 It would be dangerously irresponsible to have an NHS with only A&E departments but no GPs, no cancer screening services and no public health education – yet this kind of short-sightedness is what we’re facing in children’s services.
The past decade has been tough for children’s services. Under-investment has meant that local authorities have had to make tough choices about what support they can offer children and their families. But now, as a result of the coronavirus lockdown, we’re concerned there could be a surge in demand for support for vulnerable children, at a time when children’s services were already facing a funding crisis. An ever-growing funding gap To help raise these concerns, the biggest children’s charities supporting vulnerable children in the country have come together to release a joint report on children’s services funding. Our analysis highlights how available funding for children’s services has fallen £2.2bn since 2010/11. We found that as spending on services that can help children’s lives from reaching crisis-point has fallen by nearly half over the last decade, local authorities have had to increase spending on late intervention services by 29%. Coupled with the fact that spending on looked-after children has increased by 40% since 2010, a picture is emerging that suggests vulnerable children are having to wait for their lives to spiral into crisis before getting much-needed support. North-South divide There’s also clearly a North-South divide when it comes to falls in funding. Local authorities in North of England have seen a cut of 27% to their funding compared to 23% in the Midlands and 21% in the South of England. What’s particularly concerning is that deprived areas have seen their funding fall twice as fast as the least deprived areas at a time when demand has increased. Between 2010 and 2019 the most deprived local authorities have seen the number of children in need rise 12,670 (17%) compared to a rise of 2,740 (4%) amongst the least deprived local authorities. Ultimately, our major worry is that during this pandemic, many of the places that can help identify children who might need support – such as children’s centres and schools – are closed due to the lockdown. We think it’s likely that we’ll see a surge in the needs of vulnerable children as we emerge from this crisis – but as our report highlights, children’s services may be ill-prepared to cope with these extra challenges after a decade of reduced investment. As such we’re campaigning for increased investment from government in this year’s spending review – and you can help. We’re asking people like you to contact their MP to raise this issue - so that more politicians have the information they need to take action: https://e-activist.com/page/60873/action/1?ea.tracking.id=blog Source: www.actionforchildren.org.uk  Tanya was raised by a family member, who later passed away. This inspired her to become a care worker with vulnerable adults. Once her children had grown up, Tanya decided to become a foster carer. Since 2018, she and her husband Tony have been foster carers for Action for Children and have already welcomed four children into their home. Here, Tanya explains how fostering has changed her life.
“When I first heard the word ‘fostering’, I instantly thought of care, compassion and empathy. I started considering becoming a foster carer two and a half years ago. My children had grown up and I felt proud that I had raised them to be kind and caring adults. Being a parent made me wonder what would have happened to my children if they hadn’t had the guidance from their parents and how much different their lives could have been without a support system. “I had a difficult upbringing, but thankfully I had a loving family member who raised me as her own for 13 years until, sadly, she passed. In those 13 years she taught me so much kindness, care, compassion, honesty and gave me all the tools I needed to grow up to be the adult I am today and for that I will be forever grateful. “This inspired me to go into care work myself. Before I became a foster carer, I worked with elderly vulnerable adults, a job I enjoyed immensely and which taught me skills I could later use in my fostering role. “To me, fostering is offering a young person a safe family life. It can be challenging at times, but also very rewarding. It’s a bit like being on a rollercoaster; we go through many twists and turns, ups and downs. We show and express lots of emotions during the ride; fear, laughter, relief, and after all emotions settle, we want to do it all over again. “Fostering can be difficult, but I can honestly say it is the most rewarding job I have ever had. A foster child does not want a lot - they just want to feel safe, included, listened to, loved and cared for, just like anyone else. Offering them all these things will make a lasting difference. Every now and then you will experience certain difficulties along the way, such as sleepless nights or mixed emotions about everything, but I think the positives outweigh it all. “Seeing the young person grow and develop the life skills you have taught them gives you a sense of achievement like no other. That warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you bond with them and share cuddles and affection is truly amazing and makes it all worthwhile. And in the end, you will get to cherish the memories of all the special moments you shared together. “I have looked after young people of different age groups, some for longer periods than others, but I do believe each one of them has taken something positive away with them. I once had a young person in placement staying only for a short period of two weeks and we made sure that we made them feel included as soon as they came through the door and treated them with utmost respect and dignity. When this young person rang their social worker to let them know how they were getting on, they said that we had treated them as family from the beginning. We were overwhelmed by these lovely comments, especially because it showed us that even in a short space of time you can make a real difference to someone’s life. Each child who has come through my door is treated with the same love and care, no matter how long the stay. “Fostering has changed my life for the better and I am so thankful that I took the leap of faith into the unknown. There is no better feeling than watching a young person thrive and flourish knowing that you provided them with the stepping stones to help them along the way. You don’t need any special qualifications to foster, all you need is space in your life and the willingness to care for someone who really needs it. If you can help a young person take a small step every day, eventually they will be able to walk miles on their own. I am happy to be helping them on their way with those small steps.” Are you passionate about making a difference for children, and have energy and space in your life? We’d love you to join our team and become a foster carer with us. Source: www.actionforchildren.org.uk  Circa: £17,700 Department/Division: England North Location: Middlesbrough Contract Type: Permanent Part Time (15 hours per week, Mon & Tue 9-5pm) Closing Date: 28 May 2020 How does Action for Children work?
Action for Children does what's right, does what's needed and does what works for children in the UK. Every year, our team changes the lives of over 300,000 children, young people and families. Our Fostering North service provides a variety of placements including therapeutic fostering placements for young people. We recruit foster carers to provide safe, stable and successful foster placements for the most vulnerable children from local authorities throughout the Fostering North (Middlesbrough) area. The role As a Referrals Officer you will build strong relationships with Local Authority Commissioners and social work teams by being dependable, responsive and supportive. You will work in partnership to advocate for best practice when making placements and represent Action for Children's values in your delivery. You will support our social workers and carers by providing clear and concise information and support the delivery of safe processes to ensure placements are made in line with contractual specifications. How will you make a difference?
What will you need?
How we reward you We have a first-rate employee benefit package including but not restricted to:
This is a current and live role and we shall be progressing as normal with our recruitment for this position. To comply with social distancing, we intend to interview remotely for the time being. Details will be discussed with applicants who progress to interview stage. For more information on this opportunity please contact Lynsey on 07920 428 847 or email lynsey.munro@actionforchildren.org.uk and quote reference number 3689. Click here for more information, contact details and relevant documentation.
The role
We are looking for a Fostering Social Worker to join our small developing Fostering Service located in the Yorkshire and Humber Area. The role includes recruiting and assessing new applicants as well as supporting a caseload of foster carers. This role will be mainly Monday to Friday during the day but there will be some flexibility required to meet the needs of the service. There is also an on-call rota which you will be required to undertake, 1 night in every 3/4 weeks. We promote and support agile working with all our Fostering Social Workers to enable you to work with a manageable caseload. Fostering experience and knowledge of fostering regulations is essential for this position. Part of the role is to develop and manage multi agency partnerships. This position also requires a good understanding of therapeutic parenting models. Our team consists of Admin Support, Social Workers, and Referral Officers. We also work in partnership with Chrysalis psychology services who support us, and our therapeutic work with children and young people. Click here for more information, contact details and relevant documentation.  Circa: £32,300 DOE +Telephone On Call Allowance Department/Division: England South Location: Devon + South West Peninsula Contract Type: Permanent Full Time Closing Date: 17 May 2020 How do we work?
Action for Children does what's right, does what's needed and does what works for children in the UK. Every year our services change the lives of 390,000 children, young people and families. Action for Children Fostering South West Peninsula and Family Breaks seeks to meet the needs of the most vulnerable children and young people in society by the provision of safe, secure and successful foster placements including the provision of short breaks for children with additional needs. 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 have been graded Outstanding by Ofsted (2018) and strive to provide a good quality of care to young people, always ensuring they are the centre of our approach. Our placements cover Somerset to Cornwall so flexibility to travel across this cluster as and when needed is imperative for this role. How will you make a difference? You will work towards making a lasting difference by
What do you need? To be considered for this role, you will need to demonstrate
How will we reward you?
This is a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference and to build a fulfilling and meaningful career with a leading UK children's charity. If you want to be part of a dynamic progressive Service that places the young person at the centre of our success- so don't delay, apply today! Action for Children is committed to safer recruitment practices, designed to protect the welfare of the children and young people using our services. If you have any other questions, please contact Fatima Matin on 07918773592. Full details and application documents here  Circa: £37,000 Department/Division: Scotland Location: Glasgow Contract Type: Permanent Hours: Full Time 37 hours. Closing Date: 8 May 2020 Senior Practitioner (Fostering)
Do you have the values we need? Do you want to be part of a Service that helps young people feel valued and important? … helps them grow and feel stronger? … inspire and help them feel safe? How we work Action for Children does what's right, does what's needed and does what works for children in the UK. Every year our services change the lives of 390,000 children, young people and families. CAPS Fostering Service is a specialist fostering service that offers attachment- based therapeutic care to children and young people who cannot be looked after at home. We 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 have excellent Fostering Inspections and provide good quality of care to young people, always ensuring we listen to our young people every step of the way. Our Service is growing, and as a Senior Practitioner you will be working in our (Fostering Scotland) team based in our Glasgow office. How you will make a difference By bringing you: your experience values and enthusiasm, and being part of a team (social workers, children's workers and therapists) to support fostering families to provide stable and loving experiences for young people. You will work with others to inspire, support and keep children and young people safe, to create memories and support connections with young people's families, their brothers and sisters; and you will feel confident and skilled in your role. You will promote the highest standards of care and wellbeing for our young people and guide and deliver training to foster carers and team members with opportunity to really get to know young people and support them on their journey. By thinking therapeutically and creatively (with and for) young people and ensuring best practice, you will make a real and lasting difference. You will be part of a team that values relational- based practice where this is the heart of all that we do! What you'll need
How we reward you
This is a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference and to build a fulfilling and meaningful career with a leading UK children's charity. If you want to be part of a dynamic progressive Service that places the young person at the centre of our success- please indicate your interest/ and make an application! Action for Children is committed to safer recruitment practices, designed to protect the welfare of the children and young people using our services. If you meet all the criteria and would like to proceed with your application, you will be redirected to an application form on our website which should only take around 20 minutes to complete. Please have your CV handy to upload. As this job involves working around young people there are some specific questions we need to ask you as part of your application process. Thanks for taking the time to apply and we wish you the best of luck! For more information about this role, please contact Lynsey.Munro@actionforchildren.org.uk or call her on 07920 428 847. Full details and application documents here  Department/Division: Scotland Location: Glasgow Salary: Circa £ 37,000 pa (including £700/on-call allowance) Contract Type: Permanent Full Time Hours: 37 per week Closing Date: 8 May 2020 Senior Practitioner (Fostering)
Do you have the values we need? Do you want to be part of a Service that helps young people feel valued and important? … helps them grow and feel stronger? … inspire and help them feel safe? How we work Action for Children does what's right, does what's needed and does what works for children in the UK. Every year our services change the lives of 390,000 children, young people and families. CAPS Fostering Service is a specialist fostering service that offers attachment- based therapeutic care to children and young people who cannot be looked after at home. We 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 have excellent Fostering Inspections and provide good quality of care to young people, always ensuring we listen to our young people every step of the way. Our Service is growing, and as a Senior Practitioner you will be working in our (Fostering Scotland) team based in our Glasgow office. How you will make a difference By bringing you: your experience values and enthusiasm, and being part of a team (social workers, children's workers and therapists) to support fostering families to provide stable and loving experiences for young people. You will work with others to inspire, support and keep children and young people safe, to create memories and support connections with young people's families, their brothers and sisters; and you will feel confident and skilled in your role. You will promote the highest standards of care and wellbeing for our young people and guide and deliver training to foster carers and team members with opportunity to really get to know young people and support them on their journey. By thinking therapeutically and creatively (with and for) young people and ensuring best practice, you will make a real and lasting difference. You will be part of a team that values relational- based practice where this is the heart of all that we do! What you'll need
How we reward you
This is a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference and to build a fulfilling and meaningful career with a leading UK children's charity. If you want to be part of a dynamic progressive Service that places the young person at the centre of our success- please indicate your interest/ and make an application! Action for Children is committed to safer recruitment practices, designed to protect the welfare of the children and young people using our services. If you meet all the criteria and would like to proceed with your application, you will be redirected to an application form on our website which should only take around 20 minutes to complete. Please have your CV handy to upload. As this job involves working around young people there are some specific questions we need to ask you as part of your application process. Thanks for taking the time to apply and we wish you the best of luck! For more information about this role, please contact Lynsey.Munro@actionforchildren.org.uk or call her on 07920 428 847. Full details and application documents here  At home with the family? Our parenting coach Joanna Miskin suggests 37 things you can do with your toddlers (ages 0 to five) at home.
1. Share favourite stories and books. It’s a great way to spend time together and help your children with their reading skills, speech and language. 2. Dig out some old socks and make puppets together. Glue on old buttons for the eyes or draw them on for a fun activity that will encourage their creativity. Once you’ve finished your puppets make yourself a theatre out of an old cardboard box and host your own puppet show. 3. Get the paints out and get painting. But don’t limit yourself to boring old brushes - use your hands and fingers to make pictures. 4. Playing with playdough is not only a fun thing to do but is also great for developing motor skills. You can make your own with flour, water, vegetable oil and salt – add food colouring to make different coloured doughs. 5. If the weather is bad, make an indoor picnic for you and your little ones and enjoy some role play – take it in turns to serve or be the chef. 6. Board game sessions are good for everyone and a good way to show your pre-schooler how to take turns and share. 7. If you’re stuck indoors and can’t get out, singing and dancing are brilliant ways to exercise so put some music on and have a disco. 8. Make your own musical instruments from items you have at home. A box and some string can become a guitar or put some rice in a plastic bottle for a homemade maraca. You can even form a band and put on a show with your new instruments. 9. Baking together is a creative and clever way to introduce maths skills – and everyone can enjoy the end product! 10. Dig out the dressing up box. You don’t need to have expensive shop bought costumes for this. What about Dad’s hat or a scarf from Mum’s wardrobe? 11. Head out into the garden and collect some leaves. Count them together for a quick maths lesson before using paints to make a print with them. 12. Tip pasta, rice or lentils into a tray and encourage your child to make a pattern in it or fill up different sized containers. You can play similar games with cornflour and flour although it’s a bit messier so you’ll need your aprons. 13. Allow your child to choose a theme every day or week and base your planned activities around that. Focus on something you know your child will enjoy from “dinosaur” to “under the sea” or “people who help us”. 14. Run a bath and fill with toys that your child wouldn’t normally play with at bath time. If you’re doing “theme of the week”, a funnel and jug from the kitchen or toys could all be good options to adapt. 15. If you can’t get to an indoor soft play why not create one in your front room from pillows and cushions? It will burn off some energy and help your child’s physical development. 16. Help children to have something to look forward to by creating spring or Easter cards for other members of the family. 17. Create “snowballs” from rolled up bits of newspaper and split into two teams. Use a line of cushions to create a dividing line, set a timer and the team with the least amount of snowballs on their side at the end is declared the winner. 18. Collect old newspapers and magazines to make a collage – using scissors under supervision helps with their motor skills. 19. Help your children learn about different emotions by drawing emotion faces on paper plates. Copy those faces in the mirror together and talk about what they might be feeling. 20. Simple puzzles for toddlers can be a good way to spend time together and help with problem solving. 21. Use this time to plant some seeds or small plants for the garden and you have an activity that can be carried on throughout the spring and into the summer. It’s also a good excuse to be outside. 22. If the weather is good enough take a football for a kick around in the garden to get them moving – count the goals and it becomes a maths lesson too! 23. Warmer weather is also an excuse to wrap up and head outside with a blanket to do some cloud watching. What shapes can you see in the sky? 24. Pretend you’re all heading off on a camping adventure and make a den in the front room with duvets, pillows and cushions. 25. Grab a packet of plain biscuits and some icing sugar and get decorating. Not only does this develop creativity and motor skills, but everyone gets a treat at the end! 26. Collect up all your toy motor vehicles and create a mini car wash in the sink or a bowl. 27. Take it in turns to blow bubbles. When it’s your turn to blow ask your little one to run around and pop them to get them moving as well. 28. Make a touchy-feely box by picking up different textured items from around the house and then asking your child to reach their hand in and describe what they can feel. 29. Depending on your child’s age, play a round of musical chairs or musical cushions for the much younger ones. 30. Blow up some balloons and set a challenge that they’re not allowed to touch the floor during a game of catch. 31. Have a tea party for teddies and dolls. Ask your child to share out food such as breadsticks with all of them, counting as they do so. 32. Practice cutting skills by making shapes out of folded up paper. 33. Become a fashion designer for the day and get them drawing on an old plain t-shirt. 34. Dig out some face paints, or maybe old make up if you like, and get them face painting. Perhaps something that fits with your theme of the week? 35. Come up with a treasure hunt and leave clues around a room for your child to follow. The treasure at the end could be anything from some fruit from the fruit bowl, costume jewellery or a teddy bear. 36. Play a game of Simon Says to get them moving - ask them to do Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes or the Hokey Cokey. 37. For slightly older children in this age group put up a game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. If they don’t like being blindfolded then just ask them to close their eyes instead. Source: https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk  Circa: £37,000 pro rata (plus £700 pa on call allowance) Department/Division: Scotland Location: Inverness Contract Type: Permanent Part Time Hours: Part time (22 hours - flexible) Closing Date: 15 April 2020 Senior Practitioner (Fostering)
Do you have the values we need? Do you want to be part of a Service that helps young people feel valued and important? … helps them grow and feel stronger? … inspire and help them feel safe? How we work: Action for Children does what's right, does what's needed and does what works for children in the UK. Every year our services change the lives of 390,000 children, young people and families. Gael Og Fostering Service is a specialist fostering service that offers attachment- based therapeutic care to children and young people who cannot be looked after at home. We 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 have excellent Fostering Inspections and provide good quality of care to young people, always ensuring we listen to our young people every step of the way. Our Service is growing, and as a Senior Practitioner you will be working in our (Fostering Scotland) team based in our Inverness office. How you will make a difference: By bringing you: your experience values and enthusiasm, and being part of a team (Social Workers, Children's Workers and Therapists) to support fostering families to provide stable and loving experiences for young people. You will work with others to inspire, support and keep children and young people safe, to create memories and support connections with young people's families, their brothers and sisters; and you will feel confident and skilled in your role. You will promote the highest standards of care and wellbeing for our young people and guide and deliver training to foster carers and team members with opportunity to really get to know young people and support them on their journey. By thinking therapeutically and creatively (with and for) young people and ensuring best practice, you will make a real and lasting difference. You will be part of a team that values relational based practice where this is the heart of all that we do! What you'll need: A degree in social work or equivalent and experience of safeguarding/ public protection is essential. Experience of family placement and/or PQ training would be an advantage. Registered or willing to be registered with SSSC (Scottish Social Services Council) The rewards When you join Action for Children, you will be joining a collaborative, diverse and supportive team of like-minded-individuals, every one of them as passionate as you are. We want all of our employees to feel valued and well rewarded for the vital work they do. When you work with us, we'll recognise your efforts:
Action for Children is committed to safer recruitment practices, designed to protect the welfare of the children and and young people using our services. Apply Now. Please be aware that we may need to conduct initial interviews as a non face to face format due to the current Covid-19 climate. If you have any other questions regarding this role, please contact Lynsey Munro on 07920 428 847 Full details and application documents here  Melanie Armstrong is returning to Action for Children, this time as interim CEO, following the decision by Julie Bentley to resign as Chief Executive. Julie Bentley announced she was stepping down on Friday (14th February) for personal reasons after 18 months in the role. She paid tribute to staff at the charity calling them ‘some of the very best people I have encountered in my 25 year charity sector career’.  Melanie Armstrong was the Interim Managing Director of Corporate Shared Services at Action for Children until December last year. Melanie has previously held senior roles in both the commercial and not-for-profit sectors.
Chair of Trustees at Action for Children, Sarika Patel, said : “The Board and I are delighted to have Melanie back. She knows our organisation well and will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the charity, working closely with our Executive leadership Team (ELT). The search for a permanent CEO is now underway”. Melanie Armstrong will take up the interim CEO role on March 3rd . Source: www.actionforchildren.org.uk |
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c/o TACT The Courtyard 303 Hither Green Lane London SE13 6TJ |