Location: Northants Salary: £9,720 pa (FTE £24,300) + £300 Homeworking Allowance (FTE £750) Hours: 14 Hours Per Week (Monday & Tuesday) Closing Date: 26/10/2020 Interview Date: 04/11/2020 TACT, the UK’s largest fostering and adoption charity. Formed in 1993, we now have over 500 dedicated carers, who look after over 600 children and young people across the country. Our reputation and growth rests upon our strength in providing successful placements. As a charity, we do not have shareholders who receive profits and we invest all of our surplus income into service, staff, carers, and children's development.
TACT offer an excellent benefits package including:
Building upon our reputation for delivering excellent outcomes for children. We are now looking for a dynamic, enthusiastic, highly-motivated individual with experience in administration within the social care field to work with us as a Homebased Placement Officer. The Placement Officer is responsible for receiving placement requests for children who need to be looked after and matching them to our foster carer in cooperation with the Duty Social Worker. The role requires exceptional communication skills and discretion, sensitivity and the capability to deal with conflicting priorities at times. The successful applicant will have the following essential attributes:
Please see the Placement Officer Job Description and Job Information Pack for full details. Closing Date: Monday, 26th October 2020 Interviews: Wednesday, 4th November 2020 (via Microsoft Teams) 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. TACT reserve the right to close this vacancy early if sufficient numbers of applications are received, you are therefore advised to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment. Full details and application details here www.tactcare.org.uk Location: Nationwide (Homebased) Salary: £13,050 pa (£26,100 per annum FTE) Closing Date: 19/10/2020 Interview Date: 30/10/2020 Hours: 17.5 Hours Per Week 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. Working with the Big Lottery we are looking for a dynamic, enthusiastic and highly-motivated individual to lead on developing a peer mentoring service for the young people we look after. You will be a part of our innovative TACT Connect team that facilitates a lifelong network of suppo rt for care experienced adults. You will recruit and support care experienced adults to mentor children as they prepare to leave care and strive to fulfil their potential and become successful young adults. The core purpose of the TACT Connect Mentoring Worker, in close liaison with the TACT Connect Coordinator, will be to develop and deliver an effective and energetic volunteer service, specifically recruiting and training care experienced peer mentors and matching them with the children we look after, so they can best be supported as they prepare to make the big step into adult life. The successful applicant for the TACT Connect Mentoring Worker will have:
Full details of the role can be found in the TACT Connect Mentoring Worker Job Description. TACT offer an excellent benefits package including:
An enhanced DBS Check will be required for this role and will be requested by TACT on your behalf. Closing Date: Monday 19th October 2020 Interviews: Friday 30th October 2020 (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. Source: www.tactcare.org.uk ‘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. Why does FCC need such diverse foster carers? To start with, fostering should always be inclusive. Anyone, no matter what background, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religious belief, should be encouraged to make a difference to a child’s life. Diversity and inclusion is at the heart of what The Foster Care Co-operative stands for, extending to all areas of the agency, including staff recruitment. More specifically, FCC seeks diverse carers because the children who need foster homes 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. Source: www.fostercarecooperative.co.uk Member Job Opportunity: The Foster Care Co-operative - Senior Supervising Social Worker – Yorkshire12/10/2020
East Riding, York, Pontefract and other surrounding areas 37.5 hours per week) £31,401 – £36,272 per annum (dependent on experience) + 45p a mile travel, ‘out of hours’ payment 40 days annual leave (inclusive of bank holidays) and 10% employer contribution pension scheme We are seeking to recruit an experienced and enthusiastic SSW for our friendly team, working primarily from home.
There will be involvement in recruiting, assessing, supervising and supporting Foster Carers to support us in maintaining our quality fostering service for looked after children. The role involves recruitment of foster carers, travel to the homes of our foster carers as required (which will sometimes involve travelling distances), leading occasional projects, running and delivering training and support groups, and taking part in an ‘out of hours’ duty system (3 times a year). Applicants need to be able to take a flexible approach to working, have proven fostering experience (demonstrating significant experience of working within Children’s Services) and be able to demonstrate outstanding people, report writing, organisation and recording skills. Applicants must hold a Diploma or BA in Social Work (or equivalent Social Work qualification) and are required to be registered with Social Work England. To allow our Social Workers to provide a thorough, personal and meaningful service to our fostering families, FCC believe that caseloads need to be manageable. We are a ‘not-for-profit, value-based organisation’, putting the needs of our children and carers first and are looking to appoint a Social Worker who is as passionate about this as we are. Application Closing Date: Monday 19th October 2020 To discuss this role further, please contact Steve Field – Director of Child Care or Barbara Bull – Head of HR/Deputy CEO, on 01684 892380. Full details and application documents here So, you’ve made the leap. You’ve taken the first step on your journey to becoming a foster carer. Congratulations! You’re probably feeling excited, apprehensive or even a bit scared; this is totally normal! The fostering assessment is a process which is unusual for a person to go through, and it is incredibly thorough because it needs to be; to safeguard your family and the children you will care for. There are things that you can begin to think about to prepare for the assessment process. These helpful hints and tips should give you some ideas about how to get the most out of your assessment, and how to make the process as streamlined as possible.
Most importantly, try to enjoy the assessment! Its goal is to showcase your skills and qualities, so tell us what they are! Have confidence in yourself and know that what you are ultimately aiming to do is rewarding, fulfilling and admirable beyond measure. Good luck! Team Fostering is an independent, not-for-profit fostering agency that covers the North East, Yorkshire and East Midlands. If you're thinking about fostering but would like to know more about the assessment process, contact us: call us on 0800 292 2003 email us via info@teamfostering.co.uk submit an online enquiry form by clicking here Source: www.teamfostering.co.uk That was the question asked over two years ago by the University of Worcester, in collaboration with Shaping Our Lives and The Foster Care Co-operative. It instigated a ground-breaking piece of research into the barriers disabled people possibly face when wanting to become foster carers, and can these barriers be overcome? Gail Granger (pictured above), one of FCC’s social workers based in the Midlands, lent her experience to the project in order to provide an ‘industry perspective’ and an ‘employer’s voice’. Her work supported Dr Peter Unwin, Principal Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Worcester, and the research he initiated. The research, entitled ‘Mutual Benefits: the potential of disabled people as foster carers’, was funded by a grant from the DRILL programme (Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning) – part of a £5 million research programme funded by the National Lottery. It is very important that the fostering task should be as inclusive as possible. Not only does this enable more people to become carers, but it also provides diverse carer-to-child matching options when looking to provide children with a home. In theory, the better the match, the more stable the placement should be. Other than some very wide criteria and a full assessment and checking process, the main requirement for becoming a foster carer is to be able to care for children in your home. If this criteria can be met, there shouldn’t be any reason why a person can’t become a carer – no matter what disability they may have. At time of writing, the jury is still out. But we won’t have to wait much longer as the results are due on 8th October 2020, with a ‘sneak preview’ being broadcast on BBC Woman’s Hour at 10.00am on 5th October. FCC were overjoyed to be a part of this research, and are SO proud of Gail for her involvement in this important further step towards inclusion and diversity – for people interested in fostering. FCC will be linking to the research findings as soon as they are published. Source: www.fostercarecooperative.co.uk Like many charities we have been opening our eyes to structural racism, bias and discrimination in our society, our organisation and the wider charity sector. Back in June, in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, St Christopher’s committed to ensuring we are a just and equal organisation for staff and young people of all races. Since then, our Race Matters Group has been exploring areas where St Christopher’s can make changes to benefit everyone who makes up our charity. Race Matters is composed of employees from across the service types and regions that we operate in. The group has identified five priority areas to work on:
For example, one topic of discussion has focused on how the organisation has assessed the resources we have to meet the health and wellbeing of staff and the young people we care for in the knowledge of how racism impacts on some groups. This includes how we engage and collaborate with external services and which of those services are best placed to meet the needs of our workforce and young people. The group has also looked at the appropriateness and context of terminology used within the organisation. As everyone offers a unique perspective on these issues they are not simple problems that can be solved, so it is essential to raise awareness and promote learning around these difficult topics. As an organisation we are encouraging colleagues to submit their equality and diversity data. This will provide an overall picture of our workforce so that we can look through different cultural lenses, be more targeted and create a stronger sense of belonging. Members are keen to ensure these changes are not short-term but ones that will benefit employees and young people long into the future. This means acting with thought and consideration and commitment to facilitating change which will last the test of time. Chief Executive Jonathan Whalley said: “Thank you to our colleagues for establishing this group and being so open about their experiences. This work will not be easy or a quick fix, but is hugely important in ensuring all St Christopher’s staff and young people feel valued and equal.” Source: www.stchris.org.uk |
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