Child and Family Support Worker - Supervised Family Time Team

The role of a Child and Family Support Worker in the Supervised Family Time service is vital for fostering positive connections between children in care and their birth families. This position involves supervising and facilitating family time sessions, ensuring a safe and supportive environment. Collaboration with social workers is essential to deliver tailored support that addresses the unique needs of each child and their family, aiding in assessments and case planning. Supervised activities can range from practical assistance to emotional guidance, promoting the overall well-being and development of children and young people. The role also requires teamwork across various services, such as family support, fostering, and working with children with disabilities. Given the complexity and emotional demands of the job, a strong commitment, resilience, and a compassionate approach are crucial for success in this role. Accountabilities

• Responsible for supporting social work teams to organise and facilitate supervised family time for children and families.
• Build strong, effective relationships with the child, young person and family which support relationship and strengths based social work practice. Maintain high standards of professionalism which contribute to the level of confidence in Children's Social Care.
• Responsible for highlighting issues and implementing plans to safeguard a child.
• Liaise and work collaboratively with internal and external professional partner agencies as relevant to the case (e.g., Social Workers, Schools, Health, Mental Health, Guardians), to gather accurate information that informs assessment and decisions about the plan for the child.
• Provide information and advice in relation to involvement/accessing of third-party agencies relevant to the needs of the child, young person, and family (e.g., benefits agencies, immigration, housing), where necessary acting as an advocate.
• Contributes to meetings, reviews, (case conferences and court hearings as appropriate to the service) to provide information which builds understanding of the child's needs.
• Accurate report writing is essential to this role in accordance with Children & Families policies and procedures, including case records on Mosaic
• Work collaboratively across the service, with internal and external professional partner agencies to contribute to the overall work and success of the team and ensure improved outcomes for children and families.
• Deliver support in accordance with the plan, as agreed by the case holding Social Worker where appropriate, this will normally be time limited, with measurable impact.
  
  Educated to RQF Level 3 (A Level/NVQ/BTEC) or equivalent experience.
• Experience of building strong, effective relationships with children and families in times of challenge and crisis.
• Experience and understanding of child development and play based activities with children and families.
• Knowledge and understanding of the issues impacting children, young people, and families, leading them to require support.
Desirable:
• Knowledge of Children's Act 1989 and 2004 and other legislative and policy guidance applicable within Social Care settings.
• Proven track record of working with partners and external agencies.
• Evidence of continuing professional development and in-depth knowledge in relevant professional area.
• A certificate in First Aid and/or knowledge of Sign Language.
The role requires you to be mobile throughout a wider operational area including travelling around the county of Essex and beyond, transporting service users and their belongings and to be able to do so in an emergency. Driving licence and car or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means is essential.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service