Child and Families Social Work Practitioner - Fostering

Gateshead Council; Gateshead; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 47,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary £40,444 - £46,579 + 5% R&R

Pension scheme

28 days annual leave (rising to 32)

Flexible working hours

Professional development

Healthcare support

Cycle to work

Salary sacrifice car scheme

Employee discounts

Job summary

Gateshead Council’s Fostering Service is recruiting an Experienced Fostering Social Worker to support foster households and safeguard children and young people in care.

You will undertake skilled assessments, care planning and intervention work within multidisciplinary settings, applying national standards, regulations and guidance. The role offers hybrid working and extensive professional development opportunities.

Qualifications

• Social Work qualification and registration with Social Work England.
• Experience in statutory social work and safeguarding.
• Ability to assess complex needs and risk and deliver interventions with challenging families.
• Strong analytical and evaluation skills to inform plans and actions.
• Ability to work across agencies with the child at the centre of practice.

Responsibilities

• Work within the Fostering Service to support fostering households and ensure the needs of children and young people in their care are met.
• Collaborate across agencies to achieve the best outcomes for children.
• Apply National Minimum Standards and Fostering Regulations to ensure practice aligns with statutory requirements.
• Practise statutory social work within multidisciplinary settings and apply legislation and policy.
• Undertake skilled assessments, care planning and intervention work with children, young people, foster carers and families.
• Analyse complex situations, assess risk, and formulate plans and interventions to create positive change.
• Work with families experiencing complex challenges, including separation, loss, safeguarding concerns.
• Use knowledge of child development to inform assessment and planning.
• Contribute to initiatives such as the Mockingbird model and wider fostering developments.

Skills

Statutory social work

Risk assessment

Intervention planning

Child development knowledge

Communication

Multi-agency collaboration

Education

Social Work qualification

Registration with Social Work England

Job description

Salary £40,444 - £46,579 + 5% R &R allowance

Who We Are & What We Stand For

Do you want to help make Gateshead a place where everyone thrives? If that sounds like you, keep reading - we might be the perfect match.

We’re delighted that you’re interested in working with us. You’d be joining us at a very exciting time.

We pride ourselves on our ambitious and forward-thinking approach to taking care of Gateshead and its people, and we passionately believe that our employees reflect that spirit in truly enabling Gateshead to thrive.

At Gateshead Council you’d be a highly valued member of a team that recognises and respects the skills that you bring to your role, encourages creativity and passionately advocates a great work / life balance. Our actions speak louder than words, and with flexi-time and hybrid working available across many of our roles, as well as a full suite of outstanding employee benefits, we’re confident that it isn’t just the salary that attracts our staff.

Make a lasting difference to children, young people and foster families in Gateshead.

Our vision is that all children and families, regardless of their background, are at the heart of everything we do ensuring all children can thrive and meet their full potential.

Our plans for 2027 reflect this vision and ambition! We will have an even greater focus on embedding trauma informed approaches, and inclusive practice, across all of our services as we believe that this delivers the best outcomes for children and young people. We are committed to continuing to develop services which are integrated and joined up through our family hubs and that we maintain our focus on supporting the most vulnerable children on the edge of care to support them to remain safely living within their family networks.

Supporting foster carers, empowering children your social work can change lives.

Gateshead’s Fostering Service is dedicated to ensuring that foster carers, children and young people receive the support, guidance and stability they need to thrive. We work closely with fostering households and partner agencies to promote positive outcomes, always placing the needs, voice and wellbeing of children at the centre of our practice.

Our service is proud of its national recognition, with Gateshead’s children’s teams and foster carers celebrated for their outstanding achievements at the National Children and Young People Awards. We have three successful Mockingbird constellations, highlighting our commitment to strengthening support networks around fostering families, and we are now expanding this innovative model with the development of further constellations.

By joining us, you will become part of an experienced and supportive team that values reflective practice, professional development and collaborative working. We place the same emphasis on supporting our social workers as we do our foster carers, ensuring you have the right environment, training and structures to deliver highquality, meaningful social work.

Be part of a team that transforms lives through exceptional fostering support.

We are recruiting for an Experienced Fostering Social Worker

What You'll Get To Do

• Work within the Fostering Service to support fostering households and ensure the needs of children and young people in their care are met.
• Work collaboratively across agencies to achieve the best outcomes for children, contributing to a supportive and highperforming fostering team.
• Apply knowledge of the National Minimum Standards and Fostering Regulations to ensure all practice aligns with statutory requirements, including the Care Standards Act 2000 and Children Act 2002.
• Practise statutory social work within multidisciplinary settings, applying legislation, policy frameworks and statutory guidance effectively.
• Undertake skilled assessments, care planning and intervention work with children, young people, foster carers and families.
• Analyse complex situations, assess risk, and formulate plans and interventions aimed at creating positive and sustained change.
• Work with families experiencing complex challenges, including separation, loss, and safeguarding concerns.
• Use knowledge of child development and factors affecting growth to inform your assessment and intervention planning.
• Contribute to the ongoing success and expansion of initiatives such as the Mockingbird model and wider fostering developments.
• Benefit from being part of an experienced and supportive team, with significant opportunities for professional development and training.

What You'll Bring (Essential Criteria)

• Knowledge of the National Minimum Standards and Fostering Regulations, statutory guidance, social work legislation, and the wider policy and organisational context.
• Significant experience practising statutory social work, including safeguarding work, multidisciplinary practice and applying statutory frameworks.
• Ability to assess complex needs and risk, deliver interventions with challenging families, respond to issues of separation and loss, and work intensively with children and families at risk of harm.
• Strong analytical, assessment and evaluation skills, with the ability to formulate plans and interventions that affect meaningful change.
• Knowledge of child development across age ranges, including factors that inhibit growth and development.
• Effective communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively across agencies while maintaining the child at the centre of all practice.
• A recognised Social Work qualification, Social Work England registration, and commitment to ongoing professional development.

If successful you will have to apply for an enhanced Disclosure.

What’s In It For You

• Competitive Salary: We offer fair and transparent pay that reflects your skills and experience salary £39,152 - £45,091 plus a 5% R & R allowance.
• Outstanding Pension Scheme: We don’t just offer a great salary we invest in your future too. Find out what benefits a Local Government Pension provides: https://twpf.info
• Generous Annual Leave: Enjoy 28 days of annual leave, rising to 32 days after 5 years (2 of which can be fixed by the Council), plus the option to buy up to 10 extra days.
• Flexible Working Hours: Benefit from up to 26 flexi days per year (subject to business needs), giving you more control over your time.
• Learning & Development: Access a wide range of training, development, and progression opportunities to help you grow your career.
• Health & Wellbeing Support: From discounted gym memberships through our partner GLL to mental health resources, we care about your wellbeing.
• Cycle to Work Scheme: Save money and stay active with our tax-efficient cycle to work programme.
• Electric & Hybrid Car Scheme: Get behind the wheel of a brand-new electric or hybrid vehicle through our salary sacrifice car scheme in partnership with NHS Fleet Solutions a cost-effective, environmentally friendly way to drive (after 12 months service).
• Exclusive Discounts & Salary Sacrifice: Through our VIVUP employee benefits platform, enjoy discounts on shopping, travel, and services plus salary sacrifice options on white goods, electronics, and more, helping you spread the cost of essential purchases (after 6 months service).

Our commitment to you

We are an equal opportunities employer and aim to have a culture and a workplace where our people feel a sense of belonging, are respected and empowered to do their best work. We know that we deliver better services when our workforce reflects the full range of backgrounds and experiences in the society we serve. We welcome applications from suitably qualified people from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.