We are very pleased to announce that MJR Events have chosen Break as their charity of the year for 2019/20. Break will be at the Norfolk Bump & Beyond Baby and Toddler Fair on 29th March 2020 at The Norfolk Showground. Sarah Bunn, Break's Events Manager said, "We are very excited to be working closely with MJR Events in the run up to the event. The funds raised will enable Break to continue to make life better for vulnerable young people and families living in our local communities". Over the past 5 years, MJR events have raised over £3,500 for local baby & child related charities in Norfolk. There will be lots of fantastic prizes up for grabs in a raffle held on the day in aid of Break. The raffle will be drawn in our Live Stage area. Watch this space for details of what's happening at the fair. For exhibitor information, please email hello@mjr-events.co.uk or click here to BOOK TICKETS! Care leavers have to juggle lots of adult responsibilities at a very young age, often without support from their family. They may have missed out on key chunks of schooling, so do not always have the qualifications or confidence to aspire to bright futures. St Christopher’s Aftercare team on the Isle of Man support care leavers to find safe homes, catch up on their education and look for jobs. Zoe is just one of the young people they have helped. Zoe’s story Zoe was struggling to make ends meet on her zero hours contract at a pub, where she also rented a room at a discounted rate. She had no stability because of her employment situation, so she was unable to plan for the future. She tried to find work elsewhere but didn’t have the GCSE grades to apply for the types of jobs she wanted, and there was no way she could afford to support herself through additional education at this stage. To earn some extra money on the side, Zoe started working at a pizza shop. But she was then let go from the pub as there were not enough shifts to go around, which meant she had to find a new place to live too. Zoe reluctantly signed on to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance and was forced to accept food bank support, which was desperately upsetting for her. The job at the pizza shop ended and she still was not able to cover living costs in her new flat. That’s when Zoe contacted Aftercare to see if they could help with her job search. The team helped to re-write her CV, research the role and practice for online tests that were part of the application for a job at a bank – and she secured an interview! To dispel Zoe’s nerves about the interview, the team spent weeks practising typical questions and doing mock interviews until she felt confident enough for the big day. Then a week later, she received a call to say they wanted to hire her. The bank manager said they normally would not offer interviews to someone without the required qualifications, but Zoe had good test scores and impressive work experience on her CV so they wanted to give her a chance. They were really impressed with her interview and, even though she was nervous, she came across as mature and confident, and answering all their questions with fluidity and good examples. Without help from Aftercare, Zoe may have struggled to secure regular employment and could have ended up in debt or homeless. The team supported her to settle into the role and she is loving her job. The next step Through seeing how their work has positively impacted young people like Zoe, St Christopher’s is extending their work to include a new Support Into Employment service, matching care leavers with work placements and volunteering opportunities. The charity has also committed to making sure 5% of the workforce is made up of care experienced people by 2023 as part of their organisational strategy. Find out more about Support Into Employment below and please get in touch with us if you would like to create brighter futures for young people on the Isle of Man. Source: www.stchris.org.uk Principal Social Worker (Fostering) (East Midlands) £37,184 – £40,839 per annum Full Time 18 month contract + 45p a mile for travel, 32 days holiday and an excellent pension scheme We are seeking to recruit an enthusiastic, flexible, and personable Principal Social Worker to join our South England team. This is a specialist lead practice role and its remit include the supervision and mentoring/training of staff and tasks related to quality assurance and performance management, alongside holding a small case load.
FCC do not believe in providing our Social Workers with heavy caseloads. Instead, we aim to provide our Social Workers with ample capacity to provide a thorough, personal and meaningful service to all of our foster families. The role will be home based in the East Midlands area, but will involve regular travel within the East and West Midlands, Staffordshire, Bristol and East Anglia areas. Additionally, there is a requirement to answer emergency calls outside of office hours as part of the managers on call rota. Applicants must hold a Diploma or BA in Social Work, have some supervisory/management experience, be able to demonstrate experience of producing high quality, evidence-based assessments, and have at least four years fostering experience. The successful applicant will join a supportive team with an established carer group and experienced social workers. We are a not-for-distributed-profit organisation, putting the needs of our children and carers first and look to appoint a Principal Social Worker who is as passionate about this as we are. Closing Date: 24th April, 2019 For further information and/or an application form, or informal discussion about the role, please contact Helen Underwood (Operational Manager) or Barbara Bull (Head of HR) on 01684 892380. Full details and application documents here Location: Plymouth, Cornwall & Jersey Young People's Services Contract type: Permanent Hours: 36.25 Salary: £43,096 – £54,285 Closing Date: 29 April 2019 Interview Date: Thursday 16th May 2019 At Barnardo's, our purpose is to transform the lives of the UK's most vulnerable children and our vision is to realise Thomas Barnardo's dream of a world where no child is turned away from the help that they need.
We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Children's Services leader to help shape and support the Barnardo's regional strategy to work with even more vulnerable children and young people over the coming years. You will be based and working in our Peninsula locality, where we are a key stakeholder and have a strong history. We are looking for an individual who is willing to get fully involved in supporting staff to deliver potential growth opportunities alongside playing an intrinsic part within the regional Senior Management Team to deliver a very ambitious development programme. We are looking for someone with great interpersonal skills combined with excellent leadership and management capacity, with a passion to improve the lives of our most vulnerable children and young people – is this you? We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and we expect all staff and volunteers to share in this commitment. Our safer recruitment processes mean that the safety and welfare of the child is paramount at every stage of the process and therefore, we adopt rigorous scrutiny in our pre-employment checking. This post is subject to a range of pre-employment checks including a Criminal Records Enhanced Disclosure for the successful candidate. At Barnardo's we believe in children – no matter who they are, what they have done or what they have been through. Please read about our basis and values following the link below. You will be asked questions relating to them as part of the recruitment process for this role. Barnardo's is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce for staff and volunteers. We actively encourage applications from disabled, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic and male candidates as they are under-represented within Barnardo's. Full details and application documents here Circa: £33,000 Department/Division: Wales Location: Newport, Gwent Contract Type: Permanent Full Time Closing Date: 25 April 2019 How do we work?
Action for Children does what's right, does what's needed and does what works for children across the UK. Every year, our team changes the lives of 301,000 children, young people and their families – but for every child who needs help to get help, there's plenty more to do. That's where you come in. Providing safe, stable foster homes for vulnerable children and young people is a vital part of our work. As a Fostering Social Worker for our sector leading Fostering Wales service you'll train and support Foster Parents to provide stable family homes to young people who have survived trauma so a therapeutic approach is a vital part of our work. You'll also promote and participate in a culture of learning and continuing professional development for carers and staff. How will you make a difference? By supporting carers with the daily and hourly challenges and rewards of caring for troubled young people and children. By delivering excellent, evidence-informed and therapeutic practice as a member of a skilled and motivated team. By participating in a culture of learning and continuing professional development for carers and staff. By working closely with the local authority. By being responsible for your own caseload but also part of a close team. What will you need?
What are the rewards?
Plus, there's a lot more besides. This is a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference to vulnerable children's lives and to build a fulfilling and meaningful career with a leading UK children's charity. Action for Children is committed to safer recruitment practices, designed to protect the welfare of the children and young people using our services. If you meet all the criteria and would like to proceed with your application, you'll be redirected to an application form on our website which should only take around 5 minutes to complete. Please have your CV handy to upload. As this job involves working around children, there are some specific questions we need to ask you as part of your application process. Thanks for taking the time to apply and we wish you the best of luck! Please note: Interviews are planned to be held on Tuesday 7th May 2019. For more information on this opportunity please contact Atlanta on 07776 659803 or email her at Atlanta.Marcellini@actionforchildren.org.uk Apply now LandAid, the property industry charity, is one of St Christopher’s supporters. They funded the refurbishment of our Staying Close home in Ealing. And, thanks to their funding, we’ve been able to install a new kitchen at one of our homes for young people leaving care. Paul Morrish, LandAid’s Chief Executive, tells us a bit about why LandAid chose to support St Christopher’s. “LandAid gives out over £2m every year in grants. We fund remarkable charities who provide support and accommodation for young people who have been homeless, or are at risk of homelessness. Most of our grants go directly to providing homes for young people, and we’re always on the look-out for new and exciting models to support young people. “St Christopher’s particularly appealed to LandAid due to its innovative approaches to tackling and preventing youth homelessness, like the Staying Close project. It’s evidence-based and helps young people leaving care and going into the ‘real world’ without leaving them to it, which can be a scary and unhelpful experience. We were drawn to their commitment to stay with young people through their period of transition into independent living and beyond. “Staying Close works by giving young care leavers a stable home and tailored support. The model provides accommodation with step-down support for young people leaving their children’s home. This gives them the opportunity to go back and visit if they need help – just like we did when we left home. “We hope that the projects we’ve funded and St Christopher’s Staying Close model will continue to prepare young people for the positive lives which lie ahead of them. We have enjoyed working with St Christopher’s on a number of grants already, and we hope to be able to continue to fund their innovative projects, and to keep seeing the excellent results which has made our partnership with them so rewarding.” Source: www.stchris.org.uk Member News: Action for Children introduces innovative digital app to support children in care15/4/2019
Leading UK children’s charity invests in pioneering technology to help UK children in the care system to express their feelings Hundreds of looked after children supported by Action for Children are to be given access to unique app technology from Mind of My Own which encourages them to share worries and concerns, directly with their social workers. Action for Children is the first UK-wide charity to invest in the pioneering technology which has been co-designed with children and young people. The Mind of My Own apps use child-focused language and design to encourage young people to share their thoughts from a tablet or phone screen. The technology is a world-first as it enables children to share information confidentially, directly to their social workers about how safe and how happy they are feeling so they can assess their wellbeing more regularly. Following a successful pilot in Bolton Children’s Rights Services last year, Action for Children is now rolling out the use of Mind of My Own to fostering services UK-wide as well as select residential services in Wales. It is estimated that up to 1000 children and 200 Action for Children workers will be using the apps by the end of the year. Action for Children’s National Director, John Egan said: “We’re constantly seeking to find new ways to support and communicate with vulnerable children and young people, especially those who we look after. Tech can get a bad press however, we’ve found that Mind of My Own provides safe and effective ways for children in care to powerfully use their voice and share experiences with our staff and others who work with them outside formal meetings. “Feedback so far has been hugely positive and our staff are finding the communication invaluable. Children who have sometimes struggled to discuss difficult issues are now using the app to start a conversation. The apps will complement, not replace, our face-to-face work. “At Action for Children, we hope to use the Mind of My Own data to track themes and issues which will help us develop and adapt our services to the needs of the children and young people who need us most.” Evidence from the Action for Children pilot has shown that children and young people are using the app as an alternative way to vocalise problems and acknowledge good things in their life to celebrate. A young person who is currently using the Mind of My Own app, says: “It’s brilliant as it helps you say the things that you want to say without being afraid. I can tell people what I want and when, so it helps them to understand my point view and what’s really going on in my life.” Cara Holden, Mind of My Own App Development Worker at Action for Children, adds: “Every time a professional makes a decision about one of the children or young people, they need to be sure they’ve considered and evidenced their views. Mind of My Own makes this process quicker and easier. Young people tell us they like using it- it doesn’t require any face-to-face ‘difficult’ conversations and is something they can use regularly.” Speaking about the new partnership, Mind of My Own director Jill Thorburn, says: “It’s fantastic to be working with such an established and forward-thinking organisation as Action for Children to help the children and young people they support. We’re driven by our vision of ensuring all children’s voices are heard. Staff can’t always be there 24/7, but Mind of My Own can. Our apps enable children and young people to say what they want, when they want to and in a way that suits them, giving their workers rich, authentic information to work with.” Mind of My Own products are safe, private and secure and have ISO27001 certification for their high level of information security. https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk Location: Cardiff Salary: £12.77 ph + 12.07% Holiday Pay Closing Date: 03/05/2019 Interview Date: 13/05/2019 Hours: Occasional Irregular Hours TACT Fostering and Adoption is the UK’s leading charity provider of fostering and adoption services. Working in nine offices across Scotland,England and Wales, we are dedicated to providing creative, effective and outcome-focused services for children, young people and families.
We are looking for that unique person who can assist TACT in offering a range of services which impact positively on the welfare of children. To work in partnership with parents, carers, children, young people, local authorities and their social workers according to the agreed contract of work. The overall purpose of this role is to work closely with looked after children, the birth children of foster carers and foster carers to achieve agreed objectives for excellent care as outlined in the 7 core aims for Children in Wales / 5 Every Child Matters Outcome Areas in England. Candidates with the ability to speak Welsh would be desirable. Due to the nature of this post the successful candidate must be willing to show flexibility regarding hours and days of work which will include evenings and weekends. Occasional overnight stays may be required for organised events. An enhanced DBS clearance is required for this role which TACT will undertake. Please see the Job Description and Information Pack for more details. Closing: Friday, 3rd May 2019 Interviews: Monday, 13th May 2019 in TACT Wales Office (CF11 9LJ) TACT reserves the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, you are advised to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment. Full details and application documents here: www.tactcare.org.uk TACT Connect – a new initiative by TACT to celebrate and support care experienced people throughout their adult lives, has been launched with a special art exhibition showcasing pieces created by Connect members. 19 year old Channan was among members of the Connect community on hand at the launch event to talk to visitors about their art work, which all shared theme of ‘message to my younger self’. TACT Connect – a new initiative by TACT to celebrate and support care experienced people throughout their adult lives, has been launched with a special art exhibition showcasing pieces created by Connect members.
19 year old Channan was among members of the Connect community on hand at the launch event to talk to visitors about their art work, which all shared theme of ‘message to my younger self’. Her particular creative effort features a photo of Janette who fostered her through TACT from the age of one, and then adopted her when she was 8. Among the many personal messages in the artwork is Janette’s wise advice to Channan – its ok not to be ok. The fact that she is HIV positive is also depicted, and there is an image of her taken during a school visit to talk to pupils about the disease. Channan said: “It is great to be given the opportunity to connect with other young people who have been in care and have similar life stories. Creating my art piece made me think a lot about my own story, I found it therapeutic.” TACT Connect aims to create a dynamic network of TACT care leavers, who will be able to meet each other through special events, learn and access new skills, and gain support in reaching personal aspirations. Mark Riddell – National Advisor for Care Leavers was among the guests at the launch event. Mark said: ”Initiatives like TACT Connect are important because they are led by the voices of care experienced young people. This is a new concept and it would be good to see similar work happening elsewhere in the country. We need to be ambitious about how we support care experienced people, and TACT Connect is a really good starting point.” The exhibition will take place at Centrala, in Birmingham, from Tuesday 9th until Friday 12th April 2019, 11am – 6pm. Source: www.tactcare.org.uk It’s National Siblings Day and we’re promoting keeping siblings together when they are in need of a foster home. Many different types of children need looked after and this can include groups or pairs of brothers and sisters. Foster carers can provide a loving and caring home to siblings helping keep them together rather than separate them to live in different homes. Foster carers with one spare room can look after a pair of same-sex siblings, while those with more than spare room could offer mixed-sex siblings or a larger group of brothers and sisters a home. At Team Fostering, we believe in doing our utmost to keep brothers and sisters together unless there is a reason that this shouldn’t happen. Often this is the only tie children have to their families and to separate them could create anxiety and instability. When children are first placed in a fostering home they are likely to be frightened and having their siblings with them can be a comfort and a sense of normality during what is a turbulent moment in their young lives, creating better emotional wellbeing and a smoother settling in period. Fostering siblings can be extremely rewarding for foster carers, too. At Team Fostering there are currently a number of brothers and sisters living with our foster carers. In fact, one of our foster carers is currently looking after a sibling group of 4! Team Fostering is an independent, not-for-profit agency that offers a very comprehensive support structure, innovative training opportunities and competitive fees and allowances. If you would like to learn more about providing a home for siblings, you can speak to us in a number of ways: Call our Recruitment Administrator, Sam, on 0800 292 2003 Email our friendly team via info@teamfostering.co.uk Submit your details on our online enquiry form Source: www.teamfostering.co.uk |
News & JobsNews stories and job vacancies from our member agencies, the fostering sector and the world of child protection and safeguarding as a whole. Browse Categories
All
|