Independent Fostering Panel Chair

Job Title: Independent Fostering Panel Chair
Salary: £40 an hour
3 – 4 sessions per month
Location: County Hall, Worcester
Permanent
 

The Role

Worcestershire Fostering is the fostering service which sits within Worcestershire County Council Children's Services. Worcestershire Fostering Panel provides independent oversight of the recruitment, assessment and review of mainstream and kinship foster carers and makes reasoned decisions on their suitability to foster.

We are looking for motivated and dynamic individual to join our service as our Independent Fostering Panel Chair.

You will need to be energetic, inspirational, and passionate about achieving positive outcomes for children and young people. You will also need to be an effective communicator, organised and with experience of chairing meetings.

As our Panel Chair, you will be required to read Panel papers carefully and identifying key issues; lead and manage Panel discussion & recommendations; chair Panel on the designated date (3-4 times a month) and be punctual; attend all the mandatory training & panel events. Additionally panel chair conducts appraisals of panel members and completes an annual report about fostering panel for the fostering service.

Worcestershire Fostering hold weekly Fostering Panels and Panel Chair will be expected to attend most of these, with vice chairs being available at times of absence. You will receive £40 per hour in this role to cover panel meetings as well as reading and prep work.

The ideal candidate will have experience professionally chairing meetings and working within a team. They would have experience professionally or personally (or both) of the placement of children in foster, adoptive or kinship families. We are specifically looking for candidates with at least one of the following experiences....

• Experienced foster, adoptive or kinship carers;
• Experienced Care Leaver;
• Adult birth children whose parents have fostered or adopted;
• Those with a family law background or health background or policing or education/teaching background especially working with and supporting children with additional needs;
• those who have worked in a residential setting.

If you have these experiences and skills, energy, and enthusiasm for this role then we would love to hear from you!!

Benefits
You’ll find an overview of the benefits Worcestershire County Council have to offer on our webpage Why work for us? | Worcestershire County Council, so do take a look!

Disclosure Barring Service (DBS)
This post is exempt under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of criminal records via the Disclosure and Barring Service before the appointment is confirmed.

This will include details of cautions, reprimands, or final warnings, as well as convictions. The County Council has a commitment to safeguarding service users in our care.

How to Apply
Application forms are invited to apply for this role.

Please find the Job Description and Person Specification attached.

Please write your submission with consideration for the essential and desirable criteria on the Person Specification. This should include examples why you should be considered; the experience, skills and knowledge that you would bring to the post.

Please submit your Application form to Recruitment@worcestershire.gov.uk

Application Closing Date: 23rd March 2025
Anticipated Interview Date: To be Confirmed