Family Support Worker - Children in Care Service

Hoople Limited; Hereford; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 37,000; Full time

Job summary

A local council in Herefordshire is seeking a Family Support Worker to join their Children in Care Service. You will work directly with children and families, helping on visits, compiling case summaries, and providing support for reunification efforts. The ideal candidate will have a Level 4 qualification in health, education, or social care and at least 12 months experience with vulnerable families. This role offers a competitive salary between £32,061 - £36,363 per annum and benefits including generous annual leave and a pension scheme.

Benefits

Generous Annual Leave

Access to Employee Assistance Programme

Career progression pathways

Flexible working options

Payment of professional membership fees

Qualifications

• Minimum of 12 months experience of lone working with vulnerable families.
• Confident in working alongside Social Workers.
• Dedicated to improving lives of children and families.

Responsibilities

• Work on visits to children and families.
• Compile family case summaries and chronologies.
• Engage children in understanding their life story.

Skills

Experience with vulnerable families

Knowledge of child safety regulations

Confident in complex environments

Flexible approach

Education

Level 4 qualification in health, education, or social care

Job description

Overview

Family Support Worker – Children in Care Service
Contract: Permanent
Location: Based in Plough Lane, Hereford / Nationwide
Hours: 37 hours
Salary: 07HC £32,061 - £36,363 per annum

Closing date: 29 September 2025

The role

We are looking for Family Support Workers to help us on our improvement journey.

Come and join us on our Restorative Journey of Improvement to gain the best for children and families in Herefordshire.

Working within the Children in Care Service you will thrive bringing your knowledge and experience to these fast-paced teams. Our children are both in and out of county.

You will work alongside Social Workers on visits to children and families, compiling family case summaries and chronologies and updating information to the records system.

You will have the opportunity to work alongside families in support of reunifying children with their families, parenting support and advice, and engaging children and young people in understanding their life story.

You will be Level 4 (or above) qualified in a health, education, or social care field with a minimum of 12 months experience of lone working with vulnerable families. Confident in working in complex environments and a flexible approach to a demanding role, you will be dedicated to improving the lives of children and families within Herefordshire.

Herefordshire is on a journey, and we would like you to be part of our next chapter. This is an exciting opportunity to have a genuine impact on the local authority and help improve and protect the children and young people within it.

We Offer

• A competitive salary, generous holiday entitlement, and access to our contributory pension and staff benefits scheme, which includes:
• Basic Salary £32,061 - £36,363
• Pension Scheme Enrolment in the Local Government (LGPS)
• Career progression: clear pathways to progress
• Generous Annual Leave: 31 days’ annual leave (pro rata) plus bank holidays. You can also purchase an additional 10 days per annum
• Flexible working: flexi-time, job-share, part-time hours and, in some instances, home working
• Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 access to support and counselling
• Payment of professional membership fees
• Pick your perks – our benefits include access to a range of retail, leisure, holiday and health benefits. This includes savings, cash back and discounts.

About Us

Herefordshire is a beautiful, historic county located in the heart of the Marches on the border with Wales. We are one of the most rural and sparsely populated counties in England with a wealth of unspoilt countryside, distinctive heritage, and lively and attractive market towns.

Our priority in Herefordshire is to keep children safe and give them a great start in life. It’s the priority for the council, our partners and for all of us who work with Children & Young People.

How do we do this? By having dynamic, dedicated, passionate and professional staff who work in a culture that focuses on what we can achieve with children, what they can achieve themselves, and the relationship we build with families and partners to enable this. We have invested heavily in training and developing staff in our relational practice approach with our improvement partner Leeds City Council, so it’s an exciting time to join Herefordshire – we believe in investing in you so you can be the best you can be!

Herefordshire has a really strong team ethos. Our teams are passionate about the work they do and the positive difference they and the teams they are in make to people’s lives. This is all underpinned by the focus and support from their managers and the council as a whole.

We will deliver better support to our most vulnerable children and their families, develop stronger relationships with partners across the region, and beyond.

Come to Herefordshire and join the journey.

Herefordshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children & young people and vulnerable adults. If you are offered this position, it will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service enhanced check and further pre-employment checks.

The following candidates will be interviewed if they meet the essential criteria for the post they are applying for:

• Those who indicate that they have a disability. This is part of our commitment to the “Disability Confident” scheme.
• Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, or their families. This is part of our pledge to support the Armed Forces Covenant;and
• Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they are a Herefordshire care leaver. This is part of our commitment to supporting young people leaving our care.

We will deliver better support to our most vulnerable children and their families, develop stronger relationships with partners across the region, and beyond. Therefore, we take our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults seriously and expect all of our staff, visitors and volunteers to share in this commitment.

Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification for more details of this role.

To apply, please submit your CV and complete the supporting statement within the application form, referring to the job description & person specification, detailing how you meet the specific requirements of the role.

About The Company

The Council plan sets out how we will make our contribution to achieving a better and more successful Herefordshire, please see the link below to find out more:
Herefordshire Council Plan 2024-28