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Part Time C&F Support Worker - Fostering and Adoption

Employer
Essex County Council
Location
England, Essex, Chelmsford
Salary
£20604.0 - £26801.0 per annum + Plus Excellent Benefits Package
Closing date
2 Oct 2020

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Please note that we are open to recruiting someone to work 4 or 5 days per week in this role. If 4 days per week the salary would be pro rata of the figures quoted.

Please indicate your preference within your application.

Job Purpose

Children and Families is recognised as a service in which social work can develop and prosper, with a culture of collaboration, integrity and compassion; promoting development and wellbeing of children, young people and their families; protecting them from neglect and abuse. Working together with partners delivering a range of early help, family support and effective social work interventions which build resilience, remove barriers and enable children and young people to look forward to a brighter future.

Support Workers work within adoption teams to support the delivery of effective Children's Social Work. One aspect of the role is undertaking direct work with children who have a plan for adoption. The aim of direct work is to help children understand their experiences within their birth family and prepare them for transitioning from foster care to an adoptive family. The role will also involve undertaking a range of direct activity, including one to one or groupwork for children and adoptive families, providing practical, personal and emotional support that meets the assessed needs, as well as promoting improved health, physical, mental and social development. The support workers within the adoption teams may play a part in gathering information for creating children`s profiles for family finding purposes and will help in organising family finding events (profiling and craft days).

Educated to Level 3 (NVQ or BTEC is desirable) or with activity based alternative experience, in a social care setting and experience of building strong effective relationships.

Service/Functional Accountabilities

* Responsible for supporting social workers to undertake activity and interventions, which support the plan for the child, young person and family.

* Build strong, effective relationships with the child, young person, foster carers and adopters 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 (foster carers, prospective adopters, schools, Health), to gather accurate information that informs assessment and decisions about the plan for the child.

* Contributes to meetings, (such as Child in Care Reviews, Family Finding Reviews, Family Linking Meetings) to provide information which builds understanding of the child's needs.

* Record work and activity in accordance with Children & Families policies and procedures, including case records on Mosaic.

* Engage in individual and group supervision with managers and practice leads.

* 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.

* Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

* Educated to RQF Level 3 (A Level/NVQ/BTEC) or equivalent experience.

* Evidence of continuing professional development and in-depth knowledge in relevant professional area.

* Experience of building strong, effective relationships with children and families.

* Experience of undertaking direct, activity based and group work with children and families.

* Knowledge and understanding of the issues impacting children with a plan for adoption, e.g. life story work.

* 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.

* A certificate in First Aid and/or knowledge of Sign Language is desirable in this role.

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.

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