Social Worker - Fostering - Family and Friends Team

Overview

Are you passionate about working with Family and Friends Carers and improving the lives of children and young people in their care? Do you want to be involved in the development and improvement of services provided to Family and Friends Carers? Do you want to work for an employer who places major importance on high quality supervision, wellbeing and career development?

At Buckinghamshire Council we have an opportunity for a high-calibre experienced Social Worker in our Family and Friends Team within our Fostering Service.

The role involves assessing and supporting people with a pre-existing relationship with the child for SGO, Family and Friends fostering and private fostering. We are looking for someone with strong writing skills who is analytical with a good understanding of the needs of family and friends carers and associated challenges.

Please note this a career graded role. If you are appointed to a Grade 7 position, in addition to the salary advertised you will receive a market premium of £2,750 per annum.

Take a look at our Children's Social Care Candidate Pack to find out more.

About us

Buckinghamshire Council is a relatively new organisation that combines the strengths and expertise of the previous five councils in the county to create positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to provide stronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally.  

Buckinghamshire is an ambitious, rapidly growing county, and our economy is one of the strongest in the country. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty and ranks as one of the top rural areas to live in the UK and yet it is incredibly well connected– only an hour from London on the train. The county has a rich history and heritage and is the birthplace of the international Paralympic movement.

We are looking for motivated, ambitious and inspiring people to join us on our journey. You will be entitled to a range of different benefits to make sure you are happy both at work and at home.

About the role

• To deliver targeted and specialist social work services in the area of Kinship Care that will benefit  children and young people in need of support, protection, and care
• To clarify eligibility and undertake statutory social work assessments, in line with agreed local thresholds, to analyse children and young people’s needs, risks and circumstances and confirm existing parenting skills and any capacity to change, as necessary and appropriate
• To always promote the safety and well-being of children and young people and champion their rights and entitlements to improve their life chances and overall outcomes
• The focus of this role will be on assessing and supporting prospective Family and Friends carers in line with Fostering Regulations and court proceedings.
• To hold a manageable caseload of SG and Reg24 assessments, providing carer support, working within statutory guidelines and fostering regulations, assist with duty with opportunities to deliver training, run support groups and be involved in the organisation of carer events. 
• This is a relatively new service and your role would include supporting the development and growth of the service. 

Please see the Job description for further details 

About you

We would like to hear from Social Workers who:

• Have a social work qualification
• Have an active HCPE/SWE registration
• Have completed their ASYE
• Have a working knowledge of legislation and guidance which applies to family and friends work
• Experience of working in looked after children or with foster carers
• Knowledge of research, inquiries and recent studies affecting this sector of service and an ability to monitor its application in practice
• Someone with strong written communication skills
• Will care enough to go the extra mile
• Minimum of 2 years post qualifying experience.
• Experience and competence in working with the courts and providing written and verbal evidence.

Most importantly you will share our dedication and passion to improve the lives of children and young people.

Other information

For more information about this role, please contact Maryke McCarthy at [email protected]

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Buckinghamshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent convictions and conditional cautions
• All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020 and 2023).

For further information on filtering please refer to Nacro guidance and the guidance published by the Ministry of Justice (see, in particular, the section titled ‘Exceptions Order’).

Our values

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements.

We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants and shops, a generous employer pension contribution in line with the Local Government Pension Scheme, discounts on gym memberships and more - https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/

Social Workers are also entitled to a generous enhanced reward package, as follows:

• Competitive salary with a market increment
• A ‘Golden Hello’ lump sum payment upon successful completion of probation
• Annual leave up to 30 days per year, as well as other types of leave and the opportunity to buy further leave
• Up to 15 days per year training, learning and development offer
• Free parking across all of our office sites 

If you are interested in relocating to Buckinghamshire and working with us, relocation packages are also available.