Child and Family Worker

**About Us**
Our vision for the West Sussex Fostering Service is that the children we care for are afforded the very highest standard of therapeutic care delivered by highly trained and expertly supported foster carers. Over the next 12 months plans are in place to establish a more innovative therapeutic approach to how we deliver fostering in West Sussex. We have created a business hub which will bring together functions such as marketing, recruitment, retention, performance management, quality assurance and training, that will support the wider service around pre-approval (assessment) and post-approval (support). Our carer’s are respected and integral members of the professional network, and by working in partnership with them as ‘one team’ we will ensure that each and every child’s potential to thrive and achieve within their own community is valued and aspired to in all that we do.

**About The Job** Salary**: £23,484 to £25,927
**Working Pattern**: Full Time (37 hours)
**Contract Length**: Permanent
**Location**: Worthing and Hybrid

All for One will be a specialist support programme which will offer a viable alternative to, or step down from, residential settings for those West Sussex children we care for who are predominately aged under 11. The programme is ‘attachment orientated’ with ‘attachment plans’ being established for each young person - the programme also draws on elements of the Fostering Changes programme and Multi Treatment Foster Care in terms of contextualising and responding to key behaviours and the intensive nature of the support to the carers.’

As a Child and Family Worker in the fostering service you will develop and offer a creative range of services for children and their families to meet needs as identified e.g. undertaking direct work and purposeful interventions with children, young people, parents / carers, families and groups, and delivering support packages or specific programmes.

The work will involve exposure to people / situations which regularly place emotional demands on the job holder due to the mental or physical conditions of the children and young people. You will need to establish effective working relationships with colleagues within Children’s Social Care, Foster Carers and other statutory and voluntary agencies.

**Experience and Skills** Key Skills**:

- Good communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to organise and present information clearly, concisely and accurately in ways that promote understanding, both verbally and in writing, including the ability to persuade and successfully convince others of the need to take a specific course of action and gain the trust of service users
- Ability to analyse and interpret information in order to manage casework with children / young people and their families, assessing needs, setting objectives and reviewing progress
- Ability to engage and intervene in partnership with children/young people, their families and other external agencies in order to effect positive and lasting change. Ability to work in an empowering way, focusing on collective strengths and resources, e.g. using a solution focused approach, and responding flexibly to diverse groups and service users whilst
maintaining confidentiality
- Ability to prioritise and manage own workload, co-ordinating a range of tasks in a clear and logical way to meet agreed deadlines, whilst working towards clear goals. Able to reflect on own practice and learn from experience, taking responsibility for proactive professional development
- Ability to maintain clear, accurate records of all work undertaken and produce case reports and correspondence for a variety of audiences including meetings, conferences, court panels and other agencies
- Sound and accurate IT skills, including report writing, maintaining accurate records, ensuring confidentiality, and protecting information.

**Qualifications and/or experience**:

- GCSE English and Maths, or equivalent qualification or experience operating at this level of literacy and numeracy
- QCF Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce (or equivalent), or demonstrable equivalent comparable experience
- An understanding of systems, procedures and policies relevant to Children’s Social Care e.g. child protection and safeguarding procedures, practice and policy. Desirable
- Knowledge and understanding of the development of children and young people, and age-appropriate behaviour.
- An understanding of a range of interventions that can be used with children, young people and families to achieve change
- Sound and accurate IT knowledge e.g. Microsoft Office, in order to produce written reports
- Experience of providing advice and guidance to others
- Significant experience of using a range of direct work interventions in working with children, young people and their families
- Experience of working with children/young people and their families in crisis or complex situatio