We are delighted to share our report for the Customer Service Excellence Award in 2021, with the results showing we go above and beyond for our customers. This year we received three areas of Compliance Plus, which refers to “behaviours or practices which exceed the requirements of the standard and are viewed as exceptional or as exemplar to others”. “We have made positive changes to services as a result of analysing customer experience, including improved customer journeys.” This was evidenced through Staying Close, our implementation of the Children’s Global Assessment Scale (CGAS), using the Lundy Method to improve the engagement journey and the work of our Return Home Interviews Service (formerly Runaways). “We have improved the range, content and quality of verbal, published and web-based information we provide to ensure it is relevant and meets the needs of customers.” This was shown through an A to Z of fostering campaign to recruit new foster carers, the Impact Report 2021 and young people’s guides. “Our performance in relation to timeliness and quality of service compares well with that of similar organisations.” This was awarded for our longer placement times, high percentage of planned placement endings, strong educational achievements of our young people and our Ofsted and Isle of Man inspection outcomes. In addition to these areas of Compliance Plus, the assessor identified 14 areas of good practice including colleague’s flexibility during the pandemic, our participatory approach and the extension of our contract on the Isle of Man. Director of Income and Development Geneva Ellis said: “Winning this award is always a big team effort from people across St Christopher’s and shows how much excellence exists in all corners of our organisation. Well done!” Source: www.stchris.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 Wednesday 24th November 2021. Please note Team Fostering does not accept CV’s. Full details and application documents here Team Fostering is an ethical not-for-profit fostering agency. We have a strong reputation and proven 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. We are looking for Independent Reviewing Officers based in the North East and Yorkshire & East Midlands regions. Our Independent Reviewing Officers contribute to the provision of a high quality fostering service for children by ensuring that every Team Fostering foster carer’s suitability to foster and terms of approval are reviewed at least once annually as required by the Fostering Regulations. Independent Reviewing Officers chair foster carer reviews and produce high quality reports for Team Fostering on a self-employed basis. As part of the preparation for a review they also conduct audits of the agency files to ensure a high standard of recording is maintained. Individuals will have the necessary social work and management skills and experience to undertake this task, to contribute to the maintenance of quality standards within the organisation. Team Fostering will provide regular supervision. Key Tasks:
This is a sessional role. Salary for the post is £32.25 per hour (each review and audit of carer’s file = 6 ½ hours) If you wish to discuss this role further please contact Sandra Kennedy on 07717 762125 or Rachael Johnson on 07717 762126 Closing date: 9 am on Monday 29 November 2021 Interviews will be held on Thursday 9 December 2021 Please note Team Fostering does not accept CV’s. Applicants are requested to complete an application form and equal opportunities form available above. All posts require an Enhanced DBS Disclosure To apply, please use the below documentation, sending a completed application form and equal opportunities form to hr@teamfostering.co.uk Full details and application documents here Location: Homebased (Scotland) Salary: £300 per Panel Closing Date: 18/11/2021 Interview Date: 03/12/2021 Hours: Up to 20 Days Per Year (plus training days) TACT is the UK's largest fostering charity and now has over 500 dedicated carers, who look after over 600 children and young people across the nation. Our reputation and growth rests upon our strength in providing successful child centred placements. As a charity, we do not have shareholders who receive profits and we invest all of our surplus income into the service, carers, staff and our children's development. We are currently recruiting a Panel Chair to lead the Fostering Panel in our Scotland area. In line with our values, we expect each panel member to ensure that all decisions are made with regard to the interest of ‘children in care,’ foster carers, and the community in which they live. Our Scotland Panel meetings are held online on a monthly basis on the second Tuesday of the month. The Fostering Panel Chair will need to based within a reasonable distance of travel across Scotland to attend occasional in person meetings and for at least 2 training days per year. As our Scotland Fostering Panel Chair, you will be able to evidence:
As a Fostering Panel Chair your duties will include:
Full details of the Panel Chair role are available via the Job Description tab. A Disclosure Scotland clearance is required for the Fostering Panel Chair role. This check will be undertaken by TACT on your behalf. You will be required to have professional membership to a social work body if you are currently a practicing social worker. Closing: Thursday 18th November 2021 Interviews: Friday 3rd December 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 Location: Wales Salary: £2,000 per Form F + £33 per hour (initial visits) + 45p. Mileage Closing Date: 28/11/2021 Interview Date: 06/12/2021 Hours: Variable Home based in the Wales 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. 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 the South Wales area – specifically Newport, Cardiff, Swansea, Port Talbot, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Neath and Pontypriddorkshire. 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 Wales. An Enhanced DBS check will be required for this role and will be requested on your behalf by TACT. Closing Date: Sunday, 28th November 2021 Interviews: Monday, 6th December 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 Location: Cambridgeshire / Peterborough Salary: £39,540 per annum (£37,290 per annum salary + £1,500 per annum Out of Hours Rota Allowance + £750 per annum Homeworking Allowance) Closing Date: 25/11/2021 Interview Date: 06/12/2021 Hours: 35 hours per week Homebased
As a ‘not for profit’ organisation, TACT put the needs of our children and carers first and look to appoint individuals who are as passionate about this as we are. We know that we cannot provide this level of care without our staff which is why we are proactive in looking after the wellbeing of our employees. As a homeworking organisation, we pride ourselves on the flexibility this brings, along with our flexible working opportunities to enable you to have a healthy work / life balance. We also provide a full and active wellbeing calendar and activities, along with your input to ensure you get the most from it. It is not surprising that this had led to us gaining 'outstanding’ levels of employee engagement in a recent Best Companies Survey this year. Come and join us and be part of our amazing team of professionals who put young people at the heart of every decision. Our vision is to provide better lives for our children and young people. Find out more about our values here We currently have a vacancy for a Senior Supervising Social Worker. The right candidate fror this role will be someone for whom quality of service is paramount and who shares our commitment to working in partnership with our children and foster carers. This role would suit someone located in or close to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough areas. As a Homebased Senior Supervising Social Worker, you will support and supervise the foster families and placements we have in these areas so the succesful candidate will need to evidence flexibility and willigness to travel to other areas of the East Midlands region as required. The ideal candidate for this Senior Supervising Social Worker role should have post qualifying experience in family placement work or other childcare settings as well as a good working knowledge of relevant legislation and child protection procedures. Main requirements:
TACT offer an excellent employee benefits package including:
Please see the Job Information Pack and Job Description for further information. You will need to be DipSW, CSS or CQSW qualified and registered with Social Work England. An enhanced DBS clearance is also required and will be processed by TACT on your behalf. The successful applicant will be required to support Duty and Out of Hours on a rota basis and will be paid an out of hours’ allowance of £1,500 per annum once participating in the rota. Closing: Thursday 25th November 2021 Interviews: Monday 6th December 2021 (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 is a homebased workforce. We recognise the benefits that flexible home working creates for both the employer and the employee. As a remote working organisation, we are committed to work with our staff to enable consistent inclusion and engagement across the organisation to ensure the optimum standards of service for our carers and children and their foster carers in the development of our services. TACT does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them. 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. Full details and application documents here Location: West Bromwich Contract Type: Fixed Term Closing Date: 19 November 2021 Salary: £27,651 - £37,041 depending on experience Specific Hours: 37.5 hours per week We have an opportunity to join our foster care team for up to 12 months to cover maternity leave.
About Us Our vision is for every child and young person to be safe, loved and happy, to achieve their potential and have a bright future. 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 have a passionate commitment to our young people, placing them at the centre of everything we do. We provide positive life experiences for young people who are unable to sustain a placement in their parental home. We are an equal opportunity employer and keen to develop an inclusive workforce were people feel they belong. We hope to attract application from under- represented groups including people from different cultures, nationalities, socio economic backgrounds, ages, disabilities, religion, faith, sex, orientation, child care responsibilities and with gender diverse identities. St Christopher’s Academy At St Christopher`s we can provide more than just a care job. We can offer you a career where you can develop your skills and knowledge while making a difference to young people’s lives. When you join St Christopher’s, we will set you up in your career with a tailored development plan. Whether you want to move across to a different service, become a Manager or just explore further your current role, we will support you to map out your career trajectory and help you achieve your professional ambitions. If you want to learn more about St Christopher’s Academy, please click here About the Role As a Supervising Social Worker, you will carry a reasonable caseload of fostering households and contribute to the growth and development of St Christopher’s fostering services by playing a key role in the recruitment, training and assessment of foster carers and by building positive relationships with referring authorities and other professionals. Applicants should have:
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. Your online application must include a supporting statement addressing the criteria stated in the Person Specification. For the full Job Description and Person Specification click here. For more information or assistance during the application process, please contact recruitment@stchris.org.uk Closing date: 19/11/2021 We advise to apply as soon as possible as applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. St Christopher’s Fellowship has a minimum age requirement of 21 for roles working directly with children and young people in our residential and semi-independent Homes. Full details and application documents here Job Location: Flexible Pay scale: Voluntary - Expenses only Hours: Six meetings per year (3 Board / 3 subgroup) We’re looking to attract talented inspired people to join our crew and help us to achieve our vital mission by becoming a trustee and joining our board. As a trustee, you will work collaboratively with the other members of the board to navigate CFC’s journey towards achieving the mission.
Please find full role description below and email your application form to saraha@communityfostercare.co.uk in the first instance. The application form can be downloaded here Full details and application documents here Location: Norwich, Norfolk Salary: £78 per panel Contract Type: Relief / Bank Hours Closing Date: Monday 22 November 2021 We are currently recruiting for Foster Panel Members for the Break Fostering Service. The Panel Member will be part of a central list of people who we will call upon to attend Panel for the purpose of making recommendations about the approval of foster carers.
An understanding of the needs of looked after children is essential together with a good sense of the attributes and skills needed to provide children who are looked after with high quality nurturing care. Good practical judgement combined with the ability to read and analyse complex written reports is needed. To complement our existing skills set, and to ensure we have well rounded panels for the benefit of those in our care, we are interested to hear from candidates with medical or teaching backgrounds. You will be making an important contribution to the fostering service as a Panel member and more generally to the work of the Break Children’s Charity whose purpose is to change children’s lives for the better. Salary: £78.00 per panel – approximately 4 panels are held every year. Hours: As and when required Closing date: 22/11/2021 Interview date: 02/12/2021 For more information regarding this position, please email the Fostering Service Manager via; sarah.green-plumb@break-charity.org Full details and application documents here Regulator says rise in placements is not enough to meet growing and increasingly complex demand England’s care system needs an “urgent boost to the number of foster carers” to avoid reaching “breaking point”. That was the warning from Ofsted as it released its annual fostering statistics last week, which showed there were 88,180 approved fostering places, 55,990 of which were filled, and 45,370 approved fostering households, as of 31 March 2021. But despite the latter being a record figure, Ofsted said the statistics painted a “bleak picture”, with “too few carers with the right skills” to support the number of children needing a placement. Over the past five years, the number of approved places and approved households have only increased by 2% while the number of children in placements rose by 9%. Increases driven by family and friends carers And this increase has been driven by a rise in family and friends carers, who are usually approved to care for specific children and the vast majority of whom do not offer other placements. Over the past five years, the number of approved households whose primary placement offer was for family and friends care rose from 5,855 to 8,045. Discounting these, the number of approved fostering households decreased by 3% to 37,325, with no change in the number of placements primarily for permanent care and a fall in those for non-permanent care. And of 8,880 households newly approved in 2020-21 and still active at the end of the financial year, 3,525 (40%) were family and friends carers. These figures correlate with the government’s children looked after statistics for March 2020, which showed that the proportion of children in foster care not with a relative or friend had decreased to 57% from 60% in 2018. Lucy Peake, chief executive of charity Kinship, said the figures showed that it was becoming “increasingly urgent” that the government recognises and values kinship care. ‘Bleak picture’
Ofsted’s figures also showed the effective capacity of the system had fallen over the past five years, with the number of vacant places plummeting from 21,160 to 14,005. This was mainly due to the rise in filled places over this time, but it was also caused by the 3,525 rise in “not available” places, which reached 17,390 in 2021. Yvette Stanley, Ofsted’s national director for social care, said the figures painted a “bleak picture”. “[Year] on year we see more children coming into foster care, and too few carers with the right skills to give them the support they deserve. How long can this go on before the care system reaches breaking point? “We rarely see children coming into care who don’t need to be, but with the right help earlier, some may be able to remain with their families. We also need to urgently boost the number of foster carers, making sure they, and the children they care for, get the right support.” Fewer enquiries leading to applications Ofsted also highlighted the fact that the proportion of enquiries from prospective fostering households that led to applications has decreased in recent years. While the number of enquiries from prospective fostering households increased by 57% to 160,635from 2015-16 to 2020-21, .the number of applications only rose by 18% to 10,145. This means the proportion of applications from enquiries decreased from 8% in 2015-16 to 6% in 2020-21. A lower proportion of initial enquiries to independent fostering agencies (IFAs) converted to applications (4%) compared to local authorities (15%). The proportion of fostering applications processed in the year that were approved also decreased, from 44% in 2015-16 to 32% in 2020-21. Sixty five per cent of foster carers approved in the year to March 2021 were over 50 while 26% were over 65, both similar rates to the year before. Directors call for ban on profit-making agencies The Association of Director of Children’s Services (ADCS) said the figures showed government needed to invest in recruiting more foster carers. “A wider pool of foster carers, who can meet the diverse needs of children and young people coming into care, will lead to greater placement choice, and as a result greater placement stability,” said Edwina Grant, chair of ADCS’ health, care and additional needs policy committee. “However, without the support from national government this is becoming increasingly difficult as the number of children coming into care continues to rise.” Grant also called for an end to “significant profits being made by a small number of organisations from fostering” and urged the care review to address this. “Such practices cannot be justified, and we reiterate our call on government to introduce legislation, similar to that in Scotland, which prevents for-profit operations in this area,” she said. Call on government to fund recruitment drive Andy Elvin, chief executive of fostering charity TACT, also agreed that more foster carers were needed and called on central government to intervene by funding a national carer recruitment campaign. Elvin alluded to his idea – proposed for consideration by the care review – of a “national care family”, where responsibility for recruitment of foster carers would be taken out of councils’ hands. “152 local authorities working separately are never going to join up effectively to do this. We need to move towards larger regional and/or national structures to operate the care system and take responsibility for adopter and foster carer recruitment,” he said. The network said the increases in carers reported by Ofsted fell short of what was needed to meet demand. ‘Children should be listened to’ It previously estimated that 7,300 more foster families were needed in England when considering the specific need for households willing to care for teenagers, sibling groups, disabled children, and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. Katharine Sacks-Jones, Become’s chief executive, said the recruitment of carers had to be specific to children’s needs. “Children need foster carers who can welcome sibling groups to prevent young people’s trauma being deepened through further separation,” she said. “They need foster carers in their local area to enable them to retain the relationships and links to the communities which matter to them. “Children and young people in care should always feel their thoughts are listened to and acted on where possible during the process of matching them with suitable foster carers”. More recruitment ‘could be costly’ However, Harvey Gallagher, chief executive of the Nationwide Association of Fostering Providers (NAFP), said simply recruiting more foster carers could be costly and inefficient “If it were possible to recruit many more foster carers to offer more choice for children, we would have to be willing as a society to fund vacancies,” he said. “Foster care, as well as being a vocation, is also income for foster carers to be able to pay their bills, and they only receive fees when a child is living with them.” Gallagher called for better support for children in placements and also said tackling poverty and poor mental health in families could ease demand on the care system. ‘Not everyone can be a foster carer’ He defended IFAs’ lower rate of applications resulting from enquiries about being a foster carer. “Not everyone is suited to being a foster carer, so IFAs undertake a stringent process when speaking with anyone enquiring about being a foster carer,” he said. A spokesperson for the DfE said: “Local authorities are responsible for all children in care in their area, including those in foster care. “We have made significant additional funding available in response to changing pressures on children’s services and we are investing in different approaches to help councils provide foster care places, including through digital tools that make it easier to match children with foster carers, and by trialling different ways to plan placements.”
Source: https://www.communitycare.co.uk |
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