By Barbara, a Team Fostering foster carer "Fostering is very different to anything I've ever done before. It’s something that I considered from time to time, but I found it hard to leave behind my career in customer service to embark on something so different, that I hadn’t done before! In the end I was made redundant from my role, so took the opportunity to go for it and take the first steps to becoming a foster carer. I always thought I needed to have some kind of training or particular experience to be considered for fostering by an agency, but actually the agency provides training before you take on the role, and Team Fostering immediately give me contact details for fellow carers who welcomed me into their support network and shared their stories with me. The people who knew me well kept telling me I would be a great foster carer, but I still worried that I wouldn’t be able to do it or that I might be making a mistake. I couldn’t have been more wrong! As soon as the first young person came to live with us I immediately enjoyed the challenges and the rewards of spending time with her, helping her and playing with her; just getting to know her.
The role has enabled me to enjoy spending more time with my family, with young people that come to live with us becoming part of the family. I understand now how important it is to have a good support network around you so that you can still have time for yourself, as fostering is a 24/7 job. During my time at Team Fostering I have met some of the nicest people ever. It is a pleasure to work with fellow foster carers and the staff team. The staff are very supportive, knowledgeable and available when you need them, and there are no words to describe how amazing the other carers are. The training is fantastic and in some ways I wish I had some of the knowledge I do now when I was raising my own children!" Team Fostering is an independent, not-for-profit fostering agency that recruits, trains and supports foster carers across the North East, Yorkshire and East Midlands. If you've been thinking about fostering, you can contact us for an informal chat by:
Source: https://www.teamfostering.co.uk Circa: £43,772 Department/Division: England North Contract Type: Permanent Part Time Closing Date: 19 July 2019 A career that's life-changing
Clinical Psychologists – 2 part-time vacancies, 1 covering North Derbyshire based in Chesterfield, 1 covering South Derbyshire based in Derby. The two roles could be combined into 1 full time role for the right candidate. Secondments will be considered Up to £43,772 per annum pro-rata and excellent employee benefits to promote a healthy work life balance Up to 7 weeks of annual leave pro-rata (plus bank holidays) 22 hour working week Do you have a strong background in as a Clinical Psychologist delivering early interventions for children and young people's emotional and mental health? Action for Children are proud to announce that we will be delivering a targeted early intervention service for children and young people aged 0-17 and their families across Derbyshire in partnership with Derbyshire Federation for Mental Health, Derby University and BfB Labs. The service will work with children and young people who need specialist support but who do not meet the thresholds for more specialist services. These children and young people are likely to present with moderate mental health difficulties (i.e. Anxiety, Conduct disorders) and require support to help them deal with issues such as bereavement, parental separation, self-esteem, bullying, transitions, sexuality, and behaviour at home/school. The collaborative model is designed to increase resilience and reduce the development of more entrenched mental health issues. We will be running three interventions hubs across Derbyshire and the purpose of the service will be to deliver programmes of one to one/family support based on psychological formulations unique to every child, with an emphasis on building resilience in children and young people, supporting good attachment and establishing evidence-based outcomes. The service will also offer group interventions, a digital offer and evidence-based programmes for children and their parents. We are looking for two Clinical Psychologists, one to be based in Chesterfield and one in Derby City. You will lead on the development of Individualised Care Plans for children and young people within your cluster. You will work with a range of professionals to ensure the children and young people you support develop to their full potential. You will hold the highest aspirations for children and young people and will liaise closely with our partners to ensure compliance and excellence. We will actively support you in your role and provide you with specialist training, development and clinical supervision. How Action for Children works 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 over 300,000 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. The person You must hold a Doctorate or equivalent in clinical psychology and be registered as a qualified Practitioner Clinical Psychologist with the UK Health Care Professions Council You will have experience of working with children in both clinical and community settings. You will also need an in-depth knowledge and proven experience of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessments and interventions, to include complex trauma, parenting interventions and systemic models. You will have experience of conducting group work as well as knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues, child and adult protection. You will also display excellent interpersonal and listening skill with a high degree of emotional intelligence. You will be committed to Action for Children's defining statement, “keeping the child at the centre,” and promoting our participation standards in your work. You will also be committed to inclusion and promoting diversity in line with Action for Children's values. The rewards When you join Action for Children, you will be joining a collaborative, diverse and supportive team of like-minded-individuals, every one of them as passionate as you are. We want all of our employees to feel valued and well rewarded for the vital work they do. When you work with us, we'll recognise your efforts:
This is a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference to vulnerable children's lives and to build a fulfilling and meaningful long term 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. Apply Now We are committed to safer recruitment practices to protect our service users, therefore all applicants are expected to have an understanding of and commitment to safeguarding best-practice. Action for Children is passionate about promoting equality, valuing diversity and working inclusively. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons particularly people with Disabilities and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic applicants, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce. Full details and application documents here Location: Barnardo's Scotland Fostering Edinburgh Contract type: Permanent Hours: 22 Salary: £17,308.00 - £18,692.64 FTE Closing Date: 22 July 2019 About Barnardo's
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. Barnardo's Scotland Fostering Edinburgh operates from the city of Edinburgh. We have over 35 years' experience of providing high quality foster placements providing short term to permanency placement for children and young people 0 – 18 years, potentially to 21 years of age. The majority of young people are currently placed on a long term basis but the service also offers a number of placements on an interim and short break. The service currently offers care to around 83 young people living with our foster families and is expected to achieve growth whilst maintaining our reputation for high level of support, careful matching and placement stability. We are looking for a highly motivated fostering Recruitment Assistant to join our team to help us expand our service. When completing your application please refer to your skills knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification, Job Description and Additional Information document. This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described. We are committed to welcoming people from a diverse background, culture and experience. Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore are open to offering flexible working arrangements. Full details and application details here Location: Leeds Salary: £33 per hour Closing Date: 17/07/2019 Interview Date: 02/08/2019 Hours: Variable TACT is the UK’s largest specialist charity provider of fostering and adoption services. Our core work involves providing high quality and well supported fostering or adoptive families for children and young people in the care of local authorities. Working in partnership with local authorities from our offices across England, Wales and Scotland, we are dedicated to providing creative, effective and outcome-focused services. We also campaign on behalf of children and young people in care, carers and adoptive families and are a leading voice in the sector.
Our vision is to provide better lives for our children and young people. We are currently seeking an Independent Fostering Reviewing Officer to work in our Yorkshire office. Core Tasks:
Rates of Pay TACT will pay £33.00 per hour plus mileage at 45p per mile (to the Leeds Office). Please see the Job Information Pack for a full breakdown of the role and rates. You will need to be DipSW, CSS or CQSW qualified and registered with the HCPC. An enhanced disclosure is also required and will be carried out by TACT on your behalf.
Full details and application documents here Location: Head Office Contract Type: Permanent Closing Date: 14 July 2019 Salary: £60,000 - £65,000 pa depending on qualifications and experience Specific Hours: 37.5 hours per week St Christopher's is a leading charity for children and young people and we are proud of our history for providing fostering, children's homes and a range of innovative leaving care services across the UK & Isle of Man.
St Christopher’s has established an ambitious, five-year strategy, which sets out a series of three key aims and objectives for the organisation. Mainly to achieve, “Brighter Futures for double the number of young people by 2023”. As part of our Strategy, a new Head of Operations post has been created and we are now looking for the right person to drive our expansion plans to meet increasing need as well as oversee our established services in the UK region. Reporting to the Director of Operations you will line manage a professional team (of 4 Regional Managers and 2 placement officers) who are well qualified and experienced in their respective roles. St Christopher’s Approach At St Christopher’s, Social Pedagogy is our core philosophy of care, drawing together theories and concepts from related disciplines such as sociology, psychology, education, philosophy, medical sciences and social work. Our use of social pedagogy centres on attachment theory and building positive relationships with young people to bring out their inner “diamond”. About the Role We have a passionate commitment to our young people, placing them at the centre of everything we do and as the Head of Operations; you will be a key player in building and extending this commitment. You will the lead the regional teams to deliver and exceed our agreed levels of care ensuring stable and safe placements. In addition, you will be the designated safeguarding officer placing the safeguarding of children and young people at the forefront of all our work in accordance with St Christopher’s safeguarding policy. The successful candidate will ideally:
In return we offer:
Recruitment Process At St Christopher’s we are committed to the safeguarding of all children and young people in our care. As part of our recruitment process you will be expected to complete an online application to ensure we capture essential information to meet legislation, best practice and vetting requirements. Applicants will ideally already be on the DBS Update Service; if this is not the case St Christopher's will carry out a DBS (police) check prior to starting. For the full Job Description and Person Specification, please click here. Your application must include a supporting statement addressing the criteria given in the Person Specification. Closing Date: 14th July 2019 Please bear in mind that applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. St Christopher’s is committed to equal opportunities and welcomes applications from all sections of the community as well as applications from candidates with care experience or experience of being a care leaver. Full details and apply here Location: Head Office Contract Type: Permanent Closing Date: 23 July 2019 Salary: £45,000 - £50,000 depending on experience Specific Hours: 37.5 St Christopher's is a leading charity for children and young people and we are proud of our history for providing fostering, children's homes and a range of innovative leaving care services across the UK & Isle of Man.
We currently have an exciting opportunity for a Company Secretary ideally from a charity or non for profit background to join our administrative and governance team working closely with the Chief Executive Officer to contribute and help create an inspiring place to work by ensuring regulatory requirements are met and to manage the delivery of Council business for St Christopher's and its subsidiaries. Compliance responsibilities for data protection and quality assurance. Additionally the post holder will manage a small team responsible for providing a professional, customer focussed and cost effective data management, reception, administration and secretarial services at Head Office. The ideal candidate
The role will appeal to a creative self- starter with positive high energy levels, enthusiasm and a real can do attitude, looking for greater autonomy and a sense of ownership. If you’re ready for the challenge and think you have the skills to drive St Christopher’s forward we would love to hear from you. Key aspects of the job will be
In return we offer
Recruitment Process At St Christopher’s we are committed to the safeguarding of all children and young people in our care. During the recruitment process you will be expected to complete an online application form to ensure we capture essential information to meet legislation, best practice and vetting requirements. Applicants will ideally already be on the DBS Update Service; if this is not the case St Christopher's will carry out a DBS (police) check prior to starting. To be considered, your on-line application must include a full supporting statement addressing the criteria stated above. For the full Job Description for this role and more detail about what will be required, please click here. If you require any further information, please contact us on 0208 780 7800 or send an email to recruitment@stchris.org.uk Closing Date: 23rd July 2019 Please bear in mind that applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. St Christopher’s is committed to equal opportunities and welcomes applications from all sections of the community as well as applications from candidates with care experience or experience of being a care leaver. Full details and apply here One woman shares what you need to know if you're considering fostering, too. Foster carers can fall into a stereotype: middle-aged couples, perhaps retired, perhaps with kids of their own, who are looking to nurture another child. And the stereotype isn’t untrue. Statistics show the average age of people willing to foster is 45-55. New applicants are, generally, those whose kids have left home – and who have made the decision to dedicate the next chapter of their lives to taking in some of society’s most vulnerable children. But there’s a type of foster carer who rarely gets mentioned. She’s young, single and in the prime of her life and career. One such woman spoke candidly to HuffPost UK about taking on this role and how rewarding it has been for her. Veronica, a mother of one from east London, decided to foster more than 10 years ago. Now 46, she has fostered four children long-term and many more for shorter periods. Here she tells her story. Veronica says: I didn’t fit the stereotype of a ‘typical’ foster carer. I was a single parent who worked full-time – and still went out and socialised. My son and I had a great relationship when he was growing up, but when he left for university at 18, my house was suddenly very quiet. Gone was the hustle and bustle of family life, disputes about housework, music blaring and his friends coming over. In their place was a sense of tranquillity and calmness. At first I loved it. I was 36, single and had the freedom to come and go as I pleased. But the novelty soon wore off and I felt like I needed to fill a void. It was only then that I really started to think about fostering. I’d always been interested in it, but thought it was something I’d consider when I was older. The urge to take the plunge and go for it spiralled and, after few months, I decided to look into it properly. The Process Took Around Five Months I contacted my local authority to find out whether, as a single woman who worked full-time, I would even be eligible. Invited to interview, they questioned me about my interest in fostering, my skillset and my family history. I didn’t know what to expect – but I was told soon after that they’d happily welcome me as a carer. I was over the moon. I was allocated a social worker to work closely with me and overall, the process took around five months. From the onset, I always knew my preference would be to foster older children. I had recently gone through those years with my son, so my mindset was still in that phase of parenting. And I felt I could give more to a teenager. They’re often seen as the age group who are ‘difficult’ to place – problematic, or the ones that cannot be moulded. But I was ready for the challenge. Even though my son had left home, he was involved from the start. He was interviewed as part of the recruitment process – and was happy to welcome a child into our family when he was visiting from uni. I Worried I Wouldn’t Be Able To Handle It My first placement was nerve-wracking. At the last minute, I found myself worrying I wouldn’t be able to handle challenging behaviour in my house – I’d heard horror stories about what happens when fostering goes wrong. The first young person who came to live with me was 17. English was her second language, so a lot of our relationship was built around teaching her about different cultures. I got her into education to build on her language skills, and the placement went really well. She felt “safe and secure” with me, she said. I learned very quickly that children of that age have complex needs – anything from serious trust issues to being wary of authority. I was told beforehand that many had witnessed the breakdown of their family, or had victims of serious mental, physical or sexual trauma. With each child, the situation has to be handled sensitively. Some of the children – especially those from an eastern European background – had never met a black person before, let alone a black person who was born and raised in the UK (me). It was great to dispel the negative stereotypes a lot of these young people held about people of colour. All the while, my birth son would play an active role. When he was home, he would take it upon himself to make time for the foster children, talk to them and this turned out to be very productive and beneficial to all of us. I Can’t Deny There Were Struggles One of the hardest things about fostering is getting too attached – and I learned this the hard way. One teenager was placed with me for 14 months, and it took a long time to build up a bond. She was young and had been through a lot, so found it very hard to trust people. But it just worked, and she stayed with me right up until she was 18. For her birthday we threw her a small party and she was so happy. As an adult, we both knew she was on the next journey in her life and, a few months after her birthday, she was given her own place. It was difficult to see her go, it really was, but I was so proud of how far she had come – and what she had achieved in such a short space of time. After she left, it dawned on me how close we got and forced me to make the decision, from then on, to only take on short-term placements. I still see her from time to time, and she always tells me that she has very good memories of her time with me. Going forward, I knew I had to be wary of getting too attached. I started to tell each foster child I was there to prepare them for their future – it was my way of ensuring they didn’t get too attached, and it protected me emotionally as well. You Remember The Laughs And Tears It’s been a journey – and it still is. But I don’t regret a thing. Becoming a foster carer is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. I’ve met and nurtured some amazing young people, preparing them for the next chapter in their lives. I’ve established great relationships with them, too. In the past few years, I’ve started doing much shorter placements. The longest a teenager is placed with me now is about two weeks – and these are emergency placements only. I’ll get a phone call asking if I can take on a child and often the child will arrive with nothing – just the clothes on their back and a sheet of paper with their details. There are always essentials in my house now: toothbrushes, underwear, and nightclothes. The next working day we will go shopping for a list of things they need. I make them feel safe and secure until we have the placement meeting and, once that has gone ahead, the teenager will be placed with a long-term foster family within a week. It’s been 10 years since I made the decision to become a foster carer to teens: and I look back now and remember both the laughs and the tears. Changing perceptions and teaching young people about acceptance is a positive and powerful thing – and one of the things I am most proud of when it comes to fostering. As told to Michelle Martin. If you are interested in Foster Caring, contact your local council or a fostering agency in your area for more information. Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk Pakistani cricket stars Babar Azam and Imam ul Haq have shown their support for children’s charity Barnardo’s while competing in the World Cup in England. The batsmen signed two bats for Barnardo’s which will be auctioned off to help raise funds to transform the lives of the UK’s most vulnerable children. The stars heard about the charity’s work when they met Barnardo’s Chief Executive Javed Khan in London. The pair proudly displayed Barnardo’s logo on their bats while competing in the vs England One Day International (ODI) Series in May. In the ODI series against England, Imam scored 151 runs in the third ODI match. This was the highest individual total for a Pakistan batsman against England in a one day international.
Babar is ranked 8th among the ICC Top 100 ODI batsmen. In the ODI series against England he ended up as the joint leading runs-scorer, scoring 277 runs including a century and two half-centuries. Babar said on Twitter he was “honoured to be supporting Barnardo’s.” Imam also tweeted: “They do great work supporting vulnerable children from all communities across the UK.” Barnardo’s Chief Executive Javed Khan said: "As a huge cricket fan and amateur player, it was a real privilege to meet these young stars, and to tell them about how Barnardo’s supports vulnerable children across the UK. “Barnardo’s reaches out to children from all communities who need our help. "Around 25% of the children we support are from Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic backgrounds, so we’re delighted that Babar Azam and Imam ul Haq are helping raise awareness of our vital work, especially amongst the British-Pakistani community.” Source: https://www.barnardos.org.uk Location: Barnardo's Fostering Northern Ireland Contract type: Permanent Hours: 37 Salary: £28,631 - £37,414 Closing Date: 12 July 2019 Interview Date: 31st July 2019 Want to join a highly experienced team of social workers trained in assessment and therapeutic skills?
Barnardo's Fostering Northern Ireland is seeking two permanent social workers for our expanding Family Placement service.
You will have knowledge and experience of fostering, adoption or children's residential services and have an understanding of the voluntary sector. When completing your application please refer to your skills knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification, Job Description and Additional Information document. This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described. We are committed to welcoming people from a diverse background, culture and experience. Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance. Our Fostering Service is based at 230b Belmont Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT4 2AW. The Belfast office serves all 5 Trusts in NI and as we are keen to extend our reach, we can negotiate office space, dependent on the successful applicant's home location. About Barnardo's 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. Our basis and values Full details and application documents here ‘You can be gay, straight, single, married, living together, with or without your own children, from any ethnic background and you can hold any religious belief.’ This is a line directly lifted from The Foster Care Co-operative’s brochure, designed to be read by perspective foster carer applicants. It is an attempt to highlight the need for diverse foster carers – from all sections of society. In reality, it doesn’t even come close to an exhaustive list. So why do FCC need such diverse foster carers? Sure, fostering should be inclusive – with everyone given the chance to become a carer if they satisfy the basic requirements. Apart from anything else, the need is so great for carers to look after an unfortunately high volume of vulnerable children in the care system, that the more doors you can open for people wanting to help, the better. FCC advertise for diverse carers because the children who need a home are equally as diverse. Of course, foster carers have the ability to be flexible with any child in their care. Some adjustments may need to be made within the home to cater for, say, a religious-specific diet. But generally, foster carers are able to adapt, adjust and care for a child no matter what their background or needs may be. And that’s why they are amazing people. Sometimes, however, there is such a specific match required that it demands a certain type of person with specialist experience or a specific skill set. Last year, FCC approved their first deaf foster carer – a teacher of British Sign Language. Local Authorities were contacted, and three months later our carer was able to offer a short-term home to a deaf young person. Due to the outstanding ‘match’, the carer had an excellent understanding of the child’s needs. Consequently, the young person is currently thriving in his foster home and his social worker has commented that the carer offers him ‘good wrap-around care’. The carer has gone on to recommend FCC to another deaf colleague, who has since made an application to become a foster carer. On a different note, one of FCC’s social workers is taking part in ongoing research with the University of Worcester, into breaking down any barriers that disabled people may face when wanting to become foster carers. For this, there are currently challenges to often used phrases such as having to be ‘fit and healthy’ in order to become a carer. Alternative phrasing being considered is ‘Do you have the capacity and stamina to foster?’, with a possible footnote stating that having a disability or health (physical or mental) condition won’t preclude you from becoming a foster carer in itself. There are, however, general fostering regulations that dictate the basic initial fostering requirements. Applicants would still need to have a spare bedroom in their home and be 21 years of age or over. Inclusion isn’t a tick box or a gesture of diversity. At FCC, it’s based on finding the best possible carer-to-child match. That means finding, training and nurturing a diverse range of foster carers. That way, children’s time in the care system can hopefully be the best that it can possibly be. You can read FCC’s Frequently Asked Questions about becoming a foster carer here Source: https://www.fostercarecooperative.co.uk |
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