Supervising Social Worker

Eastern Fostering Services; East Bergholt; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

Eastern Fostering Services is seeking a compassionate Social Worker to join their team in East Bergholt. In this role, you will support and supervise foster carers, ensuring that children with complex needs are safeguarded and nurtured in a therapeutic environment. The position offers a blend of office-based and home working, with opportunities to make a significant positive impact in the lives of children.

Qualifications

• Minimum 1–2 years' post-qualification experience.
• Understanding of attachment and developmental trauma.
• Excellent recording and assessment skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide supervision to foster carers and promote therapeutic parenting.
• Ensure children's voices are heard and emotional wellbeing monitored.
• Maintain clear records in accordance with Ofsted and agency requirements.

Skills

Reflective Supervision

Therapeutic Parenting

Child Development

Emotional Wellbeing Monitoring

Recording and Assessment

Education

Qualified Social Worker (DipSW, CQSW, BA, MA or equivalent)

Tools

EFS Intuitive Care database

Job description

2 weeks ago Be among the first 25 applicants

We are seeking a compassionate and dedicated Social Worker to join our friendly team. As a Supervising Social Worker, you will play a critical role in supporting and supervising foster carers who provide therapeutic placements to children with complex needs. You will ensure that every child is safeguarded, supported, and enabled to thrive, in line with the Fostering Regulations 2011 and the National Minimum Standards.

Key Responsibilities

1. Support and Supervision

• Provide reflective, trauma-informed supervision to foster carers at least monthly (and more frequently as needed).
• Promote therapeutic parenting and emotional attunement in line with the agency’s therapeutic ethos (e.g. PACE, Dyadic Developmental Practice), promoting an understanding the adaptive behaviours that children can develop and display.
• Deliver individualised support to carers to promote placement stability, resilience, and child development.
• Ensure that foster carers understand the overall aims of Eastern Fostering Services and follow agency policy and procedures.

2. Child-Centred Practice

• Ensure children’s voices are heard, understood, and acted upon.
• Children and young people to be seen away from their foster carers on a regular basis.
• Monitor children’s emotional wellbeing, safety, and placement progress through direct and indirect work.
• Participate in and contribute to multi-agency meetings such as Looked After Child (LAC) reviews, Personal Education Plan (PEP) meetings, and Strategy/CP meetings.

3. Compliance and Quality

• Maintain clear, evidence-based, and timely records in accordance with Ofsted and agency requirements, using EFS Intuitive Care database.
• Complete carer annual household reviews and contribute to panel recommendations.
• Support and evidence carers’ compliance with fostering regulations and standards of care.
• Work within the limits of the Data Protection Act and GDPR when handling information.
• Contribute to the delivery of pre-approval Preparation to Foster training and ongoing development sessions for approved carers.
• Identify and respond to foster carers’ training needs in line with their Personal and Professional Development Plans.
• Facilitate or co-facilitate support groups and reflective practice sessions.

5. Placement Management

• Support effective matching of children with foster carers.
• Regularly review and risk-assess placement suitability, taking prompt action to prevent disruptions.
• Undertaking unannounced visits to fostering family homes.
• Work closely with our therapist and participation staff to promote holistic care for each child.

6. General Duties

• Assist in the positive promotion of the agency and recruitment of prospective foster carers.
• Undertake Form F assessments of prospective foster carers as caseload allows.
• Facilitate and participate in a range of group activities, such as foster carer support groups, holiday activities and children’s participation groups.
• Act as a professional and positive representative of the agency at all times.
• Undertake any other work within the remit of the agency, as reasonably required
• Qualified Social Worker (DipSW, CQSW, BA, MA or equivalent)
• Registered with Social Work England
• Minimum 1–2 years' post-qualification experience working with children and families (preferably in fostering or looked after children services)
• An understanding of attachment, developmental trauma, and therapeutic parenting approaches, or the enthusiasm and motivation to learn
• Excellent recording, assessment, and report-writing skills
• Able to work flexibly (including occasional evenings/weekends) and participate in an out-of-hours rota
• Full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle
• Experience in a therapeutic fostering environment or trauma-informed setting
• Knowledge of Ofsted’s Social Care Inspection Framework and expectations for fostering agencies
• Experience with fostering panel processes and carer assessments
• Additional training in therapeutic models (e.g. PACE, DDP)

This role is a combination of office based and working from home. We have fostering families in Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire, and are also recruiting foster carers in Norfolk. If you are passionate about making a positive impact on people's lives through effective social work practices, we encourage you to apply for this rewarding opportunity and we look forward to hearing from you.

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Other

• Industries

  Individual and Family Services

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