Social Worker

The post holder must possess:

Astute assessment and report writing skills and be able to produce analytical and well evidenced reports for internal and external use as required.

Good interpersonal skills, establishing effective working relationships through which one-to-one supervision and support is offered to foster carers.

• Group work skills, facilitating support groups and foster carer team meetings.

• Working knowledge of existing agency Policies and Procedures and their application.

• Sound knowledge of current legislation and good practice guidance that governs and informs the delivery and standards of fostering service provision, as well as general developments in social work.

Purpose

• To recruit, assess, train, supervise & support, and review a range of foster carers.

• To ensure that National Minimum Standards (2011), Regulations, schedules, formal notifications to Ofsted are adhered to in respect of the provision of Fostering Services.

• To manage a caseload of foster carers, ensuring an effective and efficient deployment of services and resources to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in care and in alternative arrangements.

• To work in partnership with the Local authority social work teams and to fully enact and facilitate Care Plans for children in placement.

Key Tasks

Tasks specific to this post:

The following tasks are indicative of those that may be expected from the post holder and are not a complete list of those that a post holder may undertake. Furthermore, if the demands of the agency require it, the post holder may be required to fulfil a range of agency-related tasks.

General duties:

• To manage a caseload of foster carers to meet the placement needs and outcomes for children placed in their care.

To supervise, foster carers, mentors and or social work assistants as required.

• To undertake assessments of prospective and existing foster carers in order to determine their suitability for approval or continued approval as carers.

• To accurately record and keep up-to-date information using the appropriate IT and Information systems, in accordance with the agency policy and Procedures.

• To undertake duty tasks and Out of Hours (OOH) as part of the Ascent Fostering rota as directed by the Managers.

• To work out of hours as agreed.

• To promote standards which achieve equality of opportunity.

• To adhere to all relevant Policies & Procedures and fostering guidance.

• To deliver training and workshops to foster carers.

Work in partnership with the managers and key professionals to ensure that:

• Foster carers can keep children and young people safe.

• Foster carers and the "looked after" children and young people placed with them, receive tailored, personalised support that improves the outcomes for them.

• Foster carers prepare children and young people placed with them and work with birth families, where there is a plan for rehabilitation home with their families or carers.

• Effective and constructive relationships with children, young people, their carer's and their families, and partner agencies are promoted.

• Foster carer's agreements, placement agreements, support plans and Safe Care policies are relevant, monitored and reviewed.

• Risk is effectively assessed and managed and that appropriate plans for each child or young person are in place and reviewed according to the needs of the child or young person.

Recruitment and Assessment of Foster Carers:

• To participate in campaigns to recruit foster carers.

• To respond to inquiries from the public in relation to becoming a foster carer

• To attend and participate in recruitment campaigns for foster carers on a planned rota basis through the year on evening and weekends.

• To visit prospective foster carers

• To directly participate in the planning and delivery of training to prospective foster carers on a planned rota basis, evening, and weekends.

Consultation, Support, Feedback, Complaints & Representations:

• To contribute to and participate in the planning and delivery of support groups for a range of foster carers.

• To directly contribute to the planning and delivery of major fostering events e.g., Annual Foster carers Christmas lunch.

• To provide information to respond to complaints and representations and where appropriate to attend specific meetings e.g. Mediation, complaints interviews, formal attendance to IRM panels.

Service Quality, Audit, and Inspection:

• To contribute to and directly maintain and improve service quality, maintenance of all records to ensure that the National Minimum Standards and Fostering Regulations 2011 are complied with.

Decisions Making

The post holder will:

• Report safeguarding events to their manager and work in partnership with the local authority to ensure that Safeguarding and Fostering Policies and procedures are followed.

• Be responsible for professional decision making in relation to the supervision, support needs training, provision of information to foster carers, and carers involved in alternative care arrangements.

• Be responsible for the foster carer's agreement, placement agreement and risk assessments, safe care agreements and review of foster carers.

Supervisory Responsibility for Foster Carers

The post holder will be directly responsible for the supervision of approved foster carers, and carers where temporary approval has been granted. The post holder may be asked to supervise mentors and social work assistants.

Staff Supervision

The post hold will receive monthly supervision and have an annual appraisal. The social worker will share the responsibility of ensuring supervision is booked and takes place as appropriate. The frequency of supervision may increase according to complexity of cases, where additional support is requested or during the Induction period.

All staff are responsible for their own personal development and engage in training specific to Ascent's therapeutic practice.