Families Together Practitioner - Edge of Care and Reunification in Kingston upon Thames

Families Together Practitioner - Edge of Care and Reunification

Achieving for Children is a Community Interest Company with a public sector ethos, combined with the freedom to innovate - enabling us to do things differently. As a not-for-profit social enterprise owned by three local authorities (Windsor & Maidenhead, Kingston and Richmond), we offer the freedoms of a social enterprise with the employment benefits of local government.

The Families Together Practitioner (Edge of Care and Reunification) holds a complex caseload of families with often entrenched support needs, where children are at risk of being accommodated by the local authority or where it is safe enough for them to return to the care of their family. This role requires a high level of experience to deliver intensive support, many of which are therapeutic interventions.

We are looking for a Families Together Practitioner with experience in supporting parents/carers and their children, to deliver targeted, intensive support to families with an aim of keeping families together wherever it is safe to do so. The post holder will work flexibly in terms of working hours and location (including home working) based on service needs. Please note a full driving licence and access to a car with business insurance is required for this role - free parking is provided at all Family Hub sites, and a parking permit for relevant RBWM car parks will be provided. Key responsibilities include:

• Working intensively and flexibly with a small caseload of families, delivering therapeutic and trauma-informed interventions, often responding promptly in times of crisis
• Working as part of a multidisciplinary professionals' network, attending and contributing to meetings such as Child Protection Conferences and collaborating to ensure the needs of the family are met
• Supporting foster care placements that are at risk of breakdown and helping children to step down from residential placements to foster care
• Working with the whole family to ensure that changes can be made and sustained, as well as exploring wider family networks to identify available support

About you

We are looking for an innovative, positive, dedicated worker who will help transform the lives and futures of children and young people. The right candidate will be passionate about working with children, young people and their families, with a reassuring presence, calm in a crisis, and able to work with families in their homes to help them make the necessary changes to stay together.

The ideal candidate will:

• Hold a Level 4 qualification in a relevant field such as family support or parenting, or have equivalent demonstrable training and experience in complex family work
• Have experience and/or qualifications in interventions for parents and children with complex needs
• Demonstrate knowledge of the impact of developmental trauma and the ability to apply theory into practice with proven, evidence-based results
• Have experience of working with vulnerable or disadvantaged families with complex needs, including the ability to design, implement and evaluate interventions that deliver positive outcomes
• Have experience of working effectively within a multidisciplinary team
• Hold a full driving licence and have access to a car for work

Achieving for Children are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences. We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

This post is exempt under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Appointment will be conditional upon receipt of a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

About Kingston upon Thames

Achieving for Children (AfC) is a community interest company (a not-for-profit social enterprise) created in 2014 by the Royal Borough of Kingston and the London Borough of Richmond to provide their children's services. In 2017, the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead joined AfC as our third owner.

We deliver the full range of children's services for the three councils. Achieving for Children is a great place to work for those looking for a new challenge. Our offer to you includes:

A role in an organisation that is supportive

An induction offer that starts before you join and includes a welcome event on your first day of employment.

29 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days after two years and 35 days after four years

Local Government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension)

Hybrid or mobile working and the technology and equipment to facilitate this

Positions available in three of the most desirable boroughs in the south - discrete relocation packages are available for selected roles

Travel assistance package for business use, including car and cycle mileage reimbursement, annual season ticket loan or business Oyster cards

Two days accredited Signs of Safety Foundation Training

12 protected Development Days each year for all staff

Access to a huge range of additional professional development opportunities as part of our regional Social Work Teaching Partnership

On occasions we are in the position to offer some additional financial payments for particularly hard to place roles in selected service areas of AfC.

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