TACT – UK’s largest dedicated fostering charity, has today published a paper urging the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care (IRCSC) to recommend that the DfE establish a ground-breaking new national care service – the National Care Family (NCF), covering fostering, adoption, kinship, residential, foster, and secure care. The proposed service would also take over responsibility for children who return to their birth parents from care and the secure youth justice estate. The creation of an exclusive dedicated body will mean that Local Authorities (LAs) will no longer hold parental or operational responsibility for children in public care. In addition to the existing range of support given to children in the care system, the National Care Family would perform new and long needed duties such as supporting birth parents whose children return to them from care, and providing assistance for care experienced adults. Being care experienced would become a protected characteristic with an automatic entitlement to lifelong support. What we currently do for children and young people in care, and care experienced people, is simply not good enough. It is true that many children are protected from harm by the care system, and for a significant number of children it is transformative. But it is also an inescapable fact that when children in care are compared with children in the general population, they tend to have significantly poorer outcomes in a number of areas, such as educational attainment, and mental and physical health. Children and young people who grow up in care are up to four times more likely to suffer from poor health 30 years later than those who grew up with their parents. Care experienced people are estimated to represent between 24% and 27% of the adult prison population, despite being less than 5% of the overall population. It is time that we took drastic action to change the narrative and tackle the negative outcomes for too many care experienced people. Andy Elvin, TACT CEO, said: “All children in care, or in families created through social services’ intervention, require a Service that is dedicated to them and their families. LAs will never be able to prioritise this group lifelong. If we merely try to re-purpose the current systems/structures, we will simply get more of what we already have. The solution has to be a wholly different place, not a reformulation of what we currently have.” TACT’s paper provides a vision for the new Service. The detailed design and creation of such a Service should be shaped by those experts by experience who can best inform this process, and those within the current system who accept and embrace the need for radical change. The new Service must be co-designed and co-produced by those whose lives it aims to transform. Click on this link to access Towards a National Care Family For all media enquiries, interviews, images and information please contact the TACT Communications Team via l.luxton@tactcare.org.uk or telephone: 07793580418# Source: www.tactcare.org.uk Part time: 22.5 hours per week, Wednesday to Friday Salary Banding: £21,467.54 - £24,905.32 per annum (FTE £35,779.23 to £40,508.96) Please note we do not operate a performance related reward system of automatic incremental payments.
PLEASE NOTE: The role will be based in our Sheffield office but consideration will be given to the post being based in our East Midlands office. We are currently working from home and are reviewing our working arrangements to potentially introduce hybrid working arrangements in the future. Team Fostering is an ethical not for profit fostering agency with a strong reputation and track record for providing high quality, value for money fostering placements for looked after children. We pride ourselves on our values and we expect our staff to commit to and demonstrate these values in their everyday work. This is an exciting opportunity for experienced and qualified social workers to join our successful and growing fostering team. Working with Team Fostering’s Recruitment team, the post holder will support the Agency in recruiting skilled and suitable foster carers by dealing with initial enquiries, undertaking initial assessments and deliver training to prospective foster carers. You will have the knowledge and skills to undertake the full range of fostering social worker tasks, including recruiting, assessing, training and supervising foster carers. Not only will you have excellent communication and interpersonal skills you will also be hardworking, positive, and motivated to improve outcomes for looked after children. The post is based in Sheffield however you will be required to work flexibly across the Yorkshire and East Midlands region. The post holder will need to be available to undertake Initial Visits and contact prospective foster carers in the evening and to occasionally provide training for prospective foster carers at a weekend. There may also need to be some flexibility to allow handover between workers and to cover business needs. For an informal chat about the post please contact Louise Thwaites, Recruitment Manager on 0191 257 6806. To apply, please complete an Application Form and Equal Opportunities Form (available below) and return to hr@teamfostering.co.uk no later than 9am on Friday 8 October. Please note Team Fostering does not accept CV’s. All posts require an Enhanced DBS Disclosure. Closing date: 9am on Friday 8 October 2021 Interview date to be confirmed. This may take place virtually due to current working practices. Please note if you are shortlisted for interview we will contact you via the email you have provided. Please ensure you check your emails regularly. Thank you for your interest in Team Fostering and taking the time to apply for this position. Full details and application documents here Location: Yorkshire, North East and North West of England Salary: £2000 per Form F + £33 per hour (initial visits) + Mileage Closing Date: 10/10/2021 Interview Date: 19/10/2021 Hours: Variable Home based in the Yorkshire, North East and North West of England areas.
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 Due to increased demand from new foster families we are recruiting sessional assessing social workers to undertake Form F assessments. Our assessments are undertaken virtually using video calling and a minimum of one face to face visit to meet the applicants and undertake health & safety assessments. We are particularly looking for assessors in Yorkshire, North East and North West of England. We would welcome applicants from the following areas: Darlington, Durham, Gateshead, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, North Tyneside, Redcar & Cleveland, South Tyneside, Sunderland and Stockton. Barnsley, Bradford, Calderdale, York, Doncaster, East Riding of Yorkshire, Hull, Kirklees, Leeds, Rotherham, Sheffield, and Wakefield. Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Manchester, Salford, Oldham, Rochdale , Wigan and Bolton. 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.
Closing Date: Sunday 10th October 2021 Interviews: Tuesday 19th October 2021 (Via Microsoft Teams) Full details and application documents here Salary: Circa £67,000 Department/Division: Wales Contract Type: Permanent Full Time Hours: 35 hours per week Flexible, Homeworking with travel to Wales offices and services as required
Benefits: Holiday allowance minimum 29 days (pro-rata) plus public/bank holidays, flexible maternity, adoption and paternity packages, pension scheme where we contribute up to 7%, an employee discount portal and much, much more! About Us: Our vision is that every child and young person has a safe and happy childhood. To do this, we need ambition. We need strategic leadership and direction. But just as important? The compassion, the warmth and the strength you'll bring to help us continue changing lives. Reporting to the National Director of Wales, you'll lead, develop and manage a dedicated team of managers who deliver a range of children's services in a geographical area. One of the key missions will be to make sure that we're fit for the future, especially in a post-lockdown Wales. This really is an exciting opportunity for an inspirational leader who wants to make a difference to the lives of children and young people. So why not take a well-earned tea break, have a read and review the attached job description? About the Role: Working with the senior leadership team of the Wales nation, you'll be responsible for a defined area and we're open to finding the best person who can establish relationships with key stakeholders and commissioners. You'll strive for excellence and work with commissioned services to achieve the best outcomes possible for children and young people. With your decisive and collaborative leadership, you'll be able to analyse, monitor and support service performance and delivery. As the Operational Director of Children's Services, you'll be accountable for the quality of our provision, ensuring the finances of the charity are sustainable. You'll be an advocate for the charity, you'll speak on behalf of children whose voices are not yet heard. You'll do everything you can to make sure they CAN be heard, while maintaining our outstanding reputation. You'll direct our success by:
Ideally, you'll have:
To apply, we'd like you to complete our application form and a supporting statement, telling us how you'll champion better lives for children and how your skills, experience and ambitions meet with our needs. Interview date is planned for Tuesday 12th October. Closing date is Sunday 3rd October. If you require support in applying or have any questions, then don't hesitate to contact Carla Smart on 01923 361 7839. 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 600,000 children and families across the UK. 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 ________ Cyfarwyddwr Gweithredol Gwasanaethau Plant (Cyfeirnod yr Ymgyrch: 5776) Hyblyg, Gweithio Gartref a theithio i swyddfeydd a gwasanaethau Cymru yn ôl yr angen Parhaol, Amser Llawn dros 35 awr yr wythnos Cyflog: Tua £67,000 y flwyddyn Buddion: Lwfans gwyliau o 29 diwrnod (pro-rata) ynghyd â gwyliau cyhoeddus/gwyliau'r banc, pecynnau mamolaeth, mabwysiadu a thadolaeth hyblyg, cynllun pensiwn lle rydym yn cyfrannu hyd at 7%, porth gostyngiadau i weithwyr a llawer mwy! Amdanom Ni: Ein gweledigaeth yw i bob plentyn a pherson ifanc gael plentyndod diogel a hapus. I wneud hyn, mae angen uchelgais arnom. Mae angen arweinyddiaeth a chyfeiriad strategol arnom. Ond yr un mor bwysig? Eich tosturi, eich cynhesrwydd a'ch cryfder a fydd yn ein helpu i barhau i newid bywydau. Yn atebol i Gyfarwyddwr Cenedlaethol Cymru, byddwch yn arwain, yn datblygu ac yn rheoli tîm ymroddedig o reolwyr sy'n darparu ystod o wasanaethau plant mewn ardal ddaearyddol. Un o'r nodau allweddol fydd sicrhau ein bod yn addas ar gyfer y dyfodol, yn enwedig yng Nghymru ar ôl y cyfnod clo. Mae hwn yn gyfle cyffrous i arweinydd ysbrydoledig sydd am wneud gwahaniaeth i fywydau plant a phobl ifanc. Felly beth am gymryd hoe haeddiannol, a darllen ac adolygu'r swydd-ddisgrifiad ynghlwm dros baned? Y Swydd: Gan weithio gydag uwch dîm arwain Cymru, byddwch yn gyfrifol am ardal benodol ac rydym yn awyddus i ddod o hyd i'r person gorau sy'n gallu creu perthynas â rhanddeiliaid allweddol a chomisiynwyr. byddwch yn anelu at ragoriaeth ac yn gweithio gyda gwasanaethau a gomisiynwyd i gyflawni'r canlyniadau gorau posibl i blant a phobl ifanc. Gyda'ch arweinyddiaeth bendant a chydweithredol, byddwch yn gallu dadansoddi, monitro a chefnogi perfformiad a darpariaeth gwasanaeth. Fel Cyfarwyddwr Gweithredol Gwasanaethau Plant, byddwch yn atebol am ansawdd ein darpariaeth, gan sicrhau bod cyllid yr elusen yn gynaliadwy. Byddwch yn eiriolwr dros yr elusen, byddwch yn siarad ar ran plant nad yw eu lleisiau'n cael eu clywed eto. Byddwch yn gwneud popeth o fewn eich gallu i sicrhau y GELLIR eu clywed, wrth gynnal ein henw da rhagorol. Byddwch yn sicrhau ein llwyddiant drwy:
Yn ddelfrydol, bydd gennych:
Er mwyn gwneud cais, hoffem i chi lenwi ein ffurflen gais a datganiad ategol, gan ddweud wrthym sut y byddwch yn hyrwyddo bywydau gwell i blant a sut mae'ch sgiliau, eich profiad a'ch uchelgeisiau yn diwallu ein hanghenion. Dyddiad y cyfweliad yw dydd Mawrth 12 Hydref. Y dyddiad cau yw dydd Sul 3 Hydref. Os oes angen cymorth arnoch i wneud cais neu os oes gennych unrhyw gwestiynau, mae croeso i chi gysylltu â Carla Smart ar 01923 361 7839 Sicrhau plentyndod diogel a hapus Yn Gweithredu dros Blant, rydym yn amddiffyn ac yn cefnogi plant a phobl ifanc, gan ddarparu gofal a chymorth ymarferol ac emosiynol iddynt, sicrhau bod eu lleisiau 'n cael eu clywed, ac ymgyrchu i wneud gwelliannau parhaol i'w bywydau. Y llynedd, fe wnaethom helpu mwy na 600,000 o blant a theuluoedd ledled y DU. Rydym wedi ymrwymo i arferion recriwtio mwy diogel er mwyn amddiffyn defnyddwyr ein gwasanaethau; felly, mae disgwyl i bob ymgeisydd feddu ar ddealltwriaeth o arferion gorau ac ymrwymo i hynny. Mae Gweithredu dros Blant yn teimlo'n angerddol ynglŷn â hyrwyddo cydraddoldeb, gwerthfawrogi amrywiaeth, a gweithio mewn ffordd gynhwysol. Rydym yn croesawu ceisiadau gan bawb sydd â chymwysterau addas, yn enwedig pobl ag Anableddau ac ymgeiswyr Du, Asiaidd a Lleiafrifoedd Ethnig, gan fod y grwpiau hyn wedi'u tangynrychioli yn ein gweithlu ar hyn o bryd. Manylion llawn a dogfennau cais yma Circa: £35,000 + £700 p.a on call allowance Department/Division: England North Location: Horfield Bristol ( Flexibility to work from home on occasion) Contract Type: Permanent Full Time Hours: 37 per week. Benefits – Holiday allowance minimum 29 days plus public/bank holidays, flexible maternity, adoption and paternity packages, pension scheme where we contribute up to 7%, an employee discount portal and much more!
Giving children and young people the foundations they need to thrive. The role Our three linked services, Fostering South West, Fostering South West Peninsula and Family Breaks Devon provide high quality foster families to vulnerable children and young people from our offices based in Bristol and Exeter. We also offer the highest standard of care-providing carers with excellent training, supervision and support to achieve the best outcomes for the young people we look after. We strive to provide a good quality of care to young people, always ensuring they are the centre of our approach. We are looking for an outstanding Fostering Social Worker who can support placements in the South west. 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 more information or if you have any questions please email anne-marie.wilson@actionforchildren.org.uk 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 Action for Children worker Caryl Dyer takes you behind the scenes of our latest campaign, Star in Every Child, sharing the true stories behind what you see on screen When Caryl Dyer, an Action for Children service coordinator in south Wales, got a call asking her to star in the charity’s latest awareness-raising film, she leapt at the chance. “This campaign is all about children reaching their potential, regardless of who they are,” explains Caryl. “I love the meaning behind that. It’s the belief that’s kept me going for the past 13 years and why I was excited to be involved in the film.” A passion for helping children After initially joining Action for Children on a service for children with autism in Cardiff, Caryl’s held a diverse variety of roles. She’s worked directly with families in crisis, provided short breaks for young carers, in residential services, after-school clubs and play schemes. She’s now working in mental health for children and young people, an area she’s passionate about. “Every role was extremely rewarding in its own way,” reflects Caryl. “Because in each of them, you're supporting vulnerable young people to thrive. I think the common thing among all of them is that you leave at the end of the day knowing that you've done your best by a young person, which I think is pretty special.” Helping children’s stars shine In our new ‘Star in Every Child’ campaign film, Caryl gets to share the beliefs that drive her – and Action for Children staff and supporters across the country. That no child should go hungry, without love or a safe and stable home. “Unfortunately, there are lots of things that can stop a child’s star from shining,” says Caryl, “Things like domestic abuse, substance abuse, poverty, or poor parental mental health and wellbeing. Action for Children has lots of services across the UK that can help families overcome these things and help their children’s stars to shine.” Now, Action for Children is asking the public to help us do more, by helping us provide the things that can help a vulnerable child have a safe and happy childhood. Simple things, like a warm, nutritious meal or a support worker who will be there to listen, support and help keep them safe. The reality beyond the screen Caryl explains that the campaign reflects the reality of what she and other Action for Children workers see every day on the job: “In the film you see children that maybe do not have access to a healthy meal, or decent shoes to wear to school. Unfortunately, that is the reality of what we come across regularly working for Action for Children. “It’s extremely disheartening to know that young people are facing such challenges. But I’m hoping that with the public’s support, we can reach more of them. It would mean the world, and make a big difference” Real life stories of impact Recalling one of her proudest moments, Caryl says: “I’ll never forget one young boy - two brothers actually. Unfortunately, they'd lost their dad at a younger age. The surviving parent was struggling with bereavement at the time and went into ‘survival mode’. Unfortunately, it turned into substance misuse and alcoholism. “They were barely getting by. During that time, it was just a very difficult, challenging family situation for all involved. The children were displaying quite challenging behaviour trying to deal with all of that, they weren’t getting on with school and so on. “It was my role to come in to support this family because it was all coming crashing down. It was a very long and challenging piece of work, but we supported them and we prevented the boys from having to go into care. That was fantastic. “When we first went in, the situation was quite severe – it was really harrowing. But after working with them, they became resilient young boys, they were at school, they attended every day. At the end of the day, they had a supportive network around them and that’s so important.” “It’s extremely disheartening to know that young people are facing such challenges. But I’m hoping that with the public’s support, we can reach more of them. It would mean the world, and make a big difference” Caryl Dyer With the right support, any child can shine Caryl’s own childhood was a happy one, in which she felt lucky to have a loving home despite financial adversity. “We weren't from a wealthy background. I was raised by hard working parents, and we lived from month to month. But I felt very fortunate that I was surrounded by a lot of love, a lot of positive relationships. “That's what makes me passionate about this cause. That it doesn't matter what your background is, you can still shine, and you can still make your own way. Sometimes small things, like having somebody there for you, is all that matters.” How you can help When a child has the safe and happy childhood they deserve, their star shines brightly. But too many children in the UK right now don’t have the chance to shine. Their childhoods are overshadowed by abuse and neglect, poverty, and poor mental health. But you can change this. There's a star in every child. Let it shine. Source: www.actionforchildren.org.uk |
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