults. New staff will join us as we embark on a journey to become a wholly trauma-informed organisation with the aim of increasing our effectiveness and improving outcomes for the children and young people in our care. We pride ourselves on our flexible working opportunities, an extensive wellbeing programme and our benefits package, all curated to support a healthy work-life balance for all our staff. We will also invest in your learning, supporting you to grow and develop during your employment with TACT. You will be encouraged to attend personal and professional development opportunities and will have access to learning and resources to empower you to advance your knowledge and skills. We are currently the 4th Best Charity to work for and the 16th Best Mid-Sized Company in the UK according to The Best Companies criteria and our survey results have evidenced “outstanding” levels of engagement amongst staff in recent years. You can view our Best Companies summary video here. As a Social Worker with TACT, you will be a part of our amazing team of professionals working with our organisational values at the heart of their everyday practice. You can review our values here. Whilst being homebased, the Social Worker will visit and support foster families across the TACT North West area including the Liverpool City and Greater Manchester areas but will also travel within the wider region for team meetings, training and other in person events. In addition to the annual salary, the Social Worker role attracts Out of Hours Allowance of £1,500 p.a. once participating in the rota. We are seeking applications from both Supervising Social Workers and Senior Supervising Social Workers. The main requirements include:
TACT offer an excellent employee benefits package including:
An Enhanced DBS clearance is required for this role and will be processed by TACT on your behalf. Please see the Job Information Pack, Job Description and TACT website at Tactcare.org.uk for more detailed information. Closing Date: Tuesday 2nd January 2024 Interview Date: Tuesday 9th January 2024 (via Microsoft Teams) Safeguarding is everyone’s business and TACT believes that only the people with the right skills and values should work in social work. As part of TACT’s commitment to safeguarding, we properly examine the skills, experience, qualifications, and values of potential staff in relation to our work with vulnerable young children. We use rigorous and consistent recruitment approaches to help safeguard TACT’s young people. All our staff are expected to work in line with TACT’s safeguarding policies. TACT does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them. TACT reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so we advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment. Full details and application documents here Location: Homebased with occasional travel for in person meetings and training Salary: £52,939 per annum plus £750 per annum Homeworking Allowance and £4082 per annum London Weighting (if eligible) Hours: 35 Hours Per Week Closing Date: 13/12/2023 Interview Date: 09/01/2024 As a ‘not for profit’ organisation, TACT puts the needs of our children and carers first and look to appoint individuals who are as passionate about fostering as we are. TACT invests all surplus income into staff, carers, and child development. This means that we have been able to establish expert in-house support services such as our TACT Health and Education Services and create TACT Connect, our ground-breaking scheme for care experienced young people and adults. New staff will join us as we embark on a journey to become a wholly trauma-informed organisation with the aim of increasing our effectiveness and improving outcomes for the children and young people in our care.
We pride ourselves on our flexible working opportunities, an extensive wellbeing programme and our benefits package, all curated to support a healthy work-life balance for all our staff. We will also invest in your learning, supporting you to grow and develop during your employment with TACT. You will be encouraged to attend personal and professional development opportunities and will have access to learning and resources to empower you to advance your knowledge and skills. We are currently the 4th Best Charity to work for and the 16th Best Mid-Sized Company in the UK according to The Best Companies criteria and our survey results have evidenced “outstanding” levels of engagement amongst staff in recent years. You can view our Best Companies summary video here. Working directly to the CEO, this exciting new role at TACT will provide a varied and influential range of duties. The role will combine fostering Agency Decision Maker responsibilities with leading on policy and research review. The role will be responsible for exploring and collating policy and guidance on internal and external best practice, with a view to it informing best practice across TACT . The role will inform and guide the advancement of specialist services within TACT to enable excellent care to children, that is also responsive to the emerging needs of the sector. Main Duties of the Agency Decision Maker and Policy Lead:
The Agency Decision Maker and Policy Lead will be:
TACT offer an excellent employee benefits package including:
The Agency Decision Maker and Policy Lead will be homebased within England, Scotland or Wales and will be required to travel occasionally for face-to-face meetings and training. An Enhanced DBS clearance is required for this role and will be processed by TACT on your behalf. Please see the Job Information Pack, Job Description and TACT website at tactcare.org.uk for more detailed information. Closing Date: Wednesday 13th December 2023 Interview Date: Tuesday 9th January 2024 (via Microsoft Teams) Safeguarding is everyone’s business and TACT believes that only the people with the right skills and values should work in social work. As part of TACT’s commitment to safeguarding, we properly examine the skills, experience, qualifications, and values of potential staff in relation to our work with vulnerable young children. We use rigorous and consistent recruitment approaches to help safeguard TACT’s young people. All our staff are expected to work in line with TACT’s safeguarding policies. TACT does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them. Full details and application documents here Job Opportunity with FFP Member, TACT Fostering: Assessing Social Worker (Form F) - Fostering21/11/2023
Location: Homebased - Bristol and the South West Salary: £35,893 per annum + £750 Homeworking Allowance Hours: 35 Hours Per Week Closing Date: 06/12/2023 Interview Date: 14/12/2023 Location – Home based with some travel required across Bristol and the South West
As a ‘not for profit’ organisation, TACT puts the needs of our children and carers first and look to appoint individuals who are as passionate about fostering as we are. TACT invests all surplus income into staff, carers, and child development. This means that we have been able to establish expert in-house support services such as our TACT Health and Education Services and create TACT Connect, our ground-breaking scheme for care experienced young people and adults. New staff will join us as we embark on a journey to become a wholly trauma-informed organisation with the aim of increasing our effectiveness and improving outcomes for the children and young people in our care. We pride ourselves on our flexible working opportunities, an extensive wellbeing programme and our benefits package, all curated to support a healthy work-life balance for all our staff. We will also invest in your learning, supporting you to grow and develop during your employment with TACT. You will be encouraged to attend personal and professional development opportunities and will have access to learning and resources to empower you to advance your knowledge and skills. We are currently the 4th Best Charity to work for and the 16th Best Mid-Sized Company in the UK according to The Best Companies criteria and our survey results have evidenced “outstanding” levels of engagement amongst staff in recent years. You can view our Best Companies summary video here. As an Assessing Social Worker with TACT, you will be a part of our amazing team of professionals working with our organisational values at the heart of their everyday practice. You can review our values here. The Assessing Social Worker will be responsible for ensuring the success of TACT's projects and change initiatives. The successful candidate will take a pan-organisation view of all projects and other change activities and seek to ensure that the organisation’s leaders have timely, complete, relevant and accurate information on the status of change activities and early insights into potential issues and opportunities. Whilst being homebased, the Assessing Social Worker will be required to travel for visits, team meetings, training and other in person events across the following areas: South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset, Gloucestershire. Therefore, a practitioner based in Bristol or the surrounding area would be preferred. We are also interested in Social Workers who are/would consider maintaining registration with Social Care Wales to undertake assessments in Wales when then need arises. Core Assessing Social Worker Tasks include:
The main role requirements for this role include:
TACT offer an excellent employee benefits package including:
An Enhanced DBS clearance is required for this role and will be processed by TACT on your behalf. Please see the Job Information Pack, Job Description and TACT website at Tactcare.org.uk for more detailed information. Closing Date: Wednesday 6th December 2023 Interview Date: Thursday 14th December 2023 (via Microsoft Teams) Safeguarding is everyone’s business and TACT believes that only the people with the right skills and values should work in social work. As part of TACT’s commitment to safeguarding, we properly examine the skills, experience, qualifications, and values of potential staff in relation to our work with vulnerable young children. We use rigorous and consistent recruitment approaches to help safeguard TACT’s young people. All our staff are expected to work in line with TACT’s safeguarding policies. TACT does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them. Full details and application documents here TACT are saddened to learn of the recent passing of one of the co-founders of our charity, Jim Armstrong. Jim died peacefully at home on Thursday 2nd November. All of us at TACT would like to send our condolences to Jim’s family and friends. The Adolescent & Children’s Trust (TACT) that Jim set up back in 1993 is still going strong and currently caring for over 550 children across England, Scotland, and Wales. Its longevity is down to the ethos and purpose with which it was founded. Many of our current staff members and foster carers had the pleasure of meeting Jim back in 2018 when he came along to TACT’s 25th anniversary in Birmingham. It was wonderful to hear from him that we had maintained the founding ethos of TACT. Jim is pictured at this event, alongside our CEO Andy Elvin.
Over the past 30 years TACT has recruited, trained, and supported thousands of foster carers and offered safe, stable & loving foster homes to over fifteen thousand children. Jim made all of this possible and left a hugely impressive legacy with TACT. We are thinking of all Jim’s loved ones at this most difficult of times. Rest in peace. Source: www.tactcare.org.uk/ Location: Homebased - Nationwide Salary: £33,688 per annum + £750 per annum homeworking allowance + £3,777 per annum London Weighting allowance (if applicable) Hours: 35 hours per week - 12 month fixed term contract Closing Date: 19/11/2023 Interview Date: 27/11/2023 Pay - £33,688 per annum + £750 per annum homeworking allowance + £3,777 per annum London Weighting allowance (if living in a London borough)
Location – Home based with some travel required As a ‘not for profit’ organisation, TACT puts the needs of our children and carers first and look to appoint individuals who are as passionate about fostering as we are. TACT invests all surplus income into staff, carers, and child development. This means that we have been able to establish expert in-house support services such as our TACT Health and Education Services and create TACT Connect, our ground-breaking scheme for care experienced young people and adults. New staff will join us as we embark on a journey to become a wholly trauma-informed organisation with the aim of increasing our effectiveness and improving outcomes for the children and young people in our care. We pride ourselves on our flexible working opportunities, an extensive wellbeing programme and our benefits package, all curated to support a healthy work-life balance for all our staff. We will also invest in your learning, supporting you to grow and develop during your employment with TACT. You will be encouraged to attend personal and professional development opportunities and will have access to learning and resources to empower you to advance your knowledge and skills. We are currently the 4th Best Charity to work for and the 16th Best Mid-Sized Company in the UK according to The Best Companies criteria and our survey results have evidenced “outstanding” levels of engagement amongst staff in recent years. You can view our Best Companies summary video here. As a Senior Portfolio Officer with TACT, you will be a part of our amazing team of professionals working with our organisational values at the heart of their everyday practice. You can review our values here. The Senior Portfolio Officer will be responsible for ensuring the success of TACT's projects and change initiatives. The successful candidate will take a pan-organisation view of all projects and other change activities and seek to ensure that the organisation’s leaders have timely, complete, relevant and accurate information on the status of change activities and early insights into potential issues and opportunities. Whilst being homebased, the Senior Portfolio Officer will be required to travel for team meetings, training and other in person events. This is a fixed term contract role for 12 months. The main role requirements for this role include:
TACT offer an excellent employee benefits package including:
A Standard DBS clearance is required for this role and will be processed by TACT on your behalf. Please see the Job Information Pack, Job Description and TACT website at Tactcare.org.uk for more detailed information. Closing Date: Sunday 19th November 2023 Interview Date: Monday 27th November 2023 (via Microsoft Teams) Safeguarding is everyone’s business and TACT believes that only the people with the right skills and values should work in social work. As part of TACT’s commitment to safeguarding, we properly examine the skills, experience, qualifications, and values of potential staff in relation to our work with vulnerable young children. We use rigorous and consistent recruitment approaches to help safeguard TACT’s young people. All our staff are expected to work in line with TACT’s safeguarding policies. TACT does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them. Full details and application documents here This October we celebrate Children of Foster Carers month and the vital contributions that the birth children of foster carers make to the fostering household. Growing up with looked-after siblings can have a positive influence on birth children and vice versa, especially when parents are well-supported. Sandra, a TACT Foster Carer believes fostering had a good effect on her birth children and taking the time to prepare them and explain things helped. One of Sandra’s daughters said, “Being part of a fostering household opened my eyes to the fact that not everyone has a good home, so where we have one, we should open it to young people in less fortunate positions”. Karen, a TACT Cymru carer said, “It helps that all my birth children are really happy for me and are super supportive. I thoroughly recommend being a foster carer”. Hannah, another TACT Foster Carer believes that having children should not prevent anyone from fostering, and that a careful matching process is key to helping foster children fit into the household well. TACT is committed to looking very closely at matching to ensure a successful match. While sharing the experiences of her birth children, Hannah said, “We found TACT to be very open minded about who can foster, and they explained that it would be a case of carefully matching a child with our household, who would thrive alongside our own children. We began fostering when our son was three and our daughter was two. Our first long-term placement was a 12-year-old boy. There were some concerns about how our son would react to having someone else move in, as well as how our new foster son would manage alongside a sibling with additional needs. However, we need not have worried as they very quickly formed a very special bond. Both our children now view him as their big brother, and fostering has only been a positive thing for them”. If you are considering fostering and have birth children, read our blog dispelling myths around this. During the rest of the month, keep an eye out on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts for heart-warming snippets. Source: https://www.tactcare.org.uk While Black History Month (BHM) pulls focus on the contributions of black or ethnic minority people on the UK’s socio-economic and cultural landscape, for TACT it equally calls for an assessment of the present state of fostering for foster carers, as well as children and young people from black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) backgrounds. The 2021/22 national statistics on fostering in England reports 82% of foster carers come from white versus 18% from ethnic minority groups. This highlights a gap when considered against 25% of looked after children coming from ethnic minority backgrounds. More needs to be done at government level to increase the number of foster carers from BAME communities to better meet the diverse needs of young people. It is also crucial that the barriers to fostering faced by people from BAME communities are identified and suitable measures put in place. Equally we must address the opportunities and recognise the abilities individuals possess in their backgrounds. Culturally, black and ethnic minority communities often share the care of family members in need. Therefore, the skills to fostering are not only within their abilities but lived experience. Sandra’s experience of looking after her 6 week old nephew at age 16, was the springboard that forged a fruitful career in childcare and social work, which has led to becoming a TACT foster carer. This legacy of caring for the children continues through her own daughters, who work for the benefit of children. No foster carer is the same. Yasmin, a TACT foster carer specialising in the care of unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) says “It’s very important for our own community to help these children by keeping them in their cultural environment. My family practices the Muslim faith and while I’ve looked after children of different nationalities, they have all been Muslim. That’s not to say, they wanted to practice with us, but I believe it’s better to have the information than not”. In the DfE’s 2021 guidance, ethnic origin and culture are amongst the protected characteristics that ‘contribute to a child’s sense of identity, as well as feelings of belonging and acceptance by family, peer group and wider society, including other cultural groups’. It is widely acknowledged that placing children or young people with foster carers of an ethnically or culturally similar background encourages cultural socialisation and lowers the levels of uncertainty already experienced by the transition into care. It is evident from the statistics that we need more foster carers from BAME backgrounds to meet the needs of children. However, while there is a shortage, transracial placements can be successful with research* evidencing the positive outcomes for children, where cultural identity development is respected. Ali, a TACT carer and former teacher with trauma and interventions training, makes Sudanese dishes and has been learning Arabic for over a year to thoughtfully support the UASC teenager in her care, saying, “I think that helps him know that I am trying to connect with him”. In future proofing an inclusive foster care system, it is crucial that we encourage adults from BAME communities to consider fostering by investing in more deeply understanding and effectively addressing barriers faced. A level of accountability must be built into the care system to ensure the needs of young people from BAME backgrounds are heard and met. By creating opportunities that attract future foster carers, with awareness of the diverse nature in which caring abilities form across backgrounds, ultimately we equip young people in care to thrive and have the choices that help form their identities. Find more information here on fostering with TACT and here on Black History Month. *Parents’ Ethnic–Racial Socialization Practices: A Review of Research and Directions for Future Studya Source: www.tactcare.org.uk/news Location: Homebased - working with our teams across England Salary: £50,250 per annum + Homeworking Allowance of £750 per annum Hours: 35 per week Closing Date: 15/10/2023 Interview Date: 30/10/2023 Occasional travel may be required.
As a ‘not for profit’ organisation, TACT puts the needs of our children and carers first and look to appoint individuals who are as passionate about fostering as we are. TACT invests all surplus income into staff, carers, and child development. This means that we have been able to establish expert in-house support services such as our TACT Health and Education Services and create TACT Connect, our ground-breaking scheme for care experienced young people and adults. New staff will join us as we embark on a journey to become a wholly trauma-informed organisation with the aim of increasing our effectiveness and improving outcomes for the children and young people in our care. We pride ourselves on our flexible working opportunities, an extensive wellbeing programme and our benefits package, all curated to support a healthy work-life balance for all our staff. We will also invest in your learning, supporting you to grow and develop during your employment with TACT. You will be encouraged to attend personal and professional development opportunities and will have access to learning and resources to empower you to advance your knowledge and skills. We are currently the 4th Best Charity to work for and the 16th Best Mid-Sized Company in the UK according to The Best Companies criteria and our survey results have evidenced “outstanding” levels of engagement amongst staff in recent years. You can view our Best Companies summary video here. We are looking for a new Head of Health to develop and lead our health service to improve outcomes for the children we care for. The Head of Health will lead a service that provides expert advice and support on matters related to the mental health and emotional wellbeing of children we care for. The service works primarily with our foster carers and social work staff to give them the skills to access and provide appropriate support for our children and young people, develop good relationships with health professionals and to advocate directly with health services when necessary. There may also be a need to occasionally undertake individual children’s case work. The post holder will also develop and manage a commissioning and quality assurance framework for external health services that are purchased by TACT. The role will contribute to workforce planning and the professional development of TACT staff and carers. The post holder will lead on the integration of the Health Support Service systems into those of the wider organisation where this is required. This is an opportunity to build and develop the service going forward, feeding into the aims and objectives of TACTS’s 5-year strategic plan. The successful candidate must have worked at a senior managerial level in a children’s mental health service and have a relevant degree and a post-graduate qualification in children and adolescent mental health. They will have experience of commissioning health services for children and young people and ensuring that those services meet the specifications and outcomes required. TACT offer an excellent employee benefits package including:
An Enhanced DBS clearance is required for this role and will be processed by TACT on your behalf. Please see the Job Information Pack, Job Description and TACT website at Tactcare.org.uk for more detailed information. Closing Date: Midnight on Sunday 15th October 2023 Interview Date: Monday 30th October 2023 (via Microsoft Teams) Safeguarding is everyone’s business and TACT believes that only the people with the right skills and values should work in social work. As part of TACT’s commitment to safeguarding, we properly examine the skills, experience, qualifications, and values of potential staff in relation to our work with vulnerable young children. We use rigorous and consistent recruitment approaches to help safeguard TACT’s young people. All our staff are expected to work in line with TACT’s safeguarding policies. TACT does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them. TACT reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so we advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment. Full details and application documents here In response to yesterday’s announcement of the closure of Children England, a collective body of children’s charities founded in the second world war, TACT CEO Andy Elvin, said; “The building blocks of our civil society are being deliberately dismantled and the extremely regrettable closure of Children England is the latest example of this. “A system that allows private equity investors to excessively profit from children’s social care but cannot fund organisations that protect and speak up for these children is profoundly broken.” As the UK’s largest dedicated fostering charity, TACT continues to forge ahead in the achievement of better lives for children and young people – an ethos that underpins the reinvestment of any surplus back into foster homes as well as the expansion of services to further support foster carers. Read more in the Independent. Source: https://www.tactcare.org.uk/news |
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