Family Practitioner

We believe that children are best cared for by their own family. Where this is not possible, or not in the best interests of the child, we believe that children should be able to experience family life. Our Fostering Service aims to ensure that children feel loved and secure living with families who are well trained and supported. Our aim is to promote outcomes for children and young people by providing safe, secure fostering families who will be aspirational and ambitious for them. The fostering service has a strength-based approach and values the relationship it builds with children, parents, carers and partners. The Fostering Service works in partnership with children, parents, carers, supporting the team around the child to achieve the very best possible outcomes for children in care.

This is an exciting opportunity for a Family Practitioner to join the Intensive Fostering and Disability Short Breaks Team. The team supports foster carers who provide short breaks and long term homes to children with additional needs and complex health care. The team also supports and supervises fostering households who offer resilience placements for young people who are supported to leave residential care and return to a family home, as well as the Mockingbird programme and Residential to Fostering.

The role is diverse and offers the opportunity to work with a broad range of fostering households on a county wide basis offering support to help stabilise and retain fostering placements. The role will also provide the opportunity to support with the matching and placing of young people accessing short breaks through Disability Fostering and Turn Around. The post is based in Stafford but the post requires county wide working and on occasions outside of Staffordshire.

As a Family Practitioner, for the Intensive Fostering and Disability Short Breaks Team, you will:

- Work in partnership with the wider team to support fostering households across the county, this will include foster carers who work with children with additional needs and children who have been supported to return to living in family homes from residential care.
- Work to support with the matching and placing of children and young people into their new fostering home, which will also include supporting birth families for children with disabilities who are accessing short breaks, as well as Resilience and Turn Around placements.
- Work across the team to support the range of fostering programmes and co facilitate carer support groups.
- To undertake flexible, creative and imaginative approaches to offering support to children, young people their families and carers.
- Weekend work will be required on a Rota basis offering out of hours telephone support and direct visits where necessary to fostering households. Also, flexibility to work at any other location across the district as and when required, an ability to drive is essential.
- Under guidance to contribute to relevant assessments, foster carers annual reviews and foster carer supervision, support and training
- To support the completion of documentation, reports and records.
- Undertake any other duties commensurable with the grade and post.

You will have:

- A minimum NVQ 3 in working with children and families or equivalent experience of working with children and families.
- A minimum of two years experience of direct work with children, their foster carers and birth families.
- Experience in the use of IT including Microsoft packages
- An understanding of child development and the effect of stress and trauma on child development.
- An understanding of working with children with disabilities and complex needs.
- An understanding of the key pieces of policies, guidance, and legislation which govern children’s social care.
- Have unrestricted use of a car and a driving licence.
- Be flexible to work evenings and be part of the duty rota at a weekend
- The ability to effectively communicate with children, their families, and carers.
- The ability to build relationships and deliver interventions to children, families, and carers.
- The ability to support with training and support groups for foster carers.
- To work restoratively and be creative in you work

About Staffordshire County Council
**We are no ordinary county council**:
**Our Values**:
The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.

Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy:
We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future.

We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too.

**Ou