 Location: South Coast Salary: £33 Per Hour Plus Travel Expenses Closing Date: 13/01/2020 Interview Date: 22/01/2020 Hours: Variable TACT are currently seeking an IFRO to support the work of the TACT South Coast region which covers the Dorset and Hampshire areas.
TACT is the UK’s largest specialist charity provider of fostering and adoption services. Our core work involves providing high quality and well supported fostering or adoptive families for children and young people in the care of local authorities. Working in partnership with local authorities from our offices across England, Wales and Scotland, we are dedicated to providing creative, effective and outcome-focused services. We also campaign on behalf of children and young people in care, carers and adoptive families and are a leading voice in the sector. Our vision is to provide better lives for our children and young people. Core Tasks
Rates of Pay TACT will pay £33.00 per hour plus travel time at £15 per hour (outside of London) or £16.50 per hour (London only) and mileage at 45p per mile. Please see the Job Information Pack for a full breakdown of the role and rates. You will need to be DipSW, CSS or CQSW qualified and registered with Social Work England. A standard disclosure is also required and will be carried out by TACT on your behalf. Closing: Monday 13th January 2020 Interviews: Wednesday 22nd January 2020 at Eastleigh (SO50 9LH) TACT reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so we advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment. Full details and application documents here  Home Office accused of still ignoring offers to house children from camps in the UK
Pressure is building on the Home Office to fulfil its promise to give sanctuary to child refugees as it emerged that foster agencies across the UK have offered dozens of places that remain unused. Estimates suggest there are hundreds of places available for vulnerable unaccompanied minors in addition to the 1,400 offers from local councils that the Home Office is accused of ignoring. Britain’s largest fostering and adoption charity, Tact Care, said that fostering agencies had told the Home Office they had significant capacity to house child refugees. Tact Care alone had 25 spaces that could be used immediately. Andy Elvin, chief executive of Tact Care, said: “The Home Office could easily accommodate its obligations to offer sanctuary to vulnerable minors. Its response has nothing to do with capacity, it’s essentially an ideological decision they are making. It’s not one based on child welfare or our ability to do it as a country, it’s that they don’t want to do it. We’ve told the Home Office but they are not interested.” Pressure is also mounting on cabinet ministers who backed a scheme to welcome unaccompanied minors to take a “moral stance” after some protections for children were dropped from the Brexit bill. Geoffrey Cox, the attorney general, was one of the Tories to rebel in support of a plan drawn up by the Labour peer Lord Dubs in 2016, which committed the UK to accept almost 500 unaccompanied child refugees. Lord Dubs was one of 10,000 children rescued from the Nazis by the Kindertransport in 1939. A separate commitment to allow child refugees stranded in Europe to reunite with families in Britain after Brexit was dropped by Boris Johnson. Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, called on ministers and Tory MPs to reverse the “moral disgrace” of removing the protection for children. “At the election, Johnson promised to maintain the UK’s reputation as a ‘beacon of freedom and human rights’.” he said. “However, at the first hurdle, he showed his true colours: tearing up protection for some of the world’s most vulnerable people.” Charities are stepping in after growing frustrated with the Home Office’s slowness in transferring child refugees to the UK. The Dubs amendment of May 2016 followed a public outcry about the plight of children stranded in Europe. Campaigners had hoped that as many as 3,000 children would benefit, but ministers set a limit of 480. The Home Office refuses to specify how many of these children have since been transferred to Britain. Now a project, funded by a Jewish philanthropist, will find family-based placements for children who arrive under the Dubs scheme and ensure that councils have money upfront to provide a home. The project, launched in Bristol, Wiltshire and the London borough of Lewisham, and run by a Christian charity called Home for Good, is seeking an initial 20 homes. The charity said the situation was so poor that it had identified children processed by the UN refugee agency in European camps who were still waiting for places to become available. Emily Christou, head of advocacy at Home for Good, said: “We heard that the 480 still seems to be way off. We knew there was public goodwill out there and we knew that local authorities are saying they’ll take more.” The scheme’s first meeting between a family and a social worker took place last week. The next step will be winning approval from a local authority panel and receiving an allowance to cover the costs of opening their home. Jennifer Nadel, co-director of the campaign group Compassion in Politics, said: “It is scandalous and heartbreaking that the UK isn’t honouring its moral and legal obligation to these refugee children. We are the fifth largest economy in the world; we have families and local authorities willing to welcome these children with open arms. The problem is the lack of political will.” The Home Office says it is committed to the Dubs scheme and that safeguarding vulnerable children will remain a priority after Brexit. Source: www.theguardian.com  TACT is delighted to be associated with ‘The Arrival’, the story of two siblings separated by adoption by Olivier Award-winning theatre director Bijan Sheibani. The Arrival is currently running at the Bush Theatre until January 18th.
The play explores the real need to keep siblings together when fostering or adoption is taking place, and the life-long detrimental effects that can happen when siblings are kept apart. The play has received very positive reviews, including from TACT members of staff and young people. A TACT social worker described it as “beautiful and incredibly moving” while a TACT care-experienced person said “it does a fantastic job capturing the difficult emotions experienced by many in the care system”. TACT is fully aware of the damage that can be caused when siblings are separated. TACT CEO, Andy Elvin said: ‘TACT knows the importance of siblings remaining together when they go into care, because that is what they tell us they want. However, there may be occasions when siblings cannot be all placed together due to concerns of behaviour or risk, or simply because of the lack of available foster families. Fostering sibling groups can sometimes be challenging and demanding, but it is also extremely rewarding. TACT is constantly looking for more foster carers who want to give brothers and sisters a stable family home, particularly those who can care for the larger sibling groups.’ Research shows that maintaining sibling relationships for those in care is associated with more stable placements, stronger developmental outcomes and better mental health and wellbeing. Conversely, separation often results in life-long issues around identity and attachment. Despite this, sibling separation remains the norm. In 2009, 81% of children in care were separated from their siblings, 73% were separated in 2011 and 71% in 2014. The Victoria Derbyshire Show reported in 2018 that more than half of siblings were separated in 30 out of 50 councils. There are no official government figures about the number of separated siblings in the care system. This lack of recorded figures on the matter illustrates how this is an under-explored issue that needs more attention. The primary problem is that there simply are not enough foster carers and adopters for sibling groups. The need for children to be placed in a foster family is often urgent, and there are limited number of homes with the available space to accommodate siblings. The Arrival explores these long-term issues, starting with the joyful reunion between biological brothers Tom (Scott Karim) and Samad (Irfan Shamji). Despite Tom’s adoption and all the years spent apart, the two brothers are joined by an undeniable biological bond. But as they become closer and their lives entangle, the psychological effects of being separated begin to cast a dark shadow over their new-found bond. A taut family drama about obsession, betrayal and the human need to belong, The Arrival is a world premiere written and directed by Olivier Award-winning theatre director Bijan Sheibani (Barber Shop Chronicles, The Brothers Size). Written and Directed by Bijan Sheibani Design – Samal Black Lighting Design – Oliver Fenwick Sound Design – Gareth Fry Movement Director – Aline David Cast – Scott Karim and Irfan Shamji Source: www.tactcare.org.uk  Ahead of next month’s General Election, the UK’s largest fostering and adoption charity The Adolescent and Children’s Trust (TACT), is calling on all Britain’s political parties to step up and make children in care, foster carers and care experienced young people an important part of their election promises.
To that end TACT has produced its own manifesto – Call to Action, a plan that we urge all parties include in their manifestos, to transform the life chances for children and young people in care. TACT CEO Andy Elvin said: “TACT’s Call to Action highlights what government and local authorities should be doing to fulfil their responsibilities as corporate parents. Children and young people’s voices should always be heard in the design of policy for the care system. Unfortunately, far too often the state is not a good enough parent.” Here are some of the actions we are calling for: Automatic Delegated Authority for Foster Carers Foster carers are experts on the children that they look after and should automatically have full delegated authority for all decisions about them unless there is a valid reason not to do so. Foster Carers as personal advisors for their care experienced young people. When young people have positive relationships with their foster carers, they should be given the option of having them as their personal adviser as a natural continuation of the foster carers’ role. This would enable foster carers and care experienced young people to continue their relationship with the financial support that will enable them to do this. Waive or pay university tuition fees or offer a guaranteed apprenticeship for care experienced young people Universities should guarantee undergraduate places for care experienced young people regardless of their age and financial support with a maintenance grant in place for living expenses and accommodation during term time, and outside of it. Many young people will not wish to go to university and there should be a guaranteed apprenticeship for those care leavers. Local authorities and governmental agencies should also be offering appropriate employment opportunities. More central government funding for Staying Put ‘Staying Put’ enables young people in foster care to remain with their carers until the age of 21. The future of ‘Staying Put’ is currently uncertain because funding is only secured until 2020/2021. Under funding and no guarantee of continuation to the scheme can leave carers unable to offer a continued home for their foster children when they reach 18. Extend the current legislation prohibiting private for-profit companies from running child protection services to all of children social care services. Private equity firms are increasingly present in the fostering market, buying and selling independent fostering agencies and making substantial gains in the process. More transparency and accountability is needed, with resources remaining within each provider to ensure a total focus on the needs of children and young people. For the full Call to Action click here Source: www.tactcare.org.uk  Location: Northants Salary: £40,500 pa + £1,500 Out of Hours Allowance Closing Date: 02/12/2019 Interview Date: 10/12/2019 Hours: 35 Hours Per Week Permanent - Full Time 35 Hours Per Week
Office Based - Kettering TACT, the UK’s largest fostering and adoption charity now has over 500 dedicated carers, who look after over 600 children and young people across the country. Our reputation and growth rests upon our strength in providing successful placements. As a charity, we do not have shareholders who receive profits and we invest all of our surplus income into service, staff, carers, and children’s development. The TACT East Midlands service currently seeks an enthusiastic Fostering Deputy Area Manager who is committed to ensuring that the children we care for meet their full potential. The successful candidate will bring experience of working with children and young people in a statutory setting, and a management qualification, to the Fostering Deputy Area Manager role. The Deputy Area Manager's core duties will include:
The Fostering Deputy Area Manager must be HPCP registered and have a DipSW, CSS or CQSW qualification. An enhanced DBS check is required for this post and will be undertaken by TACT on your behalf. The use of a car is essential. TACT offer an excellent benefits package including:
Please see the Deputy Area Manager job description and applicant information booklet for full details. Closing: Midnight on Monday 2nd December 2019 Interviews: Tuesday 10th December 2019 TACT reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so we advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment. Full details and application documents here  Permanent - Office Based - Leeds Part Time - 21 Hours Per Week £14,580 Per Annum (£24,300 Pro Rata) Closing Date: 25/11/2019 Interview Date: 04/12/2019 TACT, the UK’s largest fostering and adoption charity. Formed in 1993, we now have over 500 dedicated carers, who look after over 600 children and young people across the country. Our reputation and growth rests upon our strength in providing successful placements. As a charity, we do not have shareholders who receive profits and we invest all of our surplus income into service, staff, carers, and children's development.
This is an exciting opportunity for a dynamic, enthusiastic, highly-motivated individual with experience in administration within the social care field to join the recently merged Yorkshire and North East Area Team as the Fostering Placement Officer. The Fostering Placement Officer is responsible for receiving foster care placement requests for children and matching them to our foster carers on behalf of the Area Manager and in close cooperation with the Duty Social Worker. The Fostering Placement Officer role requires exceptional communication skills and discretion, sensitivity and the capability to deal with conflicting priorities at times. The successful candidate will bring experience in a social care and health setting working with children/young people and current knowledge of safeguarding procedures to the Fostering Placement Officer role. General office experience and knowledge of Microsoft packages is also essential, along with excellent communication skills and the ability to build a rapport and a positive working relationships with external partnership agencies. The Fostering Placement Officer’s core duties includes:
TACT offer an excellent benefits package including:
Please see the job description and applicant information booklet for full details. A standard DBS check will be required and carried out by TACT on your behalf. Closing: Midnight on Monday 25th November 2019 Interviews: Wednesday 4th December 2019 - TACT Yorkshire (LS14 6FD) TACT reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so we advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment. Full details and application documents here  It is National Care Leavers Week, and TACT – the UK’s largest fostering and adoption charity, is using it as an opportunity to mark the fantastic first year of TACT Connect – an innovative service for care experienced people.
TACT recognises that leaving care is a challenging time for young people, especially as many will not have the help of a supportive family network. As a child in care they are surrounded by professionals dedicated to their welfare, but once they leave care that level of support fades away. So, TACT has set up a program called TACT Connect that provides a model of support for care leavers, enabling them to achieve positive outcomes. TACT CEO Andy Elvin said: “It’s important as a parent that you stay in touch with your children throughout their lives. The state can be a not so great parent because once people have left care, it doesn’t know what’s going on in their lives. So, TACT Connect is our way of addressing that.” TACT Connect has built an impressive network of care leavers that support and celebrate one another, while keeping in touch with TACT. TACT Connect offers the chance to meet other care experienced people, learn and access new skills and get support in reaching their aspirations. By becoming a member, care leavers receive newsletters packed full of helpful advice and shared experiences, plus invites to events, and the opportunity to be involved in shaping the scheme. Mark Riddell – National Advisor for Care Leavers has welcomed TACT Connect. 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.” Work on TACT Connect began in October last year, with the creation of a steering group consisting of care leavers, foster carers, young people in care and TACT members of staff. Right from the start the development of the scheme has been guided by care experienced people, who are naturally in the best position to know about the needs of Connect members, so they have taken a prominent role in tailoring the service. Care leavers are also solely responsible for editing the TACT Connect newsletter, which was launched in March. In February, work began on the “Peer Mentoring” scheme by providing training to prospective mentors. The scheme allows care experienced people to mentor 15-16-year-olds to help their transition to independence, by offering their own experiences and learned wisdom, as well as being available any time the young people need someone to talk to who may have faced similar challenges to them. In April, TACT Connect was officially launched at an art gallery in Birmingham where TACT care leavers displayed works of art that they had created themselves with the theme of “message to my younger self”. Those present also built a road-map of their accomplishments, helping to put their experiences in context and define themselves in a way which recognises their many assets. TACT young person, Channon, 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 very therapeutic.” In May, TACT Connect created its database of TACT alumni to establish a network of care experienced people that continue to support each other throughout their lives. Shortly after the launch, TACT Connect began piloting it’s “Enabling Grants” scheme, which is a grant available to care experienced people to help improve their access to both education and employment. Government statistics found that care leavers aged 19-21 are three times more likely to not be in either education, employment or training compared to their peers. Often this is due to financial insecurity, and the “Enabling Grants” scheme aims to address this issue by providing assistance to those looking to take their next steps but are struggling due to a lack of resources. Applications are assessed by a panel of care experienced people, foster carers and the TACT Connect coordinator Verity. TACT Connect has made fantastic progress over the past year, but this is just the start. Ambitious plans are in place to grow and meet the needs identified by its members. Plans include regular regional events shaped entirely by members (the next being in Wales in November 2019), a money management workshop, the creation of an online portal for members and the recruitment of regional TACT Connect Advisors made up of care experienced people who organise activity in their local community and engage in research and campaigns. TACT Connect wants care experienced people to know that leaving care does not mean that they are forgotten, they will continue to be supported throughout their life by those who have had experiences similar to their own, as well as TACT. TACT care leaver Samantha summed up the scheme: “TACT Connect isn’t just about having a supportive community, it’s about having a friend for life that you can turn to whenever you need help or are feeling lost.” Source: www.tactcare.org.uk  “With the support of my foster carers, I’m now following my dreams” I moved in with my carers, Albert and Joyce, shortly before my 10th birthday and have been with them ever since. Albert and Joyce are brilliant carers, right from the start they made me feel safe and supported. I now refer to them as my mum and dad. By a strange coincidence we share the same surname, which makes me feel like I’m even more part of the family! We used to go out shopping, to the cinema and to restaurants as a family, this was my favourite thing to do with them. Having these experiences, I felt as though I was no different from any other child. They have also taught me basic life skills such as cooking, cleaning and generally looking after myself. When I first arrived, I was a very angry child. I wasn’t able to express myself or talk through the things that I was feeling. As well as giving me a safe and supportive home, Albert and Joyce helped me to learn how to control my behaviours and emotions. I think it’s really important that people don’t bottle up their feelings and have someone they can trust. Throughout my nine years living with them, I’ve seen them have the same positive effect on other children in their care. Participating in TACT events was also a very positive experience for me. I was among children from across the UK to take part in TACT’s Children’s Champions meetings, which is an opportunity for the charity to learn from children in care’s views and experiences, to help shape its work. I also attended TACT’s Big Weekend, which brings children together to experience outdoor activities and bond with their peers. It was a great opportunity to make friends and try new experiences, and helped me to build up my confidence and challenge my fears. I had always been scared of heights, but after finally gathering the courage to do a zipwire during Big Weekend, I absolutely love doing it now. This year I went as a mentor to one of the children, and it was great to see everyone getting along as always.  I continue to live with Albert and Joyce through Staying Put and I’m now following my dreams. I used to think I wasn’t able to do anything with my life, but through my own determination and the support of my carers I got into the university of my choice and I hope to soon teach English as a second language in Japan.
I have always wanted to be a teacher of some sort growing up. Teachers are so important and there just aren’t enough of them. I like to help people and care for them, so I am absolutely determined to make my dreams a reality and become a teacher. Japan is a really fascinating country that I’m really excited to experience. I’ve already started to learn some Japanese and Chinese, and I intend to visit soon. My advice to others in care is to reach out to your carers if you have a problem, no matter how or big or small. They are there to support you and it’s perfectly OK to admit you need extra help. I also think it’s really important that people have the belief in themselves to achieve what they want to achieve. I think the reason that so few care leavers go on to attend university is because they think that they can’t do it. I remember thinking that I would never get the grades I needed, and some college teachers even told me as much, but I did and I’m now in a really good place in my life. Source: www.tactcare.org.uk  Location: London Salary: £22,371 per annum + £3,613 (LW) Closing Date: 07/10/2019 Interview Date: 15/10/2019 Hours: 30 hours per week TACT is the UK’s largest specialist charity provider of fostering and adoption services. Our core work involves providing high quality and well supported fostering or adoptive families for children and young people in the care of local authorities. Working in partnership with local authorities from our offices across England, Wales and Scotland, we are dedicated to providing creative, effective and outcome-focused services. We also campaign on behalf of children and young people in care, carers and adoptive families and are a leading voice in the sector.
Our vision is to provide better lives for our children and young people. We are currently looking for a dynamic proactive PA to support our CEO and the Directorate. We need someone capable of working in a professional manner maintaining diplomacy and confidentiality in a busy, fast moving Charity. You should have significant PA or EA experience, intermediate to advanced level in Microsoft Office including Word, Excel and SharePoint and a working experience, and interest in of facilities management. For this role it is essential to have a high level of competency in managing priorities and to respond in a flexible way to changing demands. You should be able to work with minimal supervision and to tight deadlines. The main skills for this role are:
TACT offer an excellent benefits package including 31 days paid holiday, flexible working arrangements, group income protection scheme, death in service and stakeholder pension scheme (salary sacrifice). Please see the job information pack for further information. Closing: Monday, 7th October 2019 Interviews: Monday, 14th October 2019 TACT reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so we advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment. Source: https://www.tactcare.org.uk  Watch a short film created by TACT care experienced young people from Wales who wanted to give back something to young people who found themselves in similar positions to themselves when they were younger. In film, they also “talk to their younger selves” giving advice which they feel they can now give having learned so much from their experiences.
The film is a positive endorsement not just of the young people’s wonderful qualities and personalities but of their experiences living with fabulous foster carers who have clearly meant so much to them in their lives. Watch the film here |
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