Join Barnardo's North England Fostering Service as a Supervising Social Worker
 
Barnardo's is one of the UK's leading children's charities, and our North England Fostering Service is committed to providing safe, nurturing, and supportive homes for children and young people. We are now seeking a passionate and skilled Supervising Social Worker to join our dedicated team.

North England service cover Yorkshire, Humber and the North East of England. The successful applicant must be willing to drive across this region as part of their role.

About the Role

• As a Supervising Social Worker, you will play a vital role in supporting foster carers to provide high-quality care. You will:
• Supervise, support, and develop foster carers to ensure the best outcomes for children.
• Undertake assessments of prospective foster carers.
• Contribute to the matching process and foster home stability.
• Work collaboratively with children, families, carers, and professionals.
• Maintain accurate and timely records in line with regulatory requirements.
• Delivering training to foster carers
• Following induction period, join our out of hours rota.

Please click here for full job details.

We're offering an exciting opportunity to join our Scotland Glasgow Fostering team as a Full time Social worker.  You will join our team of skilled and passionate social workers, children's workers and our therapist ensuring delivery of support, assessment, training and supervision to foster carers and their families so they can provide trauma informed cared that transforms the lives of the children and young people they care for.
 
We are looking for a driven individual with experience in fostering and social work who is seeking a fresh challenge, this role offers the opportunity to join a committed team to share your expertise and make a lasting impact.  You will have access to training and development opportunities working flexibly in a hybrid manner across the West of Scotland with our office based in Glasgow.
 
What will you bring:

• A relevant social work qualification and current SSSC registration
• A depth of knowledge of working in a trauma informed way
• Confidence in using digital technology to facilitate training
• Proven ability to complete Form F assessments
• Strong communication skills, especially in complex or challenging situations.

Please click here for full job details.

​Join Barnardo's North England Fostering Service as a Supervising Social Worker.

Barnardo's is one of the UK's leading children's charities, and our North England Fostering Service is committed to providing safe, nurturing, and supportive homes for children and young people. We are now seeking a passionate and skilled Supervising Social Worker to join our dedicated team.

Our North England service cover Yorkshire, Humber and the North East of England. The successful applicant must be willing to drive across this region as part of their role.
 
About the Role
As a Supervising Social Worker, you will play a vital role in supporting foster carers to provide high-quality care. You will:

• Supervise, support, and develop foster carers to ensure the best outcomes for children.
• Undertake assessments of prospective foster carers.
• Contribute to the matching process and foster home stability.
• Work collaboratively with children, families, carers, and professionals.
• Maintain accurate and timely records in line with regulatory requirements.
• Delivering training to foster carers
• Following induction period, join our out of hours rota

What We're Looking For
We're seeking someone who is:

•  A qualified Social Worker (DipSW, CQSW, or equivalent) registered with Social Work England.
• Experienced in fostering or children's social care.
• Skilled in building strong, supportive relationships.
• Committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
• Able to work flexibly, including evenings and weekends.

Please click here for full job details.

You will provide support, supervision, and assessment services to foster carers and adopters, ensuring children and young people receive safe, nurturing care. You'll work closely with Trusts, families, and partner agencies, contributing to high-quality services where the voice of the child is central to practice.

Key responsibilities include:

• Supporting and supervising foster carers and adopters
• Completing fostering and adoption assessments
• Producing high-quality reports and maintaining accurate records
• Attending multi-agency meetings and reviews
• Delivering training and support to carers and adopters
• Promoting safeguarding and positive outcomes for children and young people.

About You
You will be:

• A qualified Social Worker registered with NISCC
• Experienced in fostering, adoption, or residential care
• Skilled in assessment, report writing, and partnership working
• Passionate about delivering child-centred practice.

Please click here for further details.

Leading children’s charity Barnardo’s has backed a warning from all 32 local authorities that the country is facing “an emergency for Scotland’s care system”. In June, all 32 chief social work officers issued a rare joint statement in which they pointed to “an acute shortage of suitable homes and carers for children who are unable to remain in the care of their family”.

It is a dangerous situation for hundreds of children in the care system that Barnardo’s pointed to more than two years ago, as Michele Janes, Director of Barnardo’s Scotland, explains: “Back in May 2024, my predecessor, Martin Crewe, uttered the following six words: ‘Fostering in Scotland is in crisis.’ Worryingly, that assertion has now been backed up by Scotland’s chief social work officers.

“While the statement made for shocking reading, much of its content did not come as a surprise to our fostering teams across Scotland. We recognise the statement that the capacity of the care system is saturated, and it is staggering to learn that, in some parts of the country, social workers have had to take children home with them as no other safe options are available.

“A shortage of foster carers leaves hundreds of children without a safe and loving home, and that is something we work every day to address. We strongly believe that any loving person can make a wonderful foster parent to a child in need, and we would urge people to consider fostering with us today.”

Click here to read the full article.

Do you have significant experience as a senior manager in fostering/adoption? 

Are you looking for a new challenge or maybe a change of direction? 
Do you have an interest in leading change, strategic management, developing new pieces of work, writing and reviewing policy & guidance, and embedding quality?
​
If so, then this could be the role for you!

We are seeking to recruit an experienced, solution focussed, innovative and enthusiastic UK Assistant Head of Service Development and Quality in fostering & adoption (this is an assistant director level post), to work in a fast paced team for the largest UK children's charity.

You will report to the UK Head of Fostering & adoption, and you will lead the UK Service Development and Quality team (currently consisting of two Operations Managers and a Charms data administrator). You will lead UK fostering and adoption on developing new areas of work, quality assurance, policy and good practice across fostering and adoption in all four UK nations, as well as represent Barnardo's externally.

Click here for full job details.

Leading children’s charity Barnardo’s has partnered with health and social care think tank, The King's Fund, for this year’s Children's Health Conference – an event which will unite leaders, policymakers, practitioners, and young people to explore how we can build a healthier future for children and young people. 

Taking place on Tuesday 1 December 2026 at The King's Fund headquarters in London, the conference “Working together to raise the healthiest generation of children and young people: how do we build the village of today?” is co-produced with children and young people. The event will examine how a neighbourhood health service can strengthen connections between families, communities and services, creating more joined-up support for children and young people. 

Children growing up in England face some of the poorest health outcomes in Europe, with those experiencing poverty significantly more likely to face poor health that can affect their opportunities and wellbeing throughout life. 

The conference will bring together voices from across health, local government, education, the voluntary sector and wider society to consider what it takes to build a more connected system that supports all children to thrive. 

Click here for the full article.

At Barnardo's, we believe every child deserves the opportunity to thrive in a safe, loving and supportive environment. We are looking for an experienced and passionate Practice Manager to join our Family Placement Service and play a pivotal role in improving outcomes for children, young people, foster carers, adopters and families.

This is an exciting opportunity for a motivated social work leader to manage a team of skilled practitioners, drive service excellence, and contribute to the growth and development of one of the UK's leading children's charities.

About the Role
As a Practice Manager, you will provide operational and practice leadership to a team of Social Workers delivering high-quality fostering and adoption services. Working closely with the Operations Manager, you will ensure outstanding outcomes for children and young people while maintaining compliance with all statutory, regulatory and organisational requirements.

You will influence service development, champion safeguarding, oversee quality assurance processes and build strong partnerships with local authorities, commissioners and other key stakeholders.

Click here for full job details.

We're offering an exciting opportunity to become a Fostering Practice Manager within our Scotland Glasgow Fostering Team. This is a part time position, working over 3 days reporting directly to the Operations Manager you will lead a team of skilled and passionate social workers, children's workers and our therapist ensuring they deliver support, supervision and training to foster carers, their families and young people.  Your leadership will help ensure that our carers provide trauma informed care that transforms the lives of children and young people.
 
In this pivotal role you will;

• Lead and inspire your team to meet evolving service demands through high quality support and supervision whilst adhering to fostering regulations in Scotland
• Support recruitment and retention of foster carers, contributing to strategic development and service improvement
• Collaborate with external partners, including local authorities, health and education professionals to ensure holistic care for children and fostering families
• Support our commitment to delivering positive outcomes for young people in line with the ambitions of The Promise Scotland. 

We are looking for a driven individual with experience in fostering and social work who is seeking a fresh challenge, this role offers the opportunity to join a committed team to share your expertise and make a lasting impact.  You'll be part of a supportive and knowledgeable team with access to training and development opportunities working flexibly in a hybrid manner across the West of Scotland with our office base in Glasgow.

What you will bring:

• A relevant social work qualification and current SSSC registration 
• a strong knowledge of fostering regulations in Scotland
• confidence using social media to promote fostering and enhance visibility across Scotland
• proven ability to lead change, manage performance and drive service delivery
• strong communication skills, especially in complex or challenging situations.

Click here for full details.

We are recruiting for a Fostering Practice Manager to join our established North Fostering Service with Barnardo's for 12-month fixed term to cover maternity leave, commencing in September 2026. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a high performing and well-regarded team, supporting our commitment to delivering excellent outcomes for children, young people and foster families. 

This hybrid role offers flexibility, with the expectation that the successful candidate will work from our Leeds office twice a week as well as attend occasional meetings from the Northeast office. We are seeking a confident, motivated leader with passion for fostering and a drive to support continued growth and best practice within the service.

You will receive regular support and training and have opportunities to be involved in innovative practice. 

The service has recently had an Ofsted Inspection rated Good in all areas.

Click here for full job details.