Senior Practitioner - Supervising Social Worker

Coram Academy Ltd; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 43,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

The Together Trust is expanding its Independent Fostering Agency in the Northwest and seeks a Senior Practitioner/Supervising Social Worker to lead core supervising tasks, undertake Form F assessments and contribute to service development.

You will supervise foster carers, support workers and students, work within safeguarding policies, and be prepared for evening or weekend duties with hybrid working across Greater Manchester and Lancashire.

Qualifications

• Core supervisory and social work skills for fostering services.
• Form F fostering assessments and complex work experience.
• Ability to work within safeguarding policy and DBS checks.

Responsibilities

• Recruit, train, assess, supervise and review foster carers.
• Provide ongoing supervision and reviews for foster carers and support workers.
• Receive, process and progress referrals for children and young people.
• Contribute to development of a high-quality, flexible fostering service and lead on areas of service development.
• Develop, facilitate and deliver training for prospective and approved foster carers.
• Depute at meetings and undertake specific tasks for the Registered Fostering Manager.
• Undertake independent and complex assessment work as directed by management.
• Supervise staff and students as allocated by the Registered Manager.
• Support ongoing development of the service and safeguarding compliance.

Skills

Supervisory skills

Fostering assessments

Safeguarding

IT literacy

Education

Social Work qualification

Tools

CHARMS

Job description

The Together Trust Fostering Service places children with foster families of all shapes and sizes across the North West of England. These foster families provide safe, secure, and caring homes to children and young people.

As one of the UK's best employers we are looking for a dedicated, proactive and experienced Senior Practitioner/Supervising Social Worker

The Together Trust is one of the North West's leading charities, offering individual care, support, and education to hundreds of children, young people, and adults each year. We are a not-for-profit charitable trust, so every penny goes back into benefiting the people that we support.

We are looking to grow the Together Trust's Independent Fostering Agency. If you are looking for an opportunity to join and work for a charity provider, working for a fostering agency where the values and ethos of the not-for-profit sector are embedded, we would very much like to hear from you.

Safeguarding checks will be undertaken for the successful candidate in line with our safer recruitment policy, including an Enhanced DBS check (at no cost to yourself).

Job purpose

Following a challenging Ofsted inspection, we are looking to develop and grow our independent fostering agency. If you are looking for an opportunity to join and work for a charity provider, and work for a fostering agency where the values and ethos of the not-for-profit sector are embedded, we would very much like to hear from you.

The role will include all the core supervising social work functions and tasks within an independent fostering agency to be undertaken to a high standard, including more complex work, Form F fostering assessments, and contributing to the future development and sustainability of the fostering agency. You will contribute to and help to develop our fostering service, including as appropriate, supervisory responsibilities for other social work practitioners, support workers and students where appropriate. You will work within the policy framework of the Together Trust Fostering Service and take responsibility for the supervision of foster carers to ensure they safeguard and protect the children and young people in their care. Safeguarding children and young people is a priority for all our employees.

Nature of the post

You will work within the Fostering Team. Together Trust approved foster carers/families live across the Northwest of England.

Core tasks include recruitment, training, assessment, supervision, support and review of foster carers alongside the completion of Form F assessments. The nature of the work necessitates flexibility to accommodate some evening and weekend work and participation in the Duty and Out of Hours Service.

In addition, you will be required to facilitate Skills to Foster training which may be arranged over weekends or evenings.

Supervising social workers deputise in the absence of the Registered Fostering Manager.

You will assist with the development of the service and may be asked to lead on developing an area of practice assigned to them as part of quality assurance and promotion of continuous improvement within the service.

The ethos is child-focused, working in partnership with local authorities as required. From time to time, suitably experienced social workers may be required, on behalf of the Together Trust, to undertake independent Social Work tasks commissioned by other professionals/agencies.

The Fostering Service promotes the use of information technology and IT systems, and we use CHARMS electronic recording system for all our work. Good IT skills are expected of all staff.

There are comprehensive fostering and organisational policies and procedures underpinning our work within the Trust, in accordance with the Children Act 1989, the Fostering Regulations 2011, the National Minimum Standards for Foster Care and all related legislation.

Responsibilities include:

• To work in line with current fostering legislation, regulations and guidance relating to the recruitment, assessment, approval, training, support, supervision, and review of foster carers.
• To manage, support and supervise approved Together Trust foster carers.
• To provide ongoing supervision, support, and reviews for foster carers, including facilitating support groups, reflective practice and training where required.
• To receive, process and progress referrals for children and young people, liaising with local authorities and supporting appropriate matching as directed by the Registered Fostering Manager.
• To contribute to the development of a high-quality, flexible, and effective service, taking lead responsibility for agreed areas of service development.
• To develop, facilitate and deliver training for prospective and approved foster carers, and participate in relevant professional development opportunities.
• To deputise at meetings and undertake specific tasks as required by the Registered Fostering Manager.
• To undertake independent and complex assessment work commissioned by external agencies, as directed by the relevant Manager.
• To supervise staff and students as allocated by the Registered Manager.
• To undertake any other duties required to support the ongoing development of the service.

Applications are welcome from all regardless of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief, race, sex, sexual orientation, trans status or socio-economic background. We are committed to making reasonable adjustments for disabled people. We positively encourage applications from those with lived experience.

Covering Part of Greater Manchester and Lancashire with hybrid working