Supervising Social Worker

National Fostering Group; Exeter; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

27 days holiday (32 max)

Bonus schemes

Enhanced pension

Enhanced family leave

Employee Assistance Programme

Life Assurance

Vista Flexible Benefits Platform

Job summary

National Fostering Group is seeking a Supervising Social Worker based regionally across Exeter and surrounding areas. This full-time maternity cover role offers a salary of £36,000–£46,000 with a £3,000 car allowance, and a 4-day week following probation.

You will supervise carers, support vulnerable children, and work with clinical teams to provide trauma-informed care. With a long-standing track record and Ofsted-regarded agencies, the group values safeguarding, professional development, and

Qualifications

• You must hold a full driving licence.
• You will be registered with the appropriate social work body (e.g., Social Work England).
• You will be passionate about helping vulnerable children and families.

Responsibilities

• Supervise and advise foster carers to ensure high quality care.
• Visit foster homes and maintain contact with carers and young people to safeguard welfare.
• Collaborate with clinical teams to access therapies and trauma-informed support.
• Keep caseloads focused to enable bespoke, person-centred care and outcomes.
• Contribute to Form F assessments as required.

Skills

Driving licence

Education

BA or MA in social work

Job description

Supervising Social Worker

Job Title: Supervising Social Worker

Location: Regionally based across Exeter and surrounding areas

Contract Type: Maternity Cover / Fixed Term Contract 9-12 months

Hours: Full time

Salary: £36,000 - £46,000 dependent on experience (+£3,000 car allowance)

About the Group

This is an amazing opportunity to join National Fostering Group as a Supervising Social Worker with NFA South West. We are an independent fostering agency part of National Fostering Group. Focusing on creating high quality foster homes for children and young people, NFA South West empowers foster carers to meet the specific needs of those in their care.

Its official, we have been rated as a Great Place to Work 2025!

88% of employees at National Fostering Group say it is a great place to work, compared to 54% of employees at a typical UK based company!

With over 20 years experience, National Fostering Group is the largest independent children's fostering group in the UK with a community of over 2,500 foster carers.

As a Group, we work with Local Authorities to provide the highest quality of care for children and young people. All of our fostering agencies are officially recognised by Ofsted, Welsh and Scottish regulators as either ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’ which we are extremely proud of.

We also offer a 4 day working week - this means 80% of the hours for 100% pay! This will be given following a successful 6 month probationary period and is a performance based benefit.

The role

• You will play a key role in helping vulnerable children and young people find a foster home that can transform their future.
• You will also supervise and advise foster carers, and make sure that both carers and children have the support they need to thrive.
• You will visit homes and keep in touch with both carers and young people, becoming an essential point of contact for all – a safeguarding champion with everyone’s best interests at heart.
• We keep caseloads lower to decrease risk and to offer more bespoke, person-centric focus. This means more time to work closely with both the young people and their carers to deliver the best possible outcomes.
• You will collaborate with our specialist clinical teams to identify and make available the right kinds of support, from occupational therapy to art therapy, and clinicians with specialism in trauma and attachment theory.
• As a key team member in one of our local fostering agencies, you will make sure that our children and young people are safe and secure, that they are well looked after, and that our high standards are consistently maintained.
• Through your passion and commitment, you will inspire carers to grow in confidence and achieve their potential, with a real impact on the children they care for.
• Our social workers are also expected to do Form F Assessments.

Who we are looking for

You will be passionate about building incredible lives for children, and helping foster carers be the best they can be. You will be confident and imaginative, with either a BA or MA degree in social work and an energetic and open-minded approach. You will also need to be registered with the appropriate body and hold a full driving licence.

Carers and children will be relying on you to create supportive, nurturing relationships, so you will need to show that you’ve had previous social work experience, with a record of working with young people who have a history of trauma and enhanced needs.

You will be excited by taking on real responsibility, and you will be ready and willing to benefit from all the support we offer to help you do your job. You will also be generous with your own skills and experience, helping our whole team to excel.

Benefits

But what else is in it for you? Your health and wellbeing are important to us, so you’ll get an exceptional reward package including:

• 27 days holiday, increasing with service up to 32 days + buy/sell scheme + bank holidays
• Bonus schemes
• Generous salary sacrifice pension scheme
• Enhanced family leave (subject to qualifying criteria)
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Life Assurance

And a market-leading benefit offering through our Flexible Benefits Platform, Vista, enables you to choose the package that’s right for you. Just some of the things on offer:

• A wide range of health, wellbeing, and insurance benefits
• 100’s of discount options
• Salary sacrifice Eco Car Scheme and Cycle Scheme
• Tech benefit

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and we expect all employees to share this commitment and undertake appropriate checks.

We are an Equal Opportunities Employer