Classifications
Job Information
Achieving for Children is a Community Interest Company that has a public sector ethos, combined with the freedom to innovate enabling us to do things differently. As a not-for-profit social enterprise owned by three local authorities (Windsor & Maidenhead, Kingston and Richmond), we offer the freedoms of a social enterprise with the employment benefits of local government. To find out more about us click here.
Social Worker Fostering and Kinship
Join our Fostering & Kinship Team in Windsor and Maidenhead on a 12-month fixed-term contract and help provide safe, stable and nurturing homes where children can thrive. As a Fostering & Kinship Social Worker, you'll play a vital role in recruiting, assessing and supporting foster carers and kinship carers, ensuring they have the guidance and resources needed to provide the best possible care for children and young people.
About the role
As a Fostering & Kinship Social Worker, you'll work with prospective and approved foster carers and kinship carers, guiding them through every stage of their journey. You'll undertake a range of assessments, including Form F, Form K, Special Guardianship and viability assessments, while providing supervision, advice and ongoing support to help carers build stable, nurturing homes for children and young people.
Working as part of a supportive and collaborative team, you'll contribute to permanency planning, participate in fostering duty services and present assessments to fostering panels. You'll also have opportunities to help shape carer training, support groups and service development, all while working within our strengths-based Signs of Safety practice model to achieve the best possible outcomes for children and families
To find out more about this exciting opportunity or to arrange an informal discussion, please contact Claire Hunt at claire.Hunt@achievingforchildren.org.uk
About you
To be successful in this role, you'll have:
- A recognised Social Work qualification, active Social Work England registration and a commitment to continuous professional development.
- Experience completing fostering, kinship or Special Guardianship assessments, or other complex social work assessments.
- Strong relationship-building skills and experience supporting foster carers, kinship carers and partner agencies.
- A good understanding of fostering legislation, safeguarding and permanency planning.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce high-quality assessments and reports.
- A proactive, organised approach with the ability to manage a varied workload and work collaboratively within a supportive team.
About our benefits
We are focused on creating a positive supportive environment, where you will have access to a really wide range of resources, as well as a competitive salary and all the perks to enable hybrid working. In AfC you will also have access to:
- 29 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days after 2 years and 35 days after 4 years with an additional day off in your birthday month (Or for term-time workers, your leave entitlement consists of the non-working periods in your contract)
- Tailored induction sessions commencing on the date you start working for AfC
- Local Government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension)
- Flexible working options - helping to keep a good work life balance
- A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme
- A range of staff benefits and discounts
- An excellent learning and development offer to support your career pathway
To find out about all of the breadth of benefits of working for Achieving for Children click here. For our social work offer click here. For our Recruitment Journey, click here.
Important Information
Start dates: Achieving for Children have set start dates meaning successful candidates join on a set date in each month. Candidates are advised to prepare for this should a job offer be accepted to ensure eligible continuous service is not affected.
Right to work: The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.
Equality: We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams. Achieving for Children are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.
Safeguarding: We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
