Description The Role: The Fostering Service for Cornwall Council is increasing the support provided to foster carers to further enhance the valuable care they provide to children and young people. It is necessary to provide tailored support to placements, as well as undertake robust assessments with the aim of achieving safe and stable foster homes for children and young people. A Family Support Worker will be an exciting position within the Fostering Team which will focus on providing time limited, specialist interventions alongside supporting the assessment process for the carer to become an approved foster carer. The Family Support Worker will work closely with the allocated Supervising Social Worker and Child’s Social Worker to identify long and short term support needs. This role may also encompass supporting the carer to aid the child’s transition to an alternative permanent option. We are looking for people who have skills and experience in having a good understanding of and implementing a range of approaches i.e. motivational interviewing, the secure base model and attachment based interventions. This is an innovative job opportunity to deliver tailored support to carers and to help shape and develop the role and remit of the Fostering Service according to individual and patterns of need. This role will enable you to make a real difference to children, young people and their carers in Cornwall. This position will be subject to an enhanced criminal record disclosure check. What you’ll need to succeed: A Family Support Worker will work as part of the multi- disciplinary Fostering Service where children, young people and their foster carers need co-ordinated support. You will work under the direction of a Team Manager and Principal Social Worker and be responsible for undertaking direct work with carers, children and young people and provide support and feedback to Supervising Social Workers undertaking assessments. The post holder is expected to attain and confidently utilise a range of evidence-based approaches and intervention skills drawn from the core curriculum and will be expected to deliver therapeutic informed interventions. The Fostering Service uses the principles of Dan Hughes and Kim Golding’s PACE model so you will need a good understanding of these models. Workers assist to devise plans of intervention, undertake direct work and carry out reviews of progress against agreed outcomes. A proven ability to effectively use the Signs of Safety model is required. As well as a good understanding of a child’s attachment needs, you will need to be knowledgeable in child development and have experience of identifying risk in line with safeguarding procedures so that the children we work with, get the right support, help and protection, at the right time. You will need to be innovative in working with the children in the context of their family, education and health provision,and community, to achieve sustainable change. This includes working with children who have developmental trauma and present with significant challenges relevant to neglect and abuse. The work of a Family Support Worker is subject to professional accountability via a robust framework of quality assurance and performance management. Core to our work is listening to the child’s voice and understanding their lived experiences past and present, it is a clear priority for us to show through our work that we are able to make a measurable difference. Please read the role profile for the full details of this role attached below in this advert. Working Pattern: You will be working 37 hours per week, Monday to Thursday 8:45-17:15 and Friday 8:45-16:45 however there are occasional expectations to work outside of these hours to meet service needs. Cornwall Council promote hybrid working and facilitate where appropriate the need for compressed hours for 37 hours over a 4 day working week or 9 day fortnight. What you’ll get in return: Cornwall Council’s ambition is to be an employer of choice, a high performing Council and a learning organisation. We commit to providing a reward and benefits package to attract, motivate and reward our employees. We offer a range of flexible working options to our staff. This helps provide our employees with a greater work/life balance. Whilst still ensuring that service needs are met. Our core employee rewards and benefits include: · a competitive salary. · a defined benefit pension scheme, based on your career average earnings. This includes the option for extra voluntary contributions · a generous annual leave entitlement with the potential to purchase additional leave. · A national award-winning employee health and wellbeing programme · Employee benefits scheme giving employees access to a wide range of discounts to local and national goods and services. Additional Information: Please note, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role. A copy of the role profiles can be found below. We recommend saving a copy of this to refer to if you are invited to an interview. Family Worker (Grade 3) Senior Family Worker (Grade 4) For an informal discussion about the role please contact Ali Maden, Team Manager on 07354163694. Application Process Please attach a supporting statement to your application, you can add your Education & Qualifications details manually using the application form timeline or you can upload your CV. Remember to demonstrate why you are suitable against each of the points marked as ‘Application’ on the Role Profile using examples from your experience or transferable skills. This might be through qualifications or descriptive examples from your work/personal experience, which clearly illustrates what you did and the effect it had. Guidance on how to complete your application can be found here – The application process. Please note that applications cannot be edited after they have been submitted, please contact careerscornwall.gov.uk if you have any queries or require assistance with your application.