Supervising Social Worker

If you’ve got excellent interpersonal communication skills and can build positive relationships with foster parents and children’s social workers, we can offer you a rewarding role. Park Foster Care is looking for a dedicated, proactive and forward thinking Supervising Social Worker to join our team!

You will be part of the team that is based out of the Hanley office, offering direct support to our families with a realistic caseload (10-12 families). Working closely with key internal and external stakeholders, to enable foster parents to be informed, accept, understand and operate within the regulations and national minimum standards.

An integral member of the Park Foster Care social work team, the post holder is expected to provide Training support and supervision of foster carers and social work team members at Park Foster Care in accordance with statutory requirements and good professional practice.

Principal Responsibilities

The post holder will carry out the responsibilities of the post with due regard to Park Foster Care policies and procedures, relevant statutory guidelines and legislative requirements while helping promote the highest standards of professional social work practice and foster care.

The duties include, but are not limited to:

• Assist in identifying and addressing the training and developmental needs of the Park Foster Care foster carers including delivering training to the agency’s applicants/foster carers and social workers;
• Involvement in the recruitment of the Park Foster Care foster carers leading on Assessments; QA Initial Visit forms, make decisions to proceed, allocate to assessors and supervise assessors ensuring agreed timescales are met;
• Monitor and coordinate the necessary pre-approval preparation for foster carers and training of foster carers’ support persons to assist in the provision of post approval training;
• Develop and deliver prepare to care alongside the therapeutic social worker for applicants undertaking assessment, with analysis of needs and topics explored;
• QA assessments and ensure they are panel ready;
• Complete pre-panel visits and post approval carer’s inductions;
• QA and sign off TSDS;
• Act as senior supervising social worker to a complex caseload of the agency’s foster carers, and work within the Park Parenting Approach providing them with support, guidance and supervision to help them to support the children for whom they provide a foster placement;
• Supervise up to two SSW’s including mentoring and QA of Annual Reviews;
• Supervision of the support worker;
• Lead on Foster Home Support meetings and review support meetings alongside the Therapeutic Social Worker and SSW;
• Assist in identifying and addressing the training and developmental needs of the foster carers and, as required, deliver training to the agency’s applicants, foster carers and foster carer support persons;
• Supervise complex foster care placements, including new foster carers helping to ensure that the welfare of the children and young people placed in the agency’s foster care placements is safeguarded, and their well-being and development is promoted;
• Work in partnership with the responsible local authority in the planning and review of arrangements for children/young people where children are either placed in the agency’s foster carer homes or are being considered for placement by participation in placement planning meetings, PEP’s, statutory reviews and any required meeting where children are either in placement or being considered for placement;
• Liaise with the responsible authority to ensure that there is full compliance with the guidance and regulations relating to the placement of children, and monitor the welfare of the child or young person in placement;
• Liaise with other agencies on matters of partnership working;
• Work with local authority social workers, CareTech staff and other professionals in line with Park Foster Care policy, practice and procedures, and encourage the maintenance of good professional standards in respect of foster care services;
• Applying professional knowledge and specialist skills in relation to looked after children and foster care and, where appropriate, provide consultation to other Park Foster Care staff on the needs of looked after children;
• Record accurate and adequate information about work undertaken, highlighting decisions made, and the aims and desired outcomes; compile reports and statistical information in accordance with statutory and organisational requirements;
• Comply with Park Foster Care’s safeguarding and child protection procedur