Senior/Supervising Social Worker

Role: Senior/Supervising Social Worker

Basic Salary: Up to £37,131.66 per annum - Dependent upon experience

Benefits: Company Car or £2,000 Car Allowance, 30 days' Annual Leave, rising to 35 day's with length of service, + Bank Holidays, Life Assurance, Company Pension, On-site Free Parking, Employee Discount Scheme & Medical Cash Plan

Office Location: Homebased - Caseload covering Thame Valley: but we are looking for a SSW in the Watford / Aylesbury / Bedfordshire areas.

About Us

In our recent inspection (November 2022), Ofsted rated FCA Thames Valley OUTSTANDING. We are a motivated, child centred fostering agency, putting our children and families at the centre of everything we do. If you want to be part of a dynamic, learning culture, with flexible working conditions get in touch with me, Kate Knight - Registered Manager on .

Set up by a former foster parent and former social worker in 1994, Foster Care Associates (FCA) is an established fostering agency which forms part of the Polaris Community - one of the UK's largest leading communities of children's service providers.

Today, we're one of the country's largest and most experienced independent fostering agencies. But just because we're large doesn't mean we're impersonal. At FCA we're one big family, and we're committed to supporting every single child and foster parent, every single minute of the day.

We are looking to recruit a dynamic, therapeutically minded, full time SSW to join our fabulous, dedicated team of social workers who have all been with us for some time. You will have a caseload covering Bedfordshire, Aylesbury and Milton Keynes but this is not exhaustive as our region covers the whole of Thames Valley.

All our SSW's have special interests and are our leads in education, retention, therapy and EDI and you will be encouraged to share your interest that we can develop in the region too. You will also have a support group that will be yours to manage and develop.

DUTIES WILL INCLUDE:

• Support foster parents and their families to achieve outstanding outcomes for all children and young people in foster care.
• Support and monitor the continued suitability and competence of Foster parents ensuring they provide a safe, healthy, nurturing and learning environment for children/young people.
• Ensure that carers fully understand the fostering task, competencies to be achieved and the standards expected, including complaints and representation procedures as detailed in the FCA policies and procedures.
• Provide and record regular supervision to allocated foster parents in line with FCA's Operational Standards.
• Work in partnership in a team parenting approach to help identify any needs within the foster family e.g. respite, activities, therapy, holidays, with all members of the child's network, including contributing to all relevant meetings and any other tasks defined.
• Ensure each child and foster parent are fully compliant in respect of all key documentation.
• Attend meetings and/or provide reports for Commissioning Teams to address individual packages of care.
• Promote participation of children/young people in the development of the agency and in accessing resources and opportunities in their local community.
• Participate in an 'out of hours' support service on a rota basis
• Undertake occasional initial home visits and Form F Assessments.

YOU MUST HAVE:

• A Social Work qualification
• Professional registration with Social Work England or equivalent
• Proven ability to produce a high standard of report writing
• A comprehensive working knowledge of relevant legislation and child safeguarding procedures
• The willingness and ability to travel extensively (including occasional nights away)
• Confidence with transporting children and young people in sometimes stressful/difficult situations
• Full driving licence

We are a family of independent fostering agencies, all with our own individual areas of expertise, but with one shared vision. We want to give children across the country who have had a difficult start in life, the support they need to build themselves a stronger and happier future. For our Foster Parents, we provide a close network of support that becomes like a second family.

For an informal discussion about this exciting role, please contact Kate Knight - Registered Manager on

No agencies please.

Foster Care Associates is an equal opportunities employer and has been awarded the disability confident employer by the jobcentre plus. The successful applicant will be subject to a DBS check at enhanced level if successful for the position.