Supervising Social Worker – West Midlands
We are seeking an experienced Supervising Social Worker to join our “Outstanding” Ofsted rated Fostering service. Progress is an established independent provider of services for vulnerable children and young adults.
With high success rates and a proven track record in placement stability, increasing resilience and reducing dependency, Progress can blend a range of services together to provide seamless transitions through residential, foster care, semi-independent and independent living.
The role
The Supervising Social Worker will be responsible for promoting and maintaining quality care in a family setting through the formal supervision and support of foster carers. This is a varied role and you will need to develop a close working relationship with our pool of foster carers, leading, coaching, and empowering them to be the best carers they can be.
In addition, you will be responsible for the recruitment, training and assessment of foster carers who can provide placements for children and young people from a range of diverse backgrounds. Experience and knowledge of working with children with disabilities would be an advantage.
This position offers a salary package up to £40,000 (salary dependent on competency based criteria) and the following benefits:
* Funded DBS and renewals
* Private health cashback plan
* Online GP, scans, physio, counselling and more
* Death in service, 2x salary
* Contributory pension
* Annual leave purchase scheme
* Broad training and development
* Performance management programme and annual review to support progression
* Refer a friend reward scheme
* Additional annual leave days after 2 and 5 years of service
* Utilities comparison service
* Counselling line through the Care Workers Charity
Qualifications
* Certificate of Qualified Social Work
* Driving License
* You will need to be a registered Social worker and hold a Social work qualification eg CQSW, DipSW or equivalent.
Experience
* You will need to have a minimum of 3 years post qualified Social Work experience, 2 of which will need to be within Fostering and ideally some experience working within a Disabilities team.
Other Requirements
You will need to hold a full driving license and have access to a vehicle.
Company Values
We CARE about our services, staff and the people we support - continually improving the quality of care and service delivery. We TRUST that staff will work in partnership in all areas – ensuring we are meeting business objectives, goals and targets. We RESPECT each other regardless of position and provide peer support to our colleagues by working together. We PROGRESS in our development – personally, as a business, for our professional partners and for the people we support.
At Progress, we have high staff retention rates through:
* Personal development opportunities
* Treating you as an individual
* Publicly recognising your achievements
* Supporting you any way we can
* Placing you on a comprehensive training program
* A competitive salary
* Enhanced holiday entitlements
* Training
Provide monthly supervision visits to foster carers, including regular telephone support and occasional unannounced visits, all of which are to be recorded. Facilitate skills to foster training for prospective applicants and post-approval training. Undertake competency-based Form F assessments of prospective foster carers. Undertake respite care assessments in accordance with Schedule 3 reports and present these to panel. Facilitate monthly carers support groups as required. Contribute to the annual review process of foster carers suitability. Involvement in the recruitment of carers through publicity, information events and initial visits. Source suitable placements for foster carers by ensuring that each child or young person placed is carefully matched with carers capable of meeting their demands. Obtain all pertinent LAC documentation, core assessments from Local Authorities and or related agencies. Ensure compliance with child protection procedures. Ensure that the protection of children and safeguarding their welfare is given priority in all activities and that serious incidents, allegations and complaints are recorded and acted upon appropriately in line with Agency procedures. Develop and maintain links with Local Authority staff to ensure the child’s care plan is promoted. Prepare reports for and attend children’s reviews, case conferences, professionals meetings, court proceedings and other meetings as required. Support foster carers in preparing children and young people for independent or semi-independent living. Undertake evening visits and weekend work as and when required. This is a hybrid working role where you will be based partly from our offices in Wolverhampton, attending visits across the region and working from home.
Who is Progress?
We are an established provider of specialist services for children and young adults from 0-25, who have disabilities and specialist needs, including profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties, physical disability, sensory impairment, complex health care needs, acquired brain injury, and Autism. This encompasses a fostering agency, residential homes, supported living, a range of short break solutions, home and community support, preparation for independence and much more. As a values-led, family-owned business, we are not prepared to compromise on the quality and safety of our services, which are delivered following our owner’s ethos; ‘if it is not good enough for your own family, it is not good enough for our customers’.
We pride ourselves on enabling a more ordinary life to be experienced through extra-ordinary service delivery, with the people we support being the heart of everything we do. Everyone deserves a childhood and to move on into independence – this takes innovation every day as one size does not fit all where people are concerned!
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