Family Worker - Fostering

As a Family Worker within the Fostering Service you will provide a range of support to children and young people in care and under Special Guardianship. You will support children and young people to remain in their fostering and Special Guardian families as much as possible through a range of creative interventions. You will undertake 1:1 and relationship based work with children and young people.

This is an exciting role, with additional training provided including Life Story Work, therapeutic parenting and trauma informed support for children and young people.

This role will also include focusing on family finding and thoughtful matching for Children who are moving homes.

The post will be flexible and reflect a consistent approach to working with families across Children’s Services. For this reason the list of job duties and responsibilities described below will depend upon which context the service area is responsible for and should be read as such.

What you can expect to be doing:

• We are looking for a dedicated and dependable Family Worker with a history of working with children and young people
• The successful applicant will be supporting Foster Carers, Special Guardians, Children in Care, children under Special Guardianship and Care Leavers across Dorset, including outside of the County
• You will have a caseload of young people and carers allocated to you, who you will be required to support, as well as a focus on family finding
• You will be liaising closely with the team around the children and young people to create the most appropriate pathway, stepping stone to independence for young people, whilst making sure that 'positive endings' and their move on is young person focused
• You will be preventing immediate home endings for children in care, care leavers and children under Special Guardianship within their homes
• You will provide reliable support to foster carers, Special Guardians and children, this includes Children in Care, and occasionally birth children of foster carers
• It is important that you have a passion for children and young people, excellent organisational skills, be able to meet deadlines, have excellent communication skills and the ability to analyse situations accurately and produce detailed written reports
• This role will include safeguarding our children and young people
• You will promote the need to keep all children and young people, regardless of their ability, physical and or emotional/ mental health needs safe from harm
• You will ensure that all safeguarding concerns are escalated appropriately through the relevant designated manager
• You will positively contribute to and deliver within a multi professional team setting in supporting and enabling children to thrive within their kinship, or mainstream, families
• You will develop meaningful relationships and work with children and young people, parents/carers and a range of professional to meet the overall outcomes for children, young people and their families
• You will undertake direct work with young people and their carers to address a range of issues such as family conflict, family breakdown and behaviour issues in their home
• You will support children and young people in a strength-based approach with a therapeutic and trauma informed lens
• You may be required to escort, supervise or transport children when required as part of planned support
• You will be required to support with duty matters
• You will discuss any proposals for expenditure in order to seek agreement by the budget holder

Hybrid working is appropriate but office presence is required at least once per week to enhance collaborative working and colleague partnership.

At Dorset Council, it's not just about the work we do, it's about how we do it. Hear directly from our employees about what makes Dorset Council special in this short video:

At Dorset Council, we are working together to create a fairer, more prosperous, and more sustainable Dorset for everyone, now and in the future.

We:

• provide essential services that support over 300,000 residents
• work in partnership to make a real difference
• value every role and the impact it has on our communities
• support our employees to grow, develop, and thrive

You will:

• be part of a team that works together for a better Dorset
• have access to a range of benefits and support
• receive training and development opportunities to help your career progress

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation where different skills, perspectives, and backgrounds strengthen both our council and the communities we serve.

We welcome applications from everyone and are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. If you declare a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role, we will offer you an interview. We also want our recruitment process to be accessible, if you need any reasonable adjustments, just let us know on your application.

This role is UK-based, and we will need to confirm your Right to Work as part of the appointment process. We use generic job descriptions and person specifications, so the job title in any attachments may differ from the advert. If needed, we will provide additional details in a context statement.

If you’re passionate about making a difference, we’d love you to join us.

Find out more about how to apply.