Therapeutic Fostering Practitioner

Break; Norwich; On-site; GBP 14,000 - 15,000; Part time

Job summary

A dedicated fostering agency in Norwich is seeking a Therapeutic Fostering Practitioner to provide emotional support and therapeutic guidance to foster carers and staff. The role involves facilitating therapeutic sessions, leading support groups, and working closely with families impacted by trauma. You will possess a relevant qualification and have experience in trauma-informed practices. Competitive salary and flexible working arrangements are offered.

Benefits

Free qualifications

£500 golden hello

Pension salary sacrifice

Life assurance

Qualifications

• Experience working with children and families impacted by trauma.
• Strong understanding of attachment and developmental trauma.
• Confidence in facilitating groups.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate individual therapeutic parenting sessions.
• Lead a monthly therapeutic support group for foster carers.
• Offer 1:1 case consultation to staff.

Skills

Experience with trauma-informed care

Facilitating therapeutic sessions

Collaborative spirit

Education

Qualification in psychotherapy, counselling, social work, psychology or related field

Job description

Overview

Therapeutic Fostering Practitioner

Salary: £14,263 - £14,910 per annum, depending on qualifications. Maximum full time job rate potential is £15,556 per annum, performance related.

Hours: Part time (15 hours per week)

Location: Flexible working across East Anglia - currently Norwich based; hybrid working opportunities are promoted.

About us

We are a small, values-led therapeutic fostering agency committed to providing long-term, stable homes for children and young people. Everything we do is grounded in trauma-informed care and built on the principles of DDP and PACE. We work systemically — not just with children, but with their families, foster carers, and wider support networks — to create meaningful, lasting change.

About the Role

As our Therapeutic Practitioner, you’ll be the emotional anchor of our fostering community. You’ll bring clinical insight, relational depth, and trauma-informed understanding to a team committed to healing and growth. Your role is to nurture the nurturers — supporting staff to embed therapeutic principles in their work with foster carers, and offering carers dedicated 1:1 spaces for reflection, guidance, and emotional containment.

You’ll help foster carers make sense of the fostering task through a trauma lens — exploring the impact of early adversity on children’s behaviours, and empowering carers to respond with empathy, consistency, and attuned care. You’ll also be a reflective partner to staff, helping them hold complexity, manage emotional labour, and stay grounded in the values of therapeutic fostering.

This is a unique opportunity to shape the emotional climate of a service, influence how therapeutic care is delivered, and cultivate a culture where relationships are central, carers feel truly supported, and children’s healing is possible.

What You’ll Be Doing

Working with Foster Parents

• Facilitate individual therapeutic parenting sessions in carers’ homes and at our offices
• Lead a monthly therapeutic support group for foster carers
• Co-facilitate services for children who foster, supporting their emotional wellbeing
• Deliver trauma-nurture timeline sessions with multi-disciplinary teams
• Provide therapeutic input during Form F assessments, helping assess emotional readiness and relational capacity
• Attend agency events to build trust and connection with carers and families

Working with Staff

• Offer 1:1 case consultation to staff, supporting therapeutic thinking and emotional resilience
• Participate in weekly team reflection sessions, helping embed trauma-informed practice across the service
• Support staff during assessments and attend key meetings such as care reviews and Team Around the Family discussions

What We’re Looking For

A qualification in psychotherapy, counselling, social work, psychology, or related field

Experience working with children and families impacted by trauma

A strong understanding of attachment, developmental trauma, and therapeutic parenting approaches

Confidence in facilitating groups and reflective spaces

A collaborative spirit and commitment to relational practice

Flexibility to travel across the service area

It would be great if you also have:

• Registration with Social Work England as a qualified social worker
• Training or certification in DDP, PACE, or other therapeutic models
• Experience in leading or working within a therapeutic fostering or specialist service

Benefits

• Free, career-enhancing qualifications
• A “golden hello” scheme welcoming you to our services, with £500 paid to you one month after your start date and a second £500 at the six-month mark (Not available to candidates referred by recruitment agencies) (Subject to conditions)
• A referral scheme offering the same two payments as the golden hello if you recommend a contact who goes on to be employed by Break in care services (subject to conditions)
• Annual leave purchase
• Additional service-related holiday from 2 years
• Company funded medical cash plan
• Enhanced sick pay and family friendly leave
• Pension salary sacrifice
• Life assurance to the value of 3x your annual salary
• Access to the Blue Light benefits platform enabling you to access discounts across a range of shops, venues and services (your membership fee will be reimbursed)
• And more

Additional Information

The first interview will be a Safe Care/ Warner style interview. If successful after the first interview, candidates will then be expected to attend a formal interview.

An enhanced DBS check is required for the role. This will be funded by Break.

To comply with OFSTED requirements, you will be asked to provide details of your full employment history.

We are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that candidates may need during the application or recruitment process. If there are adjustments you would like to request, please contact [e-mail]. We also offer reasonable adjustments in the workplace.

To comply with the Immigration Asylum & Nationality Act 2006 and additional amendments, and UKVI requirements, all prospective employees will be asked to supply evidence of eligibility to work in the UK. We will ask to see and take a copy of an appropriate official document as set out in the UKVI guidelines. Do not send anything now, further information will be sent to you should you be invited to interview.

For more information on this job opportunity, please initially email the Recruitment Team via [e-mail]

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