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The starting salary for this full-time, permanent position is £32,512 per annum based on a 36-hour working week.
We are excited to be hiring a new Fostering Support Worker to join our fantastic Fostering team. The team is based in Reigate.
Rewards and Benefits
- 26 days' holiday (prorated for part time staff), rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 30 days after 5 years' service
- Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
- An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
- Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
- Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
- A generous local government salary related pension
- Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
- 2 paid volunteering days plus 1 team volunteering day per year
- Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
About the Team
Surrey County Council's countywide Fostering Service supports foster carers living throughout the county (and occasionally beyond the Surrey borders), to look after Surrey's Looked After Children. We are a creative and compassionate service, dedicated to supporting Surrey's most vulnerable children and young people. Our goal is to ensure the best possible outcomes for every child in our care, ensuring no one is left behind.
We provide essential, practical and emotional support to children, Foster Carers and the Fostering Service, undertaking activities in and out of the fostering home in a flexible and restorative way. Children cared for by Surrey Foster Carers may have experienced significant trauma and may have additional vulnerabilities. They will need a high level of compassion, combined with consistent patience and understanding. Foster Carers may require additional assistance in order to meet children's needs or to maintain their own resilience.
About the Role
As an essential person in the professional network around fostering households, you will respond with patience, calmness and be responsive and attuned to everyone's needs. You will work closely with the child's Social Worker and the Fostering service (and other services as appropriate) to ensure coordination of care and support.
In this role there will be some demand for working into an evening or over a weekend on a duty system and with prior notice. You will work in foster carers homes and be primarily based in either our office in Woking or Reigate although you may, from time to time, be asked to assist in other areas.
Areas of support we provide include:
Enhanced Time-limited Foster Care Support: Where it is identified that help is needed on a time-limited basis to undertake specific support to help stabilise the arrangement for a child and their carer. Mockingbird Home Hubs Liaison: Assist the Mockingbird Hub Home carers in coordinating activities, short breaks care, constellation meetings and training, and will take a lead on communications in the constellationParent and Child Foster Care Support: Foster Carers undertaking parent and child care may require help with care of children, support to the parent or to undertake specific assessment or parenting work
Shortlisting Criteria
To be considered for shortlisting for this position your CV and answers to the questions below will clearly evidence:
- Educated to GCSE level (or equivalent alternative level of attainment) with competence and confidence in written and spoken English, numeracy and IT skills
- Directly relevant experience of working with children or families and a good understanding of the issues that may affect children living in foster homes including trauma, attachment, contextual safeguarding and exploitation
- Ability to build meaningful and authentic relationships with children of varying ages and developmental stages, and their carers
- Ability to be flexible and creative, working alongside other colleagues and disciplines, and leading planned interventions and support
- Ability to be organised, manage time effectively, prioritise competing, complex demands
- Able to support a duty system of planned weekend and evening work
As part of your application you will be asked to submit a CV and answer the following questions
- Please tell us about your motivations for applying for this role
- Please tell us about, and provide examples of, your experience of supporting a family in crises
Surrey has both urban and rural areas and Support Workers will be expected to have a valid driving licence to drive in the UK, access to a vehicle and be willing to travel across a wide geographical area. Reasonable adjustments where needed will be made for successful applicants who have a disability or long term health condition to enable them to fulfil the requirements of the job.
Contact Us
Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills or any barriers to employment. For an informal discussion please contact Carol Norrington by phone on .
The job advert closes at 23:59 on Sunday 27th October with interviews planned for week beginning 4th November.
An enhanced DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children's and Adults' Barred List checks will be required for this role.
Our Commitment
Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applicants where:
- The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
- The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form
Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role.
We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.
