Lead Practitioner Family Help - 22.20 Hours in Torquay

Torbay Council’s Family Help Service is recruiting a Family Help Lead Practitioner role in our Kinship Team. To apply for this position, you must be able to demonstrate extensive experience of working directly with children and their families. Our Family Help Service delivers family support to children and families, preventing problems from escalating when vulnerabilities are present. The FHLP (Family Help Practitioner) role involves supporting kinship families and fostering their well-being.

Key Responsibilities

• Review support plans for kinship families and ensure effective communication and relationships with children, families, and partner agencies.
• Provide practical and emotional support to kinship carers, including signposting to relevant services and attending professional meetings.
• Participate in peer support offers and groups working within the Kinship delivery model to enhance family support.

You will have experience of using evidence-based interventions and relationship-based practice to work with families to address multiple and complex needs, leading to improved family functioning and outcomes for children, including family relationships and school attendance. The implementation of the Families First Partnership reforms is reshaping how we work with children and families; this is an exciting time to join Torbay Children’s Services. You will be part of a service focused on delivering the right support for children and families at the right time.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate extensive experience of direct work, interventions with families, and assessment skills, alongside a strong values-based practice approach rooted in empathy, kindness, and compassion. You will already have experience of working directly with children and families in a relevant health, youth work, education, or social care setting. You will work well as part of a team as well as showing initiative and a problem-solving approach. You will have excellent written and verbal communication skills and be able to demonstrate understanding of the Children Act 1989. You will be committed to working in a child-focused and strengths-based way and will have an understanding of the positive impact of whole family approaches which prevent needs from escalating.

In return, you will join a service with a commitment to a ‘High Expectations, High Support, High Challenge’ culture, a supportive team, good quality supervision, and training and development opportunities from our Learning Academy.

Regulated Activity

This post will involve Regulated Activity and will require an Enhanced Criminal Record Check plus an additional Barred List Check. The check will reveal any spent and unspent convictions and adult cautions (which have not been filtered), any local Police information and a check of either the Adult, Child or Adult and Child Barred Lists.

Skills

• Ability to carry out assessments, plan and deliver needs-based packages of support.
• Ability to produce and maintain accurate records and reports.
• Ability to engage positively with children, young people and their parents.
• Ability to offer appropriate support to families affected by:
• Family breakdown
• Homelessness
• Child Protection issues
• Drug and/or alcohol dependency
• Tenancy breakdown
• Non school attendance
• Effective communication / interpersonal skills. This role requires the ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence and fluency in English.

Knowledge

• Understanding of basic human needs: physical, emotional and social.
• Knowledge of Children’s Act 1989 and 2004, Adoption legislation, Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Parenting Orders and Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003).
• Knowledge of issues facing families at risk of family breakdown.
• Self-awareness of own strengths and weaknesses.

Experience & Qualifications

• Evidence of consistent pattern of learning from education, training and experience.
• GCSE pass in English at Grade C or above or equivalent.
• Experience working in a health or social care environment (paid or unpaid) with children and young people.
• Experience working with children, young people and families displaying challenging behaviour.
• Experience of health/social care needs and services.

Additional Information

This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Our adverts do sometimes close early - even where there’s a published deadline - so if you’re keen, please apply as soon as possible.