 Principal Social Worker (Fostering) (East Midlands) £37,184 – £40,839 per annum Full Time 18 month contract + 45p a mile for travel, 32 days holiday and an excellent pension scheme We are seeking to recruit an enthusiastic, flexible, and personable Principal Social Worker to join our South England team. This is a specialist lead practice role and its remit include the supervision and mentoring/training of staff and tasks related to quality assurance and performance management, alongside holding a small case load.
FCC do not believe in providing our Social Workers with heavy caseloads. Instead, we aim to provide our Social Workers with ample capacity to provide a thorough, personal and meaningful service to all of our foster families. The role will be home based in the East Midlands area, but will involve regular travel within the East and West Midlands, Staffordshire, Bristol and East Anglia areas. Additionally, there is a requirement to answer emergency calls outside of office hours as part of the managers on call rota. Applicants must hold a Diploma or BA in Social Work, have some supervisory/management experience, be able to demonstrate experience of producing high quality, evidence-based assessments, and have at least four years fostering experience. The successful applicant will join a supportive team with an established carer group and experienced social workers. We are a not-for-distributed-profit organisation, putting the needs of our children and carers first and look to appoint a Principal Social Worker who is as passionate about this as we are. Closing Date: 24th April, 2019 For further information and/or an application form, or informal discussion about the role, please contact Helen Underwood (Operational Manager) or Barbara Bull (Head of HR) on 01684 892380. Full details and application documents here  Location: Plymouth, Cornwall & Jersey Young People's Services Contract type: Permanent Hours: 36.25 Salary: £43,096 – £54,285 Closing Date: 29 April 2019 Interview Date: Thursday 16th May 2019 At Barnardo's, our purpose is to transform the lives of the UK's most vulnerable children and our vision is to realise Thomas Barnardo's dream of a world where no child is turned away from the help that they need.
We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Children's Services leader to help shape and support the Barnardo's regional strategy to work with even more vulnerable children and young people over the coming years. You will be based and working in our Peninsula locality, where we are a key stakeholder and have a strong history. We are looking for an individual who is willing to get fully involved in supporting staff to deliver potential growth opportunities alongside playing an intrinsic part within the regional Senior Management Team to deliver a very ambitious development programme. We are looking for someone with great interpersonal skills combined with excellent leadership and management capacity, with a passion to improve the lives of our most vulnerable children and young people – is this you? We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and we expect all staff and volunteers to share in this commitment. Our safer recruitment processes mean that the safety and welfare of the child is paramount at every stage of the process and therefore, we adopt rigorous scrutiny in our pre-employment checking. This post is subject to a range of pre-employment checks including a Criminal Records Enhanced Disclosure for the successful candidate. At Barnardo's we believe in children – no matter who they are, what they have done or what they have been through. Please read about our basis and values following the link below. You will be asked questions relating to them as part of the recruitment process for this role. Barnardo's is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce for staff and volunteers. We actively encourage applications from disabled, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic and male candidates as they are under-represented within Barnardo's. Full details and application documents here  Circa: £33,000 Department/Division: Wales Location: Newport, Gwent Contract Type: Permanent Full Time Closing Date: 25 April 2019 How do we work?
Action for Children does what's right, does what's needed and does what works for children across the UK. Every year, our team changes the lives of 301,000 children, young people and their families – but for every child who needs help to get help, there's plenty more to do. That's where you come in. Providing safe, stable foster homes for vulnerable children and young people is a vital part of our work. As a Fostering Social Worker for our sector leading Fostering Wales service you'll train and support Foster Parents to provide stable family homes to young people who have survived trauma so a therapeutic approach is a vital part of our work. You'll also promote and participate in a culture of learning and continuing professional development for carers and staff. How will you make a difference? By supporting carers with the daily and hourly challenges and rewards of caring for troubled young people and children. By delivering excellent, evidence-informed and therapeutic practice as a member of a skilled and motivated team. By participating in a culture of learning and continuing professional development for carers and staff. By working closely with the local authority. By being responsible for your own caseload but also part of a close team. What will you need?
What are the rewards?
Plus, there's a lot more besides. This is a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference to vulnerable children's lives and to build a fulfilling and meaningful career with a leading UK children's charity. 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'll be redirected to an application form on our website which should only take around 5 minutes to complete. Please have your CV handy to upload. As this job involves working around children, 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! Please note: Interviews are planned to be held on Tuesday 7th May 2019. For more information on this opportunity please contact Atlanta on 07776 659803 or email her at Atlanta.Marcellini@actionforchildren.org.uk Apply now  LandAid, the property industry charity, is one of St Christopher’s supporters. They funded the refurbishment of our Staying Close home in Ealing. And, thanks to their funding, we’ve been able to install a new kitchen at one of our homes for young people leaving care.
Paul Morrish, LandAid’s Chief Executive, tells us a bit about why LandAid chose to support St Christopher’s. “LandAid gives out over £2m every year in grants. We fund remarkable charities who provide support and accommodation for young people who have been homeless, or are at risk of homelessness. Most of our grants go directly to providing homes for young people, and we’re always on the look-out for new and exciting models to support young people. “St Christopher’s particularly appealed to LandAid due to its innovative approaches to tackling and preventing youth homelessness, like the Staying Close project. It’s evidence-based and helps young people leaving care and going into the ‘real world’ without leaving them to it, which can be a scary and unhelpful experience. We were drawn to their commitment to stay with young people through their period of transition into independent living and beyond. “Staying Close works by giving young care leavers a stable home and tailored support. The model provides accommodation with step-down support for young people leaving their children’s home. This gives them the opportunity to go back and visit if they need help – just like we did when we left home. “We hope that the projects we’ve funded and St Christopher’s Staying Close model will continue to prepare young people for the positive lives which lie ahead of them. We have enjoyed working with St Christopher’s on a number of grants already, and we hope to be able to continue to fund their innovative projects, and to keep seeing the excellent results which has made our partnership with them so rewarding.” Source: www.stchris.org.uk Member News: Action for Children introduces innovative digital app to support children in care15/4/2019
 Leading UK children’s charity invests in pioneering technology to help UK children in the care system to express their feelings
Hundreds of looked after children supported by Action for Children are to be given access to unique app technology from Mind of My Own which encourages them to share worries and concerns, directly with their social workers. Action for Children is the first UK-wide charity to invest in the pioneering technology which has been co-designed with children and young people. The Mind of My Own apps use child-focused language and design to encourage young people to share their thoughts from a tablet or phone screen. The technology is a world-first as it enables children to share information confidentially, directly to their social workers about how safe and how happy they are feeling so they can assess their wellbeing more regularly. Following a successful pilot in Bolton Children’s Rights Services last year, Action for Children is now rolling out the use of Mind of My Own to fostering services UK-wide as well as select residential services in Wales. It is estimated that up to 1000 children and 200 Action for Children workers will be using the apps by the end of the year. Action for Children’s National Director, John Egan said: “We’re constantly seeking to find new ways to support and communicate with vulnerable children and young people, especially those who we look after. Tech can get a bad press however, we’ve found that Mind of My Own provides safe and effective ways for children in care to powerfully use their voice and share experiences with our staff and others who work with them outside formal meetings. “Feedback so far has been hugely positive and our staff are finding the communication invaluable. Children who have sometimes struggled to discuss difficult issues are now using the app to start a conversation. The apps will complement, not replace, our face-to-face work. “At Action for Children, we hope to use the Mind of My Own data to track themes and issues which will help us develop and adapt our services to the needs of the children and young people who need us most.” Evidence from the Action for Children pilot has shown that children and young people are using the app as an alternative way to vocalise problems and acknowledge good things in their life to celebrate. A young person who is currently using the Mind of My Own app, says: “It’s brilliant as it helps you say the things that you want to say without being afraid. I can tell people what I want and when, so it helps them to understand my point view and what’s really going on in my life.” Cara Holden, Mind of My Own App Development Worker at Action for Children, adds: “Every time a professional makes a decision about one of the children or young people, they need to be sure they’ve considered and evidenced their views. Mind of My Own makes this process quicker and easier. Young people tell us they like using it- it doesn’t require any face-to-face ‘difficult’ conversations and is something they can use regularly.” Speaking about the new partnership, Mind of My Own director Jill Thorburn, says: “It’s fantastic to be working with such an established and forward-thinking organisation as Action for Children to help the children and young people they support. We’re driven by our vision of ensuring all children’s voices are heard. Staff can’t always be there 24/7, but Mind of My Own can. Our apps enable children and young people to say what they want, when they want to and in a way that suits them, giving their workers rich, authentic information to work with.” Mind of My Own products are safe, private and secure and have ISO27001 certification for their high level of information security. https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk  Location: Cardiff Salary: £12.77 ph + 12.07% Holiday Pay Closing Date: 03/05/2019 Interview Date: 13/05/2019 Hours: Occasional Irregular Hours TACT Fostering and Adoption is the UK’s leading charity provider of fostering and adoption services. Working in nine offices across Scotland,England and Wales, we are dedicated to providing creative, effective and outcome-focused services for children, young people and families.
We are looking for that unique person who can assist TACT in offering a range of services which impact positively on the welfare of children. To work in partnership with parents, carers, children, young people, local authorities and their social workers according to the agreed contract of work. The overall purpose of this role is to work closely with looked after children, the birth children of foster carers and foster carers to achieve agreed objectives for excellent care as outlined in the 7 core aims for Children in Wales / 5 Every Child Matters Outcome Areas in England. Candidates with the ability to speak Welsh would be desirable. Due to the nature of this post the successful candidate must be willing to show flexibility regarding hours and days of work which will include evenings and weekends. Occasional overnight stays may be required for organised events. An enhanced DBS clearance is required for this role which TACT will undertake. Please see the Job Description and Information Pack for more details. Closing: Friday, 3rd May 2019 Interviews: Monday, 13th May 2019 in TACT Wales Office (CF11 9LJ) TACT reserves the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, you are advised to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment. Full details and application documents here: www.tactcare.org.uk  TACT Connect – a new initiative by TACT to celebrate and support care experienced people throughout their adult lives, has been launched with a special art exhibition showcasing pieces created by Connect members. 19 year old Channan was among members of the Connect community on hand at the launch event to talk to visitors about their art work, which all shared theme of ‘message to my younger self’. TACT Connect – a new initiative by TACT to celebrate and support care experienced people throughout their adult lives, has been launched with a special art exhibition showcasing pieces created by Connect members.
19 year old Channan was among members of the Connect community on hand at the launch event to talk to visitors about their art work, which all shared theme of ‘message to my younger self’. Her particular creative effort features a photo of Janette who fostered her through TACT from the age of one, and then adopted her when she was 8. Among the many personal messages in the artwork is Janette’s wise advice to Channan – its ok not to be ok. The fact that she is HIV positive is also depicted, and there is an image of her taken during a school visit to talk to pupils about the disease. Channan said: “It is great to be given the opportunity to connect with other young people who have been in care and have similar life stories. Creating my art piece made me think a lot about my own story, I found it therapeutic.” TACT Connect aims to create a dynamic network of TACT care leavers, who will be able to meet each other through special events, learn and access new skills, and gain support in reaching personal aspirations. Mark Riddell – National Advisor for Care Leavers was among the guests at the launch event. Mark said: ”Initiatives like TACT Connect are important because they are led by the voices of care experienced young people. This is a new concept and it would be good to see similar work happening elsewhere in the country. We need to be ambitious about how we support care experienced people, and TACT Connect is a really good starting point.” The exhibition will take place at Centrala, in Birmingham, from Tuesday 9th until Friday 12th April 2019, 11am – 6pm. Source: www.tactcare.org.uk  It’s National Siblings Day and we’re promoting keeping siblings together when they are in need of a foster home.
Many different types of children need looked after and this can include groups or pairs of brothers and sisters. Foster carers can provide a loving and caring home to siblings helping keep them together rather than separate them to live in different homes. Foster carers with one spare room can look after a pair of same-sex siblings, while those with more than spare room could offer mixed-sex siblings or a larger group of brothers and sisters a home. At Team Fostering, we believe in doing our utmost to keep brothers and sisters together unless there is a reason that this shouldn’t happen. Often this is the only tie children have to their families and to separate them could create anxiety and instability. When children are first placed in a fostering home they are likely to be frightened and having their siblings with them can be a comfort and a sense of normality during what is a turbulent moment in their young lives, creating better emotional wellbeing and a smoother settling in period. Fostering siblings can be extremely rewarding for foster carers, too. At Team Fostering there are currently a number of brothers and sisters living with our foster carers. In fact, one of our foster carers is currently looking after a sibling group of 4! Team Fostering is an independent, not-for-profit agency that offers a very comprehensive support structure, innovative training opportunities and competitive fees and allowances. If you would like to learn more about providing a home for siblings, you can speak to us in a number of ways: Call our Recruitment Administrator, Sam, on 0800 292 2003 Email our friendly team via info@teamfostering.co.uk Submit your details on our online enquiry form Source: www.teamfostering.co.uk  Making the decision to pursue a career in fostering is one that takes a lot of thought. Once you’ve decided to enquire about the role, the next step is finding the agency that’s right for you.
So, what are the top things to consider when looking at agencies? 1) Are they clear about the support they offer? Ask about the support the agency offers. How long have the staff team been in place? Is the agency happy to provide you with current foster carer details so you can get a direct overview of life at the agency first-hand? Team Fostering ensures that foster carers are supported by local staff, with a low staff turnover and with out of hours’ workers getting to know all foster carers. In our recruitment process we offer you contact details of some of our current foster carers, so you can gain an honest overview of the support at Team directly from them. You can read more about our support, fees and benefits here. 2) Read their Ofsted reports Most agencies will share their Ofsted reports with you on their websites. If they don’t, you will be able to locate reports yourself on Ofsted’s website. Read them in detail, recognise the positive comments and consider how Ofsted perceive the agency as a whole, what local authority social workers have said about their staff and how foster carers report on life with the agency. Team Fostering was rated Oustanding (North East November 2018) and Good (Yorkshire and East Midlands March 2018), and our Ofsted reports are available to read on our website here. We’re very proud of them, and we encourage you to read them if you’re considering our agency. 3) Look at their social media pages Current foster carers likely follow their agency’s social media accounts. Does it seem like the agency operates with a true sense of community? Has its current foster carers left Facebook reviews or comments on posts? Are pictures of staff visible or does everything look a little bit like a collage of royalty-free photos? Our foster carers and staff are very active on social media and this is visible on our accounts. You can look at our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 4) Read between the lines Is their website upfront about the types of fostering on offer? Do they explain fees and allowances in a clear and honest fashion? Our fees and allowances are available on our website and we have a whole page dedicated to the types of children and young people we work with (click here to view). We are regularly adding to our website to ensure that all prospective foster carers are provided with a transparent overview of the agency. New pages currently being worked on include ‘The History of Team Fostering,’ 'Our Relationship with Local Authorities' and 'A Day in the Life of a Foster Carer'. 5) Consider how important it is to you that the agency operates in an ethical way Many prospective foster carers might not know that there are some agencies operate 'for-profit' and some that operate as not-for-profit organisations. Before I worked in the fostering industry I assumed all fostering agencies would be not-for-profit. Working at Team Fostering is particularly rewarding for me because the agency is a truly ethical, not-for-profit one that invests any surplus funds into putting children’s futures first. Our staff and foster carers value this ethical approach to fostering immensely, and I’m proud to be part of an agency like ours. Not-for-profit agencies are able to offer similar fees, support and training as for-profit agencies, often with additional opportunities made possible by the reinvestment of funds! Read more about our support by clicking here. 6) What is your gut instinct telling you? You’ll know within minutes of looking at a website, a social media channel or an article whether you think an agency is putting children’s futures first. Speak with the agency on the phone and consider the way their staff speak to you. Are they quick at answering your queries? Are they polite? Fostering is an amazing role and it’s important that, if you start a fostering journey, you do it with an agency that you’d like to call home. Team Fostering is an independent, not-for-profit fostering agency operating across the North East, Yorkshire and East Midlands. You can enquire with us about becoming a foster carer in the following ways: Complete our online enquiry form here Call our Recruitment Administrator, Sam, on 0800 292 2003 Email us via info@teamfostering.co.uk  As part of Co-operatives Fortnight, The Foster Care Co-operative (FCC) were charged with producing a video to showcase the essence of the organisation and what they do on a daily basis. Co-operatives Fortnight is an annual event, organised by Co-operatives UK, to showcase a unique approach and ethos for businesses to follow. This approach involves operating an organisation that is not run by distant shareholders or investors, but its members. In FCC’s case that would be foster carers, staff and, to a certain extent, even the children they provide care for.  ome examples of this would be foster carers and staff attending workshop interviews for key positions within the organisation. They are given the opportunity to provide feedback which is taken into account when making final decisions. When plans to rejuvenate the children’s area of FCC’s website emerged in 2016, the children of FCC’s carers, both fostered and their own, were fully consulted. They chose the content and the name of the site (Kidz Zone). To this day, changes are made to Kidz Zone according to what feedback the organisation receives.  Watch the video here:
www.fostercarecooperative.co.uk |
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