Family Support Worker

Luton Borough Council; Luton; On-site; GBP 33,000 - 37,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government organization in Luton seeks a Family Support Worker to engage with families, support children's needs, and develop family plans. The role entails direct work in communities, managing risks, and collaborating across services. Applicants should have experience with children and families, and possess NVQ Level 3 in Child Care or equivalent. This position offers a salary between £33,143 and £36,363 annually.

Benefits

25 to 32 days' annual leave

Generous pension scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Flexible working options

Unlimited access to development courses

Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience working with children and families.
• Skills to collaborate effectively with professionals and families.
• Ability to assess needs and prepare clear plans.

Responsibilities

• Engaging with families directly in the community and homes.
• Managing risk and co-delivering support services.
• Developing and implementing targeted interventions.

Skills

Collaboration with families

Assessment skills

Communication in English

Understanding child development

Education

NVQ Level 3 in Child Care or equivalent

Job description

Overview

As a Family Support Worker with Luton Council, you will play a key role in providing tailored support to families, ensuring their well-being and helping them to overcome challenges. You will work closely with families to complete comprehensive assessments and develop family support plans that are designed to promote long-term positive outcomes.

About The Job

Salary: £33,143 – £36,363 a year

Hours per week: 37

Contract type: Permanent

Your work will include direct engagement with children and families, both in the community and within their homes, ensuring that the needs of each family are met in a holistic and effective manner. You will manage risk appropriately, co-produce and co-deliver support services with partner agencies, and work collaboratively in a multi-agency environment. You will also develop and implement targeted interventions to support families in areas such as parenting, self-confidence, managing challenging behaviours, mental health, and child development.

As a key member of the team, you will champion the voice of the child, ensuring that their needs and views are heard and acted upon throughout the support process. You will also act as Lead Professional in coordinating meetings, planning interventions, and ensuring that all parties involved in the care and support of the family work cohesively towards shared goals.

You will deliver and support group and individual work programmes, such as Strengthening Families and Parenting Programmes, and work closely with both statutory and voluntary sector partners to monitor the evolving needs of families. You will regularly evaluate the progress made, ensuring families’ resilience is strengthened and that their capacity for providing consistent and nurturing care continues to improve.

Safeguarding will be a key focus of your role, ensuring the health, safety, and protection of children and young people in line with the Council's Safeguarding Policy. Additionally, you will support managers within the Family Wellbeing Service to meet operational objectives and deliver on plans and targets aimed at improving outcomes for families in the community.

Please note this role does not attract sponsorship.

About You

To succeed in this role, you will have demonstrable experience of working with children and families, whether in social care, educational, or healthcare settings. You will have a strong ability to collaborate effectively with professionals from both your own agency and others, building strong partnerships with mothers, fathers, carers, and young people to ensure agreed plans and actions are carried out.

You will possess the skills to assess needs in partnership with families and prepare clear, actionable plans, targets, and reports focused on the safety and well-being of children. Your experience will include working autonomously, managing your workload efficiently, and taking initiative to ensure tasks are completed to a high standard.

With guidance, you will be confident in participating in decision-making processes, particularly when issues of child protection and family support are involved. You will have a clear understanding of how discrimination impacts both service delivery and the people you work with, as well as knowledge of how deprivation and abuse affect children's well-being.

A solid understanding of child and human development, backed by relevant training, will be crucial to your success in this role. You will hold at least an NVQ Level 3 in Child Care or an equivalent qualification.

You will be flexible, with the ability to work evenings and weekends when necessary, and able to travel across the Borough and beyond to meet the needs of the families you support. Additionally, you will be comfortable communicating with the public, providing clear and helpful advice in fluent spoken English.

About Us

Our ambitious Luton 2040 Vision – that no-one in Luton will have to live in poverty – is at the heart of everything we do. We recognise that our people are remarkable, talented, committed and passionate about serving our residents. We welcome applications from all sections of the community and are committed to developing a workforce that reflects the diversity of our borough.

Application Process

Because of the nature of this job, it will be necessary for the appropriate level of criminal record disclosure to be undertaken. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare all unspent cautions and convictions; and also any adult cautions (simple or conditional), and spent convictions that are not protected as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020). A person’s criminal record will not in itself prevent a person from being appointed to this post. Applicants will not be refused posts because of offences which are not relevant to, and do not place them at or make them a risk in, the role for which they are applying. However in the event of the employment being taken up, any failure to disclose such offence, as detailed above, will result in dismissal or disciplinary action by the Authority.

On occasions, we may close a vacancy early due to a very high number of applications being received.

Benefits

• From 25 to 32 days’ annual leave: linked to length of service and grade
• Buying annual leave scheme: buy up to 20 days additional annual leave
• Career Pathways: step up in your career or move into a specialist area
• Pension scheme: with generous employer contributions of up to 20.2 per cent (at July 2023) and 3x salary death in service grant
• Generous relocation package: up to £8,000 (subject to eligibility)
• Employee Assistance Programme: a free, 24/7 confidential counselling and wellbeing support service available to all employees, their partner or spouse and dependent children over 16 still living at home
• Work/life balance: flexible working options including working from home where possible. We welcome requests for flexible working arrangements including part-time hours and alternative working patterns
• Training and support: unlimited access to development courses, mentoring and support and clear career pathways
• Staff offers: includes discounts on your MOT, gym and fitness, restaurants and salons
• Arriva Travel Club: great value savings on local bus travel

How To Apply

We understand that job applications take time and effort, but a high-quality application shows that you are professional with a good attention to detail. The recruiting manager may receive a number of applications for each job advertised so you want yours to stand out!

Our ‘How to apply' page has more tips to help with your application: How to apply