​On the day of the next Election Debate, 140+ children’s organisations are calling on political leaders to set out their solutions to the social problems that can leave millions of children ‘scarred for life’, including child poverty, mental health, domestic abuse and serious youth violence.

In an open letter to all political parties, organisations including the National Children’s Bureau, NSPCC, Barnardo’s, Action For Children and The Children’s Society, say children are being ‘crowded out’ of the discussion of the nation’s future, leaving their needs overlooked and their voices unheard.

As party leaders set out their visions for the future, the letter urges them to put children at the heart of this election, and take action to prioritise them in the next Parliament.

There are nearly 14 million children living in the UK, of whom over four million live in poverty. A child is taken into care every 15 minutes and one in eight 5 to 19-year-olds have at least one mental health condition. The charities say the services vulnerable children such as these rely on are facing a ‘funding crisis’ as the number needing help continues to rise. The Children’s Commissioner for England estimates it will require £10bn of investment to turn this situation around and support our children to thrive.

The organisations insist children should be put at the front of the queue for increased funding. The letter calls on political parties to focus on preventing crises in the first place by providing early support for children and families, to prevent their problems spiralling out of control and requiring more expensive services later.

On the day of the second televised Election Debate, children and young people are raising their voices along with children’s charities, using the hashtag #IfIWerePM to share their priorities for Government.

Geraint (aged 18), a member of the National Children’s Bureau’s Young NCB, said:

“I like the idea of votes at 16, but there needs to be more education about politics for young people (and everyone else!). We need to learn about the parties, how to vote, and the issues. If I were prime minster, I would push for greater political education.”

Bilkis (aged 20), a young trustee for The Children’s Society said:

“If we start to put money towards a child’s early development and learning, as well as funding for youth engagement services and clubs - I believe there will be less gang related violence and anti-social behaviour in the community. Instead young people will be learning life skills, having fun and feel inspired to give back to the community.”

Gabby (aged 17), a young supporter of Action for Children, said:

“There needs to be more of a focus on the things that affect us like mental health. It seems like Brexit is all that is talked about now and we weren’t allowed to vote on that even though it’s going to massively affect us. Our views aren’t taken into account at all. A lot of politicians don’t understand the pressure we face and think we should just get on with it.”

Louise (aged 17), a member of Barnardo’s South East and Anglia Region Our Voice Youth Forum, said:

“I’m really passionate about the mental health care in this country and how restrictive it is. It needs improving so that early intervention can happen. I understand from a different perspective because I’ve been one of those individuals in care of CAMHS, which finishes when you are 18. That’s a major crisis point for lots of individuals like me.”

Source:
www.barnardos.org.uk

Barnardo's Scotland Fostering Edinburgh is looking for a committed social care professional with a sound knowledge of fostering legislation and practice issues to join our Fostering Team. You will be involved in the recruitment, training and supervision of Foster Carers within the Edinburgh service.

As a qualified and registered social worker, you will have experience of family placement work and preferably experience of foster care practice, including the assessment of potential foster carers.

A good knowledge of fostering regulations, child care law and safeguarding issues is essential. You will have excellent communication skills and a commitment to high quality practice.

The role of the supervising social worker is an exciting and a stimulating one that involves providing intensive support to foster carers and their families to enable them to provide the very best quality of care to the vulnerable children they look after.

You will be a team player, a good communicator and a skilled and self-motivated professional, with the ability to work flexibly. As well as managing your caseload, you will be part of a duty rota to support the running of the service, both within and outside of normal office hours. There is also an expectation that you will be involved in delivering training to prospective and existing foster carers.

You will have a strong commitment to promoting and safeguarding the wellbeing of children, but you will also have an appreciation of the demands that come with working for a high quality voluntary fostering service in an increasingly competitive environment.

Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore are open to offering flexible working arrangements.

When completing your application please refer to your skills knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification, Job Description and Additional Information document. This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described

About Barnardo's
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.

Our basis and values

Full details and application documents here

The role of Assistant Head of Business is an exciting opportunity to lead on the development of Barnardo's fostering and adoption services across the West of England.

To work with colleagues in the Family Placement UK Senior Management Team  to develop and drive the business strategy, ensuring cohesive, consistent practices which grow the business and meet the needs of commissioners, carers and children and young people.

Work with stakeholders in identifying their requirements and providing the most appropriate solutions for them.

This post covers the West of England  and will be based in either one of Barnardo's bases or could be home-based within this geographical area.

Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore are open to offering flexible working arrangements.

At Barnardo's 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.

About Barnardo's
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.

Our basis and values

Full details and application documents here

Barnardo's foster carers are sharing their inspiring stories during the charity's Fostering Week

Since Barnardo’s first fostering campaign ten years ago, the charity has found loving foster families to care for vulnerable children more than 8,200 times.

Tony Foulkes and his wife Cathie, have welcomed five children into their homes over the last nine years. For Cathie and Tony fostering proved to be life changing both for the children they have fostered and for themselves. They currently care for two children.

Tony said: “We love it. Tony said: “They are a lovely and they keep us on our toes. We have so much fun with them. I would definitely recommend fostering to others. There is support there for you and you know you are doing something good.”

Cathie, who works part-time for a local hospice, said: “All children are challenging but as long as you set up routines and stick to them the children respond. We constantly reassure them that they can talk to us about anything, we are there for them. When they leave us but still take the time to visit or phone us to tell us they love us, that’s the reward – and they keep us young!”

Since Barnardo’s first fostering campaign ten years ago, the charity has found loving foster families to care for vulnerable children more than 8,200 times. Over the decade, the number of children in care in England has risen by 27 per cent.

Without more foster carers Barnardo’s could struggle to find the right carers to look after children.

This is why the charity is appealing to people to find out about how they can become foster carers and help change a child’s live.

Foster carers need to live in the right location and be available when a vulnerable child needs a loving family and have the right training and skills.

This could be particularly difficult for those children who are disabled, have siblings, are older, or from a religious or minority ethnic background. It is important for their needs to be met and for any child to be given the opportunity to continue their religious or cultural beliefs with foster carers who are able to support this.

Barnardo’s Chief Executive Javed Khan said: “Every child deserves a safe and happy childhood. We urgently need more foster carers to ensure that children in care have just this.

“We know that being a foster carer can be challenging, but we also know how incredibly rewarding it is and have seen first-hand the positive difference it can make to a child’s life.

“Barnardo’s is with carers every step of the way providing training and support throughout the whole fostering journey, from the first enquiry, through the approval process, to when carers meet their first foster child and beyond.”

To find out more about becoming a foster carer or the support Barnardo’s can offer visit: https://www.barnardos.org.uk/what-we-do/fostering-and-adoption or call 0800 0277 280.

Source:
https://www.barnardos.org.uk

Additional Information for Fostering Social Worker
You will have received a Social Worker job description and person specification for a Family Placement Social Worker. This is a generic role in use throughout the organisation however you will be employed to work as a Fostering Social Worker in the South East and based in the Fostering Service in Southborough.

When completing your application form, please refer to the skills, knowledge and experience required as detailed in the Person Specification and also any further information included in the Additional Information Sheet.

Please note that an appropriate Social Work qualification and HCPC registration are essential for this role.

The duties of this post require the applicant to have a full current driving license that enables them to drive in the UK and have use of a car and business use insurance.  Barnardo's is, however, willing to review any proposals put forward by applicants that would allow them to do the job by other means.

The post-holder may be required to work on some evenings and very occasional weekends to enhance the work of the service in meeting the needs of foster carers and their children. The post-holder will be required to travel to foster carers across the South East area. You will also be required to contribute to an out of hours helpline for foster carer carers in our service which includes an additional allowance.

History of Service
Barnardo's is the largest UK children's charity with over 100 years of experience with successfully placing children & young people with families. You will join our Family Placement team which has over 30 fostering and short break services across the UK.

Purpose of Service
Barnardo's South East Family Placement Team has been in operation for over 30 years and we recruit, train and assist a diverse range of families to provide fostering placements for children and young people of all ages, abilities, culture, including sibling groups, remand, parent and child placements and Staying Put arrangements.

Initial Specific Responsibilities
You will be joining a small and evolving team of social workers, manager and administration staff including a recruitment/placements officer and project worker.  Our aim is to expand our service to increase our pool of foster carers so we can provide quality placements to meet the needs of vulnerable children and young people.  We also wish to innovate in terms of the voice of the young person, participation events and more creative and diverse ways to prop our carers and the children and young people in placement.

You will be expected to carry out all aspects of the supervising social worker role in the fostering service from foster carer recruitment, preparation, assessment and approval through to linking, matching, placing children with their placements.  We would hope there will be other opportunities to help develop the service regarding recruitment of diverse carers offering specialist placements, training and therapeutic assistance for carers and young people, children and young person's groups, participation events etc., as mentioned above.

Supplementary Information
Barnardo's Fostering Team in the South East always look to develop and improve the services provided to foster carers and looked after children seeking a placement.

You will have experience of assessment and inter agency working and be a strong communicator and team worker with knowledge of the issues facing vulnerable children and young people. A sound knowledge of safeguarding  policies and procedures is a must too.

You will need to be able to work to clear timescales and have good communication skills.  You will keep accurate and up to date records on computer systems and write reports with full information and analysis.  All documents pertinent and in accordance with service policy and procedure and current regulations.

As we work with Local Authorities throughout the South East you will be expected to travel anywhere in this region and attend meetings possibly elsewhere in the country.

You will have the opportunity to work in a specialist area of social work in a skilled, motivated and reassuring team whilst receiving quality management and supervision.

You will be expected to attend relevant training which will be provided to aid your performance and development. You will participate in and contribute to team functioning promoting the aims and purpose of the service and to the development of the new areas of work. 

A required car user is essential for this post.

About Barnardo's
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.

Our basis and values

Full details and application documents here

We have an exciting opportunity in our Policy and Campaigns team. Do you have what it takes to develop policy research for the UK's largest children's charity that will transform the lives of the most vulnerable children and young people

Barnardo's Policy & Campaigns Team aims to improve the lives of children through influencing public policy and practice. We use evidence based policy research and analysis to campaign and lobby across Government and through the media. We are driven by a relentless determination to effect positive sustained change.

Bringing proven experience of research methods including direct engagement with vulnerable groups, you will play a pivotal role in informing policy initiatives from evidence based research.  You will need an understanding of the Westminster policy context on a range of issues impacting on the most vulnerable children, The ability to communicate your findings to a range of audiences is also important, together with strong report writing and team working skills. 

About Barnardo's
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.
​
Our basis and values

Full details and application documents here

Peninsula and Islands (Devon, Cornwall, Plymouth, Torbay, Channel Islands)

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Children's Services leader to help shape and support our regional strategy. We are looking for an individual who is willing to get fully involved in supporting staff to deliver our current services and growth opportunities alongside playing an intrinsic part within the regional Senior Management Team to deliver an ambitious development programme to enable us to work with even more children and young people over the coming years. 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?

You will be based and working in our Peninsula locality, where we are a key stakeholder and have a strong history.

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 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.

Our basis and values
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.

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.

When completing your application please refer to your skills knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification, Job Description and Additional Information document. This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described.

Closing date: 23rd August 2019.

Barnardo's Registered Charity Nos 216250 and SC037605.

About Barnardo's
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.

Our basis and values

Full details and application documents here

Adoption Social Worker – fixed term post 1 year from September/October 2019

This role, which is home-based, will involve working as part of an established VAA Adoption team covering the South East region which includes Kent, Sussex, Surrey and some work into Hampshire. 

The successful candidate will be involved in the preparation, assessment and support of prospective adopters who will meet the needs of children waiting for adoption placements.  Our children are placed from Local Authorities around the U.K. and therefore some overnight stays and travel around the U.K. may be required.  Ideally you will be a car driver and your home location must be within our region. 

You will need to be an HCPC registered social worker and ideally have some experience in family placement.

When completing your application please refer to your skills knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification, Job Description and Additional Information document. This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described.

Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore are open to offering flexible working arrangements.

About Barnardo's
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.  

Our basis and values

Full details and application documents here

About Barnardo's
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.

Barnardo's Scotland Fostering Edinburgh operates from the city of Edinburgh.  We have over 35 years' experience of providing high quality foster placements providing short term to permanency placement for children and young people 0 – 18 years, potentially to 21 years of age. The majority of young people are currently placed on a long term basis but the service also offers a number of placements on an interim and short break. The service currently offers care to around 83 young people living with our foster families and is expected to achieve growth whilst maintaining our reputation for high level of support, careful matching and placement stability.

We are looking for a highly motivated fostering Recruitment Assistant to join our team to help us expand our service. 

When completing your application please refer to your skills knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification, Job Description and Additional Information document. This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described.

We are committed to welcoming people from a diverse background, culture and experience.

Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore are open to offering flexible working arrangements.

Full details and application details here

• Pakistani cricket stars Babar Azam and Imam ul Haq have shown their support for children’s charity Barnardo’s while competing in the World Cup in England.

The batsmen signed two bats for Barnardo’s which will be auctioned off to help raise funds to transform the lives of the UK’s most vulnerable children.

The stars heard about the charity’s work when they met Barnardo’s Chief Executive Javed Khan in London.

The pair proudly displayed Barnardo’s logo on their bats while competing in the vs England One Day International (ODI) Series in May.

In the ODI series against England, Imam scored 151 runs in the third ODI match. This was the highest individual total for a Pakistan batsman against England in a one day international.

Babar is ranked 8th among the ICC Top 100 ODI batsmen. In the ODI series against England he ended up as the joint leading runs-scorer, scoring 277 runs including a century and two half-centuries.

Babar said on Twitter he was “honoured to be supporting Barnardo’s.”

Imam also tweeted: “They do great work supporting vulnerable children from all communities across the UK.”

Barnardo’s Chief Executive Javed Khan said:

"As a huge cricket fan and amateur player, it was a real privilege to meet these young stars, and to tell them about how Barnardo’s supports vulnerable children across the UK.

“Barnardo’s reaches out to children from all communities who need our help.

"Around 25% of the children we support are from Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic backgrounds, so we’re delighted that Babar Azam and Imam ul Haq are helping raise awareness of our vital work, especially amongst the British-Pakistani community.”

Source:
https://www.barnardos.org.uk