Fostering Support Worker

40 hours per week

Salary £18,564 - £20,107 depending on experience and qualifications

Sandwell

If you enjoy working with children, this role will place you at the heart of our support service for foster carers.

We are looking to recruit a permanent Fostering Support Worker working closely with the supervising social workers, local authorities and other professionals to support foster placements.  

The role will involve:

• Planning and implementing appropriate activities to meet the individual needs of looked after children
• Running support groups, both for looked after children and birth children
• Providing support sessions  during the day, evenings or weekends
• Transporting young people to activities and appointments and supervising family contact sessions 

Applicants should have:

• Experience of working with children and young people in a paid or voluntary capacity
• Experience of administrative work including data entry and report writing
• Ability to work with challenging behaviour and resolve conflict
• Ability to maintain personal and professional boundaries
• Good communication and administrative skills and the ability to build and sustain sound professional relationships

What you should expect from us

• Salary £18,564 - £20,107, depending on qualifications and experience, rising incrementally to £24,898 based on performance.
• A friendly working environment, a fun, open and honest culture.
• 25 days holiday rising to 27 days after 3 years’ service, plus Bank Holidays, pro-rata.
• Industry Leading training programme including access to level 3 qualifications, children’s right and participation, CSE, empowerment, mental health and Social Pedagogy,
• Contributory pension scheme, Enhanced Maternity and Company Sick Scheme.
• BUPA Employee Assistance Programme, offering counselling, financial advice and legal support.
• Interest-free season ticket loan, cycle to work scheme, childcare vouchers.
• Discount shopping scheme at hundreds of retailers across the UK.
• Discretionary Funding Training Programs.
• Employee Awards based on performance and length of service.
• Fantastic opportunities to develop your career within our range of services.

St Christopher’s Approach

Using our holistic and multidisciplinary approach founded on the “heads, hearts, hands” principles of social pedagogy, you will be able to understand and address the impact of the abuse they have suffered and helped them move on, whilst building positive relationships to develop self-esteem and skills to keep themselves safe.

We make sure our actions reflect our values. Working in this way allows us to build trust and empower people to do their best, whatever their role.

At St Christopher’s having the right people and investing in their development is crucial. Our Training Team, alongside the Home Managers, ensure that each member of staff has a detailed development plan that matches the work they do and equips them to be knowledgeable, creative, calm, supportive and confident in whatever situation comes their way.

Recruitment Process

At St Christopher’s we are committed to the safeguarding of all children and young people in our care. During the recruitment process you will be expected to complete an online application form to ensure we capture essential information to meet legislation, best practice and vetting requirements.

Applicants will ideally already be on the DBS Update Service; if this is not the case St Christopher's will carry out a DBS (police) check prior to starting.

When submitting your application, please let us know why you would like to work with us and what experience you will bring to the role.

For the full Job Description and Person Specification click here.

For more information or assistance during the application process, please contact recruitment@stchris.org.uk

Closing Date: 24^th March 2019

Interview Date: TBC

Please bear in mind that applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

St Christopher’s is committed to equal opportunities and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.