Supervising Social Worker

Full Job Description

Job Title: Supervising Social Worker

Location: Home Based covering the London Region

Contract Type: Permanent - Full Time

Salary: up to £41,484 per annum including car allowance

About the Role

We have a fantastic opportunity for an experienced social worker to join our team at Heath Farm Fostering covering caseloads throughout the London area. The ideal candidate will share our ongoing commitment in providing excellence in the quality placements we provide for the children and young people in our care. This is a permanent position.

Heath Farm is an independent fostering agency with a holistic, wraparound care approach for children who have complex needs. Heath Farm was founded in 1993 and was one of the first independent fostering organisations in England. Specialising in therapeutic foster care, we grew and adopted the model of multi-disciplinary working operating from a single site – a wraparound service for looked after children.

This wraparound model of care supports children who have complex needs, while working closely with local authorities and the child’s family.

We work alongside our Clinical lead and 9 independent therapists who support children affected by trauma and difficult past events. The majority of children are tier 2 and tier 3, who tend to have complex needs and require a package of support, including therapy. 

Heath Farm is one of five independent fostering agencies in the UK that run the Mockingbird model, which was developed in the US and is underpinned by university research. 

Supervising Social Workers are responsible for managing fostering resources in an allocated area. The successful candidate will be responsible for recruiting, assessing, supervising, training and supporting foster carers and their placements. Your primary responsibility will be providing quality and professional services by supervising and supporting allocated foster carers, their placements and completing necessary documentation.

This is an excellent opportunity for a Supervising Social Worker thinking about the next stage in their career to gain valuable experience in an established agency providing outstanding support for children, carers and staff. We welcome applications from people who are creative in care planning and supporting carers to a very high level to ensure we safe guard children in our care.

About the Group

We are part of the National Fostering Group – the UK’s largest independent fostering family.

Our highly skilled and dedicated fostering community supports Local Authorities by providing short or long-term foster placements for thousands of vulnerable children and teenagers throughout the UK. With 100% of our 32 regional fostering agencies officially recognised by Ofsted, Welsh and Scottish regulators as either ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’, it is perhaps not surprising that more people choose to foster with our fostering agencies than any other fostering provider in the UK.

Heath Farm Fostering works with more than 70 foster carers and over 100 foster children. Part of National Fostering Group, we are based in Whitstable, Kent and operate throughout London, Kent and Essex. We’re proud to say our most recent Ofsted inspection reported us as Outstanding.

Who we are looking for

You will need to be a qualified Social Worker and possess a good working knowledge of relevant legislation and their impact on fostering services. Participation in an evening and weekend on call rota is expected and will be reflected in your salary. 

You will be a strong communicator, both written and verbal, have good IT skills and be flexible and able to travel throughout the area. 

Essential Criteria

• Qualified Social Worker
• Car driver and access to a vehicle
• Current registration with the relevant Social Work regulatory council (e.g Social Work England/Wales, NISCC, SSSC)
• Recent experience in services for children

Why work for us?

• Holidays starting at 25 days per annum
• Extra days holiday per annum for a special occasion of your choice (i.e. birthday, anniversary, child’s first day at school)
• 4 day working week trial from June 2022
• Dedicated learning and development team to help you progress in your career
• Career opportunities across the Group
• Professional support network
• Contributory Pension
• “Your Wellbeing Matters"- access to a wide range of first-class mental health support services
• Employee Rewards Hub – access to discounts, offers and cashback with 100s of retailers

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and we expect all employees to share this commitment and undertake appropriate checks.

We are an Equal Opportunities Employer