Family Support Worker (fixed term contract)

Slough Children First; Slough; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

Slough Children First is seeking Family Support Workers for a fixed-term contract to enhance the lives of children and families in Slough. The role involves conducting assessments, delivering tailored interventions, and coordinating multi-agency support, requiring experience with complex family dynamics and a commitment to professional development.

Qualifications

• At least two years of experience in intensive one-to-one and group work with complex families.
• Experience acting as a lead professional delivering family-focused interventions.
• Knowledge of Child Protection policies and Safeguarding.

Responsibilities

• Conduct comprehensive whole family assessments and produce written reports.
• Deliver brief and long-term interventions using the Dundee Model of family support.
• Act as the Lead Professional at all stages of support.

Skills

Assessment skills

Organizational skills

Teamworking skills

Computer literacy

Education

A level or NVQ3 in Child Development, Youth Support, Health, or Social Care

Job description

Fixed Term Contract for 6 months

Do you have experience of intensive one-to-one work and group work with parents, children, and young people from complex families? If so, then now is an exciting time to join Slough Children First as we look to recruit Family Support Workers to our Early Help service.

As a Family Support Worker, you’ll act as the dedicated Lead Professional at all stages of support, ensuring parents and children engage and comply with the family’s action plan. You will conduct comprehensive whole family assessments and produce appropriate written reports detailing these assessments.

You’ll benefit from working in a team that provides supervision, support, and development opportunities. You will be part of our journey to improve the lives of children and families in Slough.

Main Accountabilities

• Conduct comprehensive whole family assessments and produce written reports, ensuring these are recorded on the eCAF system.
• Deliver brief and short-term interventions when sufficient to meet family needs, and long-term interventions using the Dundee Model of family support.
• Act as the Lead Professional at all stages of support, from pre-assessment through to exit strategy, using support and challenge measures to ensure engagement and compliance with the family’s action plan.
• Coordinate support from external agencies and lead the Team Around the Family (TAF) approach.
• Work with families at various times, including early mornings, evenings, and weekends, delivering services in settings such as the family home and community venues.
• Maintain effective records of family interventions, using the outcomes-based Family Star assessment tool to evidence achievement of outcomes and record these on the eCAF system.
• Promote and contribute to early intervention processes using step-up and step-down approaches, supporting Social Care where appropriate, and understanding when statutory interventions are necessary.
• Conduct all interventions within an anti-discriminatory framework, considering issues such as race, gender, sexuality, and disability, and deliver appropriate services to the diverse communities of Slough.
• The post holder may be required to undertake additional duties and adapt to changes in the job description as directed by the line manager.

Person Specification

Education, Training & Experience

At least two years of experience in intensive one-to-one and group work with parents, children, and young people from complex families (Essential)
At least one year of experience acting as a lead professional delivering family-focused interventions (Essential)
Experience working with statutory and voluntary organizations, including coordinating multi-agency interventions (Desirable)
Proven track record of working with families with multiple complex needs (Essential)
Experience of monitoring, reviewing, and evaluating work (Essential)
Thorough understanding of interactions within complex families exhibiting entrenched negative behaviors (Essential)
Knowledge of Child Protection policies, Safeguarding, and CAF (Essential)
Sensitivity and confidentiality in practice (Essential)
Educational qualifications: A level or NVQ3 in Child Development, Youth Support, Health, or Social Care, or relevant professional qualification (Essential)
Commitment to continuous professional development (Essential)
Ability to travel within Slough (Essential)
Qualification in a specialist area such as Emotional Health (Desirable)

General & Specific Knowledge

Flexibility to work early mornings, evenings, and weekends, with the ability to coordinate multi-agency interventions (Essential)
Assessment skills for complex family needs and collaborative planning (Essential)
Organizational and prioritization skills, self-motivation (Essential)
Monitoring and evaluating outcomes, accurate record-keeping (Essential)
Teamworking skills (Essential)
Understanding of equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practices (Essential)
Computer literacy (Microsoft Word and Excel) (Essential)
Experience with the Common Assessment Framework (Essential)