At West Sussex County Council, we are ambitious for our children and our workforce and are committed to improving our services for children and families in West Sussex. You will join us at a key time in our improvement journey, while we focus on delivering flawless family support and driving forward our 'Children First' improvement plan.

The Early Help Service is an integral part of the Children, Young People and Learning Directorate. We work with children, families, and young people to help ensure that every child is supported to achieve his or her potential.

Salary:£28,624 to £31,067 per annumWorking Pattern: Full-Time (37 hours)Contract Length: PermanentLocation: Horsham area

Family Support Workers assess the needs of children, young people and families in order to access, coordinate and deliver the support they need to improve their outcomes and lived experience and prevent their difficulties becoming irreversible.

You'll deliver direct work and interventions around a range of issues to children, young people and their families that helps to keep children safe and supports and sustains positive change for them and their families.

You will need strong skills in partnership working, developing and maintaining effective partnerships with parents, families and partners, to achieve positive outcomes for children.

As a Family Support Worker, you might find yourself supporting families:

At the front door into services where you will work in collaboration with families and partner agencies to assess risk and needs and ensure children, young people and families can access the most appropriate service at the earliest opportunity.
By providing them with supported help, working with the whole family to assess the needs of each family member.
By providing bespoke and wrap-around support for school communities in order to prevent difficulties escalating and requiring targeted support.

You'll need to be able to travel independently around the county, including to areas that may not be easily accessible by public transport and will require access to your own vehicle. There is a regular and intrinsic requirement to communicate in English with members of the public.

Experience and Skills

Key Skills:

Works effectively with families in crisis, managing own and others' anxieties and working within the boundaries of the role.
Manage casework effectively with children/young people and their families.
Engage and work creatively in partnership with children/young people and their families, in order to effect positive and lasting change.
Work in an empowering way with families, focusing on their collective strengths and resources.
Reflect on own practice and to learn from experience.
Analyse and interpret complex information and prioritise needs in order to make recommendations/decisions which will have a positive outcome.

Qualifications and/or experience:

NVQ level 3 Health and Social Care or equivalent qualification, demonstrating that level of ability in working with children/young people and families.
Significant experience of working with children/young people and their families in a crisis situation.
Experience of working in a multi-agency context, demonstrating an awareness of differing roles and responsibilities.
Knowledge of child and adolescent development and age-appropriate behaviour relevant to the Early Help service.
Understanding of current childcare legislation and policy.
Knowledge of Safeguarding policies and procedures.

Rewards and Benefits

For a full list of the benefits offered, you can find them on our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further Information

The reference number for this role is CAFHE05466.