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 Team
This post will be in the fostering and kinship team based in Kingston. We are looking for an experienced social worker with good assessment, communication and report writing skills, and the motivation to achieve excellent standards in contributing to the development of our service.
Our fostering service has a strong focus on stability and permanency for the children we care for. We are expanding our service and if you think you would be a good fit we would like to hear from you.
About the role
Achieving for Children has an exciting opportunity within its expanding Independent Fostering Agency, located in Kingston. Your role will be to work with colleagues to provide the full range of fostering services, including recruitment, assessment, training and supervision / support, duty services, supervising regulation 24 arrangements, as well as Form F, Form C and Special Guardianship Assessment.
You will undertake a range of tasks to safely place and work to achieve permanency plans for children. Within the team we also complete initial family assessments aka viability assessments. There will be opportunities to be involved in the development/engagement of carer training, support groups, duty and out of hours support.
Achieving for Children work within the framework of signs of safety and we place a strong emphasis on signs of belonging, as well as peer group supervision sessions.
For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Claire Hunt via email: claire.hunt@achievingforchildren.org.uk
About you
- You will be required to hold a professional qualification (DipSW/CQSW/CSS or equivalent)
- Active Social Work England registration and proven evidence of continuing professional development
- Knowledge and experience in working with current legislation and regulations especially fostering regulations and national minimum standards.
- Experience in completing thorough assessments, ideally Form F/C & special guardianship assessments.
- Experiencing in supporting foster carers through regular supervision visits, tracking of training engagement and supporting overall placement stability
- Preferably experience in working within the signs of safety framework and peer supervision practice.
- Good understanding of the challenges faced by foster carers, and the complexities of fostering assessments including private fostering.
- Supporting special guardianship order processes, considering support plan needs, post order supports and ensuring strong starts to the arrangements
- Experience in presenting to fostering panels, and completing annual review reports
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.
