Family Time Support Worker

Somerset Council; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 26,000 - 28,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

28 days annual leave

Bank holidays

Fixed-term 2 years

Wellbeing benefits

Development opportunities

Job summary

Somerset Council is seeking a Family Time Support Worker to safeguard children during family time sessions and support positive parenting within a structured, nurturing environment.

You will work with social workers and multi-agency partners to strengthen early help and collaborative working, contributing to care planning and reunification when appropriate.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of rights of users and carers and social care principles.
• Awareness of relevant legislation and services for users and carers.
• GCSE level literacy and numeracy; willingness to work towards NVQ III.
• Ability to work directly with children and families to improve parenting.

Responsibilities

• Supervise family time sessions in line with court orders and needs.
• Deliver structured parenting interventions and support engagement before, during and after sessions.
• Coordinate plans with professionals and maintain high-quality records.
• Produce reports and provide court evidence when required.

Skills

Rights of users and carers

Social care principles

Computers / IT skills

Empathy and respectful practice

Education

GCSE level or equivalent

NVQ Level III in Children and Young People’s Workforce

Tools

IT systems

Job description

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Salary: Grade 13 - £25,989 to £28,142 per annum

Location: Taunton (Opportunities also in Bridgwater, Wells & Yeovil)

Exciting opportunities available across beautiful Somerset – join our team in one of several rewarding roles!

At Somerset Council, we are proud to be on an ambitious journey to transform how we support children and families across the county. As part of our Families First Partnership programme, we are reshaping services to ensure families receive the right help, at the right time, in the right way—working together with partners across social care, education, Police, health, and communities.

This is a significant and exciting period of change. We are developing a more connected, relationship-based system that puts children, young people and families at the centre—strengthening early help, enhancing multi-agency working, and supporting more children to grow up safely within their families and communities.

To help us deliver this transformation, we are recruiting to several roles across Children's Services, offering a unique opportunity to contribute to meaningful, long-term change and be part of a workforce committed to improving outcomes for Somerset's children and families.

This role is offered on a fixed-term basis for two years, aligned to the delivery of our transformation programme. During this time, you will play a key part in shaping new ways of working, embedding innovation, and helping us build a sustainable system that makes a lasting difference.

If you are motivated by improving outcomes, thrive in a collaborative environment, and want to be part of a service that is evolving and forward-thinking, we would love to hear from you.

Role Summary

The Family Time Support Worker plays a vital role in ensuring that children can maintain safe, positive and meaningful relationships with their parents, relatives and significant people when supervised contact is required. The role exists to safeguard children during family time sessions while creating a structured, nurturing environment that supports strong and healthy family connections.

Through direct work with children and families, the role makes a significant difference by improving the quality of family interactions, promoting positive parenting, and supporting better outcomes for children. By offering guidance, modelling positive behaviours and contributing to assessments, the post holder helps inform care planning and supports decisions around reunification, reconnection and long-term stability.

Working closely with social workers, carers and multi-agency partners, the Family Time Support Worker contributes to Somerset Council's wider ambition to strengthen early help, improve collaborative working and ensure children grow up safely within their families and communities wherever possible.

What you'll do - Key Responsibilities

• Supervise face-to-face/virtual family time in line with court orders/needs
• Facilitate sessions across settings (including out-of-hours where required)
• Assess and monitor interactions, providing support to improve parenting and relationships
• Contribute to care planning, parenting assessments, court processes, and family time plans
• Deliver structured parenting interventions and support engagement before, during, and after sessions
• Act as link worker, coordinating plans and reviewing progress with professionals
• Provide/arrange transport for children to attend sessions
• Maintain accurate, timely, high-quality records
• Take immediate safeguarding action, including ending sessions and escalating concerns
• Produce reports and give court evidence where required
• Support transition planning for reunification/reconnection
• Work collaboratively with professionals to meet children's needs
• Engage in training, CPD, and service improvement

What We’re Looking For – Knowledge, Experience and Skills

• Knowledge: Awareness and understanding of rights of users and carers and the principles embodied within the Code of Practice for Social Care Workers; Awareness of relevant legislation; Knowledge of services relevant to users and carer's needs and circumstances; Working knowledge of Social Care
• Experience: Some experience in caring or supportive role – not necessarily in paid employment
• Qualifications: Literate and numerate to GCSE level or equivalent; Willingness to work towards NVQ Level III in Children and Young People's Workforce
• Skills: Ability to undertake direct work with children and their families to improve parenting skills and relationships; Positive attitude to the use of computers and willingness to develop appropriate skills including communication on various virtual platforms
• Clerical/administrative experience
• IT skills for data input, manipulation, and retrieval
• Empathy, understanding, and respect for individual needs

Additional Information

• 28 days' annual leave, plus bank holidays
• 2-year fixed term contracts
• A generous benefits package that supports your wellbeing, work-life balance and ongoing development

Regretfully, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.