Enhanced Senior Social Worker - Children's Fostering and Assessment Team

We are looking for someone to join our friendly and welcoming Recruitment and Assessing Team, to support the recruitment, assessment and support provided to prospective and newly approved foster carers.

Being an assessing social worker within the fostering service is an exciting and important role which involves a range of tasks working directly with prospective foster carers, children and young people, alongside other professionals to ensure quality outcomes for children/young people. There are opportunities to complete other assessments, such as connected persons assessments and private fostering assessments.

Your role will be to support the recruitment and assessment of prospective and approved foster families. You will be involved in recruitment and participation events with foster carers and their children. You will hold responsibility for delivering preparation and other training opportunities to both approved and prospective carers. You will be involved in a comprehensive duty system receiving initial enquiries and undertaking initial home visits of prospective carers.

Can you be that person that puts the children and young people in the forefront of your decisions, be able to work within a team, be flexible, be proactive and able to communicate with children and adults, as well as have experience of working with children and young people? Having experience of working in the fostering sector would be an advantage but is not essential.

You will need to be able to drive for this role and have access to a car as the successful candidate will be required to travel within the region. You will need to be flexible as you may need to work occasional evenings and weekends and be committed to therapeutic training. You will be able to work both individually and as part of a team. This position is part time, 18.5 hours.

Responsibilities will include:

• Be involved in recruitment and participation events with foster carers and their children.



• Undertake duty tasks and respond to enquiries



• Visit prospective foster carers in their own home and complete initial assessments of suitability to foster



• Complete a range of assessments, including Form F, Form C and private fostering assessments



• Attend foster panel and present reports



• Encourage and promote training events with carers



• Organise support and consultation groups for children in care and birth children.



• Report safeguarding concerns to line manager



• Accurately record work using a computer database and write comprehensive assessments
  
  Experience of working with children and young people in groups or one to one, preferably within independent, voluntary, or statutory provision



• A Social Work qualification and registration with Social Work England



• Good understanding and knowledge of the circumstances and needs of children and young people in care, with a clear ambition to provide outstanding services for the children we look after is required.



• You will have good organisational and time management skills, be confident and have the ability to build strong relationships with young people, key individuals, and organisations



• Flexibility will be needed to cover out of hours appointments both in the evening and at weekends



• Full and current driving licence, with access to transport. In return we offer: hybrid/flexible based working allowing a good work life balance