Staffordshire has a strong commitment to providing quality foster placements for our children and young people in care. We are also committed to ongoing development and innovation. Our Fostering Central Panel and Approval team undertakes the assessments of any potential foster carers, ranging from task centred carers, short break carers through to our specialised services such as disability, resilience and turnaround fostering. We have 1 x full time fixed contract for 12 months, starting 1 st February 2025. Main Responsibilities You will: hold a full case load of Form F (in-depth fostering) assessments and complete these assessments on foster carer applicants and meet the necessary timescales. undertake family and friends assessments where required support the applicants to complete the necessary training and development work throughout the assessment period essential in supporting our applicants to attend the Fostering Panel both prepared and within our policy timescales. be part of the development of Smarter Working with assessments and will be integral to identifying best practice when undertaking this work. undertake initial supervision and support work with carers after they are approved. The Ideal Candidate You’ll need to be a: Qualified Social Worker Registered with Social Work England Have some basic understanding of the Fostering Minimum Standards and Fostering Regulations. Have a current UK driving licence and vehicle. Above all, you’ll bring the desire to work with children and families to give them the right support, at the right time with the aim of keeping families together where it’s safe to do so. ‘Interviews will be held on 19th Dec 2024’. For an informal chat about the role please contact Julia Challinor, Team Manager on julia.challinorstaffordshire.gov.uk “We’re happy to talk flexible working” Our Recruitment Process: We anonymise applications during shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered. Please complete your application fully, especially the supporting statement, to highlight what you’ll bring to the role. 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. Our benefits: We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance. In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to Our rewards and benefits - Careers at Staffordshire Our recruitment process: As an Authority we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all background and communities As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the minimum criteria for the post. As you’ll know safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children and young people/vulnerable adults is important to us and that’s why this position is subject to a criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service. If applicable you should disclose details of unspent and unfiltered spent reprimands, formal warnings, cautions and convictions in your application form.