Social Worker, Kinship Team Employer: North Somerset Council - Childrens Services Reference: SCHB0829

One Social Worker post is for 14.5 hours.

About Us

North Somerset Council is committed to providing high-quality services to our community. We are committed to creating a fair, green, and more inclusive environment for all our residents. Join us and contribute to making a positive impact on our community.

The Role

We are seeking dedicated and experienced Social Workers to join the Kinship Team within our Fostering Service. The Kinship Team are responsible for assessing potential Kinship Carers in addition to providing them with support and supervision in order to meet the needs of the children in their care. In this role, you will provide support to ensure that our Kinship Carers meet the National Minimum Standards. The Social Worker’s role is to ensure that Kinship Carers are supported to provide a high standard of care to our most vulnerable children.

We are looking for an experienced Social Worker who is able to balance the need to challenge with the need to provide support. We work with extended families to enable them to support the children that they care for, which we know can at times be difficult for them.

Key responsibilities include:

• Assess potential Kinship Carers suitability to foster, or Special Guardians suitability to care for children until adulthood.
• Complete regular home visits including unannounced visits during and following the assessment process.
• Regular communication with everyone involved in the child or young person’s life including meetings, reviews and information sharing.
• Support Kinship Carers to attend meetings, help with their report writing and ensure that they keep appropriate records.
• Work with the child(ren)’s Social Worker and Kinship Carers to manage and maintain family time between the children and their parents.
• Support the carers to access relevant training opportunities each carer may need.
• Support carers to meet the national minimum standards and regulatory requirements which are needed to become a Kinship Carer.
• Write balanced reports including annual foster carer reviews, present reviews at fostering panel with carers and contribute to writing standards of care/allegation reports when necessary.
• Offer practical and emotional support to Kinship Carers.

This position is exempt under the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions) Order 1975 and is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check. Valid driving licence and own transport, or be able to provide alternative, suitable method of travel is an essential condition for this role. This position is currently based at the Town Hall office in Weston-Super-Mare.

Work Style

At North Somerset Council, we offer a hybrid working environment based on four distinct work styles. Depending on the role and personal circumstances, you will fall into one of these categories. However, please note that during the induction period, it may be necessary to spend more time in the office to support your learning and development. We are flexible and open to discussions about your preferred working style, and if you wish to be in the office more frequently, this can be negotiated. This role falls into the category of Flexible Worker which means you can expect to work in the following way:

• 1-2 days in the office
• Works both from home and the office, depending on the task at hand.
• Training is provided to help balance work-life and manage time effectively, with an emphasis on communication for team touchpoints and planning in-office days for collaboration.

About You

We are looking for an individual who is passionate about fostering, has knowledge of kinship fostering, and who possesses the following skills and experience:

Essential Criteria:

• A Social Work Degree and are registered with Social Work England.
• Completed their Assessed and Supported Year of Employment.
• Have worked in a safeguarding setting.
• Experience of writing balanced reports.
• Confident in preparing and presenting reports.
• Excellent ICT, communication and organisational skills.
• Experience and some knowledge of the Fostering National Minimum Standards.
• Knowledge and ideally some experience of using strengths-based approaches, restorative practice and knowledge of the Mockingbird Model.
• Ability to recognise when support is needed and respond proportionally to crisis.

Desirable Criteria:

• Has worked in a Local Authority as a social worker.
• Experience of working with kinship carers.
• Experience of attending and presenting at a fostering panel.
• Experience of assessment writing.

What We Offer

At North Somerset Council, we value our employees and provide a supportive and inclusive work environment. We offer:

• Competitive salary and benefits.
• Flexible working arrangements.
• Local Government Pension.
• Opportunities for professional development.
• Inclusive Staff groups including Carers, Disabled, LGBTQ+, REACH (Race, Ethnicity, and Cultural Heritage), and Young Staff Forums.
• Opportunity to purchase up to an additional 10 days annual leave each year.
• Dedicated in house Wellbeing Team.
• Salary sacrifice Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle schemes.

Further details of our excellent rewards package can be found in our Benefits booklet.

How to Apply

If you share our vision and values and are ready to make an impact to North Somerset, please select the apply online button below. If you are interested in this exciting opportunity, please submit your application by 11.59pm on the application closing date. When completing our online application form, please detail how you meet the essential criteria for the role.

Contact Information

For further information about the role, please contact the Kinship Team Manager Stacey Jones at stacey.jones@n-somerset.gov.uk.

Important Information

As a Disability Confident Leader, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job role. As an organisation that recognises Care Leaver as a Protected Characteristic, we guarantee to interview all Care Leavers who meet the essential criteria for the job role.

Interview Date: To be advised. This will be in person at the Town Hall in Weston Super Mare. However, please get in touch if you would prefer an alternative date or need this to be on Microsoft Teams in order to attend online.

Please note: We are currently only able to accept applications from candidates who have full permission to work in the UK.

Equal Opportunities

At North Somerset Council we want all our employees to feel valued and appreciated. We aim to ensure equality of opportunity and prevent discrimination irrespective of your sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion or belief, race, age, disability, including neurodiversity, if you are married or in a civil partnership or are pregnant or currently on maternity leave. We strive to create a workplace that reflects the communities we serve and where everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We reserve the right to close this advertisement early or extend the closing date depending on the number of applications received.