Family Worker

The Dorchester Learning Centre

Family Worker – Children in Care

30 hours per week

Here at Dorchester Learning Centre, we seek to employ the very best people to work with our amazing students. We are looking for a dynamic and motivated person who is passionate about supporting children. Children in care often need increased levels of care and support to be successful. If that is what you are all about, this may be the role for you. This is a fixed term post for 12 months as Family Worker for Children in Care.

You would be the first point of contact for the young person. Working with all stakeholders, you would be an advocate for them, giving them a voice when it comes to dealing with professionals. The role will require travel. This may be to the home, colleges, supporting the young person on work experience or here at DLC.

Building relationships is absolutely key for this job. The successful candidate must be adept at working with children, including children with social, emotional and behavioural issues. The attached job description doesn’t fully encompass the role and we would therefore recommend that you telephone us for an informal chat to discuss more fully the requirements of the post.

Dorchester Learning Centre provides education for the most vulnerable students in Dorset. We are the only school in Dorset that has the Trauma and Mental Health Informed School accreditation. We are a learning community that is child centred, putting the needs of our students first. We know from Ofsted and our experience that we get the best out of our students when they have secure and positive relationships with staff and that they are able to learn most effectively when these are in place.

We passionately believe that happy, highly respected employees make the best staff We therefore take the wellbeing of our staff very seriously and ensure that they all maintain a healthy work-life balance. Successful candidates will be prepared to work hard and respond to the daily challenges of school life but won’t have any unreasonable demands placed upon them.

“There are secure and trusting relationships between staff and pupils at Dorchester Learning Centre. These are vital to the success and positive experiences of the pupils who attend. Staff are ambitious in their vision to get the best possible outcomes for pupils during their time at the school. Staff encourage pupils to be aspirational and leaders work to make sure that pupils receive the support they need towards achieving their goals.” Ofsted report (Good) – May 2022