Location: Bristol Salary: £2000 (+VAT) per Form F + £33 per hour (initial visits) + Mileage Closing Date:07/09/2021 Interview Date: 15/09/2021 Hours: Variable Self-employed Sessional Assessing Social Worker
Home based in the Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, Somerset, Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Area. TACT is the UK’s largest specialist charity provider of fostering. Our core work involves providing high quality and well supported fostering 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. Find out more about our values here We are growing in the South West areas and we are seeking sessional Social Workers to undertake initial visits and assess prospective foster families. Duties include:
Rates of Pay (depending on type of work offered)
Please see the Self-Employed Sessional Assessing Social Worker Job Information Pack for a full breakdown of the role and rates. You will be DipSW, CSS or CQSW qualified and registered with Social Work England. An Enhanced DBS check will be required for this role and will be requested on your behalf by TACT. Closing Date: Midnight on Tuesday 7th September 2021 Interviews: Wednesday 15th September 2021 (Via Microsoft Teams) 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. Safeguarding is everyone’s business and TACT believe 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 Kasper Fostering are looking for an Independent Social Worker to take on the role as Independent Reviewing Officer for our Essex & London regions. This would be to cover approximately 40 Foster Carer Reviews per year. These reviews have been taking place remotely during lockdown, but going forward, we would hope that these reviews will take place at the foster carers home. The IRO will be encouraged to see the child’s bedroom during their visit, to enable them to provide us with independent comment on the home environment provided to the child. The Reviewing Officer will be required to:
- exploring in depth any issues arising - checking compliance of household and agency management /safeguaring - challenging parties where necessary - considering if the carers approval criteria remains appropriate, before making relevant recommendations.
Further guidance will be given, but the successful candidate will be an experienced registered social worker who has worked in the fostering sector and has a good knowledge of the Fostering Regulations and National Minimum Standards which underpin our work. Maintaining robust safeguarding practice is at the centre of the work we do at Kasper. The fee per review is £170 plus 45ppm and reimbursement of any other travel expenses incurred. Please call Rebecca Askew on 01227 275 985 or email Amy Ansell on amyansell@kasperfostering.org for an application form. Please see Kasper Fostering' s website Location: Norwich (covering Norfolk) Salary: £18,105 to £19,010 per annum Contract Type: Permanent / Part Time Hours: 22 per week Closing Date: Sunday 05 September 2021 We currently have an amazing opportunity available for a Fostering Supervising Social Worker to join our Therapeutic Fostering Service.
We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated individual with a caring and calm approach to help support and supervise the Foster Carers within our Fostering Team. This is a unique opportunity to join our established not for profit Fostering Service which provides therapeutic placements for young people as well as parent and child placements. All candidates should hold a valid driving licence and have regular access to a vehicle for work purposes. The role will be expected to routinely attend the main office in Norwich on a regular basis whilst also covering key locations Norfolk. Qualifications The ideal candidate should be a HCPC registered social worker. We pride ourselves on being an inclusive and supportive employer and recognise that working in care, although incredibly rewarding, is not without its challenges. Therefore, we want you to feel appreciated for the life changing work you are doing. You will receive comprehensive training, company pension scheme, have excellent career progression opportunities, and be working in a warm and welcoming work environment – amongst many other things. Essential Information Salary: The current full time salary scale for this position is £30,450 to £31,973 per annum, depending on qualifications (maximum job rate potential is £33,495 per annum which is performance related). At appointment: The actual salary will be £18,105 to £19,010 per annum, depending on qualifications. Hours: 22 hours per week Closing Date: Sunday, 5th September 2021 Interviews: The interviews have been scheduled to take place on Monday, 13th September 2021. The first interview which will be a Safe Care/Warner style interview, will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams. If successful after the first interview, candidates will then attend a formal interview, also to be held virtually. Please note, all invites to interview will be sent via email. Please regularly check your emails, including any spam folders, for further communication from us. Failure to attend an interview may result in your application being withdrawn. To comply with the Immigration Asylum & Nationality Act 2006 and additional amendments, and UK Border Agency (UKBA) requirements, all prospective employees will be asked to supply evidence of eligibility to work in the UK. We will ask to see and take a copy of an appropriate official document as set out in the UKBA guidelines. Do not send anything now, further information will be sent to you should you be invited to interview. We are committed to equality of opportunity. Your current immigration status will not be taken into account when assessing your application against the selection criteria for the post. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. For more information on this job opportunity, please initially email or call the People Resources Team via the contact details found on our website. Full details and application documents here Location: Lincolnshire Leaving Care Service – Lincoln Contract type: Permanent Hours: 22.5 Salary: £26,966 - £37,414 (FTE) Closing Date: 30 August 2021 Interview Date: 9 September 2021 Barnardo's works in partnership with Lincolnshire County Council to deliver its Leaving Care Service for young people aged 16-25.
Our last OFSTED inspection achieved an ‘Outstanding' grade for the service we provide to Children in Care and Care Leavers. We are currently looking to recruit a Team Manager who will be based at our Lincoln office this post is to work 3 days / week (22.5 hours) Team Managers are not required to hold a Social Work qualification but demonstrate clear leadership qualities. There is an expectation that Team Managers will be required to travel across the region and where the service need requires. You will be joining an established management team who will be able to offer peer support and mentoring. Initial Specific Responsibilities Barnardo's have been delivering the Leaving Care Contract on behalf of Lincolnshire County Council for a number of years and following a successful re-commissioning Barnardo's will continue working in partnership with the County Council. Within service we not only have dedicated Leaving Care Workers we also have developed specialist services in relation to developing accommodation and supported lodgings specialists alongside workers helping with education, employment and training. We also have a dedicated senior project worker who leads on group participation, quality assurance and signs of safety across the service and we have some exciting developments in relation to creating a new jointly commissioned specialist mental health post and the joint development of a new housing scheme for Care Leavers. It's an exciting time to join the service as we extend our provision for 16-25 year old Care Leavers. We're looking for candidates with drive and determination who understands about working with looked after children and care leavers. Supplementary Information
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. When completing your application please refer to your skills knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification, Job Description and Additional Information document (if applicable). This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described. 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. Full details and application documents here Member Job Opportunity: Barnardo's - Social Worker - Fostering and Adoption (Family Placement)17/8/2021
Location: Barnardo's Fostering and Adoption North East Contract type: Permanent Hours: 37 Salary: £28,631 - £37,414 Closing Date: 20 August 2021 Interview Date: TBC Barnardo's Fostering and Adoption North East has an exciting vacancy for a Social Worker to join it's team. This post offers the opportunity to join a committed and enthusiastic team of professional social workers and to develop knowledge and skills in the specialist area of family placement, within a very supportive setting.
In this role, you will have the remit to ensure quality of placements provided by foster carers and adopters, providing support, supervision and training as appropriate. Solid experience in fieldwork, residential or in a family placement setting is an essential part of the role, so if you have this then we would love to hear from you:
The duties of this post require the applicant to have a full current driving license that enables them to drive in the UK and have use of a car and business use insurance. Barnardo's is, however, willing to consider any proposals put forward by applicants that would allow them to do the job by other means. The applicant will need to be able to participate in an "On Call" rota Out of Office hours. There is additional remuneration for providing this service. Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work life balance, we therefore offer flexible working arrangements as the role involves some evening/weekend working, and travel with occasional overnight stays. Over the past year, our workers have all been working from home, however we are working towards a blended working approach which will likely be a mix of home and office based working. When completing your application please refer to your skills knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification, Job Description and Additional Information document (if applicable). This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described. 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. Full details and application documents here Circa: £34,000 + inner London weighting (£3333) + £700 p.a on call allowance Location: London, City of London Contract Type: Permanent Full Time Closing Date: 27 August 2021 The role
Action for Children Fostering South East, is one service, based on two sites. Our London office is in central London (WC2B 5DG). We also have a Kent service based in Ramsgate. We have foster carers in various and widespread areas of London and Kent. We are not a large service, but we are long established, and have committed, skilled and experienced foster carers who are able to provide stable, nurturing family homes for children and young people who for various reasons aren't able to be cared for in their birth families. Our children, young people and carers are supported and by a very experienced and skilled staff team. One of the strengths that our foster carers often comment on is that our service has a ‘family' feel to it. We are looking for an outstanding Fostering Social Worker who can support placements in the London and surrounding area, 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. During Covid times, we support agile / homeworking with the expectation to progress back into our office base in WC2B 5DG, when we can, with continued flexibility and a mix of home, office and travel to meet children and carers where they are. You will make a difference by:
You will need:
The way we work We work to make sure every child and young person has the love, support and opportunity they need to reach their potential. If you share the same vision, we want you to join our team. Have a look at our behaviours and values to understand more about the way we work here. Rewards We want our employees to feel valued and rewarded for the vital work they do. When you work with us, we'll recognise your efforts with generous annual leave, a comprehensive employer-matched pension scheme and a range of deals and discounts on our dedicated benefits portal. Find out more about our exclusive Action for Children benefits here. For safe and happy childhoods At Action for Children, we protect and support children and young people, providing practical and emotional care and support, ensuring their voices are heard, and campaigning to bring lasting improvements to their lives. Last year, we helped more than 387,000 children and families across the UK. For any further questions about this role, please contact Lynsey.Munro@actionforchildren.org.uk in our recruitment team. It's vital for our services to be able to recruit and support adopters / Foster carers from a diverse range of backgrounds to reflect the children who need families. We therefore actively seek to replicate that diversity in our staff, and we positively welcome the wide breadth of experience, knowledge and understanding that this will bring to our services. 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. 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. Full details and application documents here By Ali Gunn, Communications and Campaigns Manager In June, the Independent Children's Social Care Review published it's first report, the Case for Change. Together Trust has contributed to the Care Review in a number of ways:
We welcome the opportunity to respond to the Case for Change. Rather than answer every question posed we have given feedback where we have experience and knowledge as a charity working in children's social care. Read our full response. The purpose of children’s social care We believe the the Children’s Act 1989 is very clear on the purpose of children's social care but we call for the full implementation of the UNCRC in England to ensure children’s rights are respected and upheld. Strengthening communities We welcomed the Review’s acknowledgement of the power of strong community networks but believe there needs to be significant investment in a national campaign to challenge stigma. Family Help The Case for Change does not go far enough to forensically investigate the impact of austerity cuts on children’s social care budgets or the chronic underfunding of community-based services. Departments across government must have the shared resource and collective accountability to help families to thrive. Keeping families together The Case for Change fails to recognise that good residential care practice supports families, rather than break them. Wrap around and holistic offers of short breaks, therapeutic support and community outreach services for children and families experiencing potential family breakdowns, neglect and family dysfunction would undoubtably help avoid unnecessary care episodes. Transitions We want to see children in residential care have the same rights as children in foster care. We fully support the Every Child Leaving Care Matters campaign, and we would like to see staying close options extended to the age of 25. The Case for Change has failed to consider the integration with adult social care. If it does not, there is a considerable risk that disabled children and their families will experience challenging transitions. Unregulated Accomodation We are incredibly disappointed and disheartened by the Case for Change’s stance on unregulated accommodation. It fails to recognise the implications of formalising a two-tier care system. Care that is good enough for all our children We welcomed the Review’s recognition that children’s social care does not match up with family life in Britain today, this mirrors our own research. Good quality care needs to have the young person at the centre with agencies and professionals working to uphold their rights, meet their needs and champion their ambitions. Workforce The Review misses the mark on strengthening and supporting residential care support workers. We need to enhance the profile and standing of those roles to support the recruitment and retention of a sustainable workforce for our children. Right homes in the right places Children need to be part of their own communities unless it is not safe for them. Local authorities should have the resources to be responsive and take a place-based approach to end profit-making in children’s social care. Read our full response Source: https://www.togethertrust.org.uk Young people and children at St Christopher’s have shared their thoughts with the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care in England. The report, titled “It is different living in the system than working in the system”, is taken from a quote from a young person. We felt this was an insightful summary of how professionals can forget about children and young people’s lived experience. Young people from children’s homes, semi-independent homes and foster homes, as well as care leavers who formerly lived at St Christopher’s, contributed their views. The suggestions are from UK nationals and young people seeking asylum in the UK, representing a range of experiences of care. Based on their feedback, and additional context provided by St Christopher’s foster carers and staff, the report was arranged into eight key themes. Young people shared what worked well, what did not work so well, and the changes they want to see in the care system. Stability “I had a social worker but we never heard from her, now I have a new one and it’s getting confusing.” Safeguarding “[I like] having somewhere warm and safe to live and I have a bed. I don’t always agree with the system.” Mental health “You should get help for mental health because if you don’t it will get bigger and bigger and one day you just explode.” Relationships “More trust and more help to people who have more needs and who don’t get to have social workers who are respectful.” Leaving care ” I feel like everyone should have the option of their leaving care age being extended to 25.” Unregulated accommodation “What people who support children and young people do is so important and needs to be more skilled.” Young people seeking asylum “It would help if there was someone around every week to give advice and talk to people in an accessible way.” Children in care are still children “More family contact, go out more, go out on your own, fizzy drinks and change of social worker.” We hope that this feedback helps the Care Review to reflect on the issues that are most important to young people and consider how care can become child-centred across the board. Thank you to the young people, staff and foster carers who helped to make this report! Read St Christopher’s Care Review submission today. Source: https://www.stchris.org.uk Member News: St Christopher's Fostering Story - “It was the first time I felt like I stood a chance”12/8/2021
Only 6% of care leavers go to university – so what can we do to make sure more young people in care have this opportunity, in line with St Christopher’s strategic aim to promote lifelong learning and thriving? We spoke to Catherine, a recent St Christopher’s care leaver, to learn about her experiences of education and what needs to change so that young people in care have the knowledge and confidence to apply. How old were you when you came into care? I was 14 when I came into care and now I’m 18 and have just left. I lived with my main foster family for just under four years. The last 18 months has seen so much upheaval for everyone. How has the pandemic been for you? It started when I was in the middle of Year 12 with exams coming up. I would wake up at the same time every day, leave my phone off and act like I was at college, even though I was at home. It was easy for me to get into a new routine. When we were told about teacher-assessed grades I wasn’t that worried as I thought they would have enough evidence to give me a good grade, so it helped keep me calm. Come results day I had been downgraded by two grades, which I wasn’t prepared for so I didn’t know what to do! Luckily the government changed the rules so that teachers could give your predicted grades instead. You are going to university in September – have you always wanted to go? Before I came into care I did want to go but I think that’s just because school told us to aim for it. However, I didn’t understand how you actually get to university and I never thought about the course or where I would like to go. It wasn’t until I spoke to a careers advisor in Year 11 that I started thinking about medicine and felt that initial spark of interest. I want to become a dermatologist because you can help people with clinical treatment and with the psychological effect of any skin problems. I would have liked to see more stories from young people like me. Even if they don’t know where to begin or feel down about applying, I hope somewhere a young person is reading this and it helps them gain the knowledge to apply to uni. Have you faced any challenges applying for university? I discovered I was restricted in a number of ways. Like I had been off school for a couple of months with illness and ended up at a special needs school for my GCSEs. This meant I could only do a few GCSEs, which meant I couldn’t meet the requirements for some medicine degrees when they wanted seven or eight GCSEs at high grades. Then I found out about a foundation or gateway year for medicine courses. They’re designed for disadvantaged students – people who are capable of studying medicine but don’t have the right academic background due to no fault of their own, such as not doing the right subjects. They have contextual criteria you can meet, like if you’re a care leaver, from a low income household or if your parents didn’t go to university – it’s different everywhere. Nobody had ever mentioned this pathway even though it is designed for people like me who are underrepresented. It was the first time I felt like it was a route I could go down and I stood a chance. Learning about the foundation year got me really engaged. And it eases the transition as I’ve got a year to get to know the area, teachers and other students. How did your foster carer support you? My foster mum was amazing. She took me to school every day and took me to all my college interviews. Everything I said I wanted to do she was always respectful and supportive and tried to do everything that she could to help me. If things weren’t going well with my social worker, school or college, she stepped up and put her foot in the ground, especially when I felt like I couldn’t put my point across. I’m really thankful she was able to do that when I couldn’t. We were a family unit as her daughter lived there too, and her other daughter and grandson visited regularly. It was nice to have different age ranges in the house. Although my carer didn’t know the ins and outs of applying to university, she still tried to get involved and was always there to offer me advice. I was really appreciative of it. Now that you have left care, what support do you have? I have a Personal Advisor (PA), who I’ve been in contact with since I turned 17. I never knew you had a PA when you left care and when they explained their role it sounded like a social worker. However she does more than that – she visits, checks how I’m doing and helps with finances and job applications, all tailored to what I need. She says she is going to drive to university to visit me every two months, I’m really impressed by that because you get a better understanding when you meet up with someone in person. And I still go to visit my foster family about once a week – it’s two buses away but always worth the journey. Nothing has really changed, I still feel part of the family and I’m welcome any time. They have another foster child now so it makes me think of what I was like when I first started living there and how far I’ve come and how I can make them feel welcome. I hope to see other young people living with them achieve the same things as me. I like that any new foster child will see I’m still in touch with the carers and that it’s not all over once you move out. What needs to happen for more children in care to go to university? University was never presented as an option to me, I think it was assumed I would get a job. When I have spoken to other young people in care, they seem to have had the same experiences. It’s a shame because if you sit down with young people and just ask what they want to do, regardless of their experiences, they can still go on to do loads of different things like university or higher education. I’m not saying everyone should go to uni but it’s just about knowing all your options. Like at every meeting they always push apprenticeships. It’s great they know all about that but they need a range of things that can fit everyone. They always say only 6% care leavers go to uni but then keep pushing the non-university options to us. There needs to be more awareness too, like better representation in the media. It’s the case with a lot of disadvantaged groups that you’re always being told you’re disadvantaged but never see anyone from those backgrounds going off to do something they are not expected to do. It’s like they acknowledge the problem but don’t give you ways to support yourself or solutions! Maybe it would help if social workers could be taught about what they can do to get young people into uni and have more information about foundation years – that really was a lightbulb moment for me and could have saved months of me worrying that I couldn’t go to uni. Professionals should know about funding too. If you’re a care leaver you’re entitled for a bursary but I had to find this out for myself. If teachers, social workers and carers could be loaded with this information then it can start young people off so they can go and do more research themselves. There is currently a care review in England. What would you change about the care system? Staying Put programmes. From what I know not many people end up with the Staying Put programme due to funding. When we looked into it, it was all money money money and you don’t feel like a person, it’s like they’re telling you you’re not worth couple of hundred pounds a week. Having a more consistent social worker would help too. I’ve had seven social workers in four years I’ve been in care. I’ve had a couple that have just gone away and nobody has told me why or when they are coming back. If there was an emergency, who was I meant to call? Luckily I could speak to my foster mum’s social worker at St Christopher’s and she was always really supportive. If you had one social worker the whole time you can build a good relationship with them. Maybe you could meet a couple of social workers when you first come into care and decide which one you like. If on first impressions you don’t think you’ll get on with them then you won’t try to build the relationship with them to start with so it would help if you could pick. Finally, what are you most looking forward to about university? I’m not gonna say the freedom as I’m sort of already at the halfway mark of living by myself. I cook and clean and look after the house and my granddad, who I live with. But I am looking forward to joining societies and want to do something that I never thought I would try before. I’m open to getting to know a lot of people – I think there are so many different people that you will find people who are like you. Thank you so much to Catherine for sharing her story. If you want to help a young person reach their full potential, enquire about fostering with St Christopher’s today. Source: https://www.stchris.org.uk/ Paul and Tracey, long term foster carers for ALL4U, organised a weekend full of fun and activities for their fellow carers and young people. They welcomed some families for the weekend, whilst others came along for day trips. Once all the tents were pitched, everyone was ready for fish and chips and an evening round the camp fire. On Saturday morning everyone participated in activities at the campsite and the afternoon was filled with walks and games. In the evening they had a BBQ with Del and Dwyan taking up chef duties. Thanks to Ripley's Garden Centre and Julie and Cliff for sorting the cakes! On Sunday they visited a local castle and did some sight seeing. One carer said, “Thanks for such a great weekend, we are home and have happy, exhausted children but they absolutely loved it. Thanks to Paul and Tracey you guys have worked your socks off xxx big hugs to you all xxx” Source:https://www.all4ufostering.co.uk |
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