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Salary12-month fixed-term contract
We found Sam a foster family. Now he’s finding his feet.
Help us to support Fostering and recruit new Foster Carers in and around the Bracknell Forest area.
We have an exciting opportunity in our Family Placement Team for individuals who will share our commitment to improving outcomes for those children in our care by helping us to promote Fostering and to recruit new Foster Carers in and around the Bracknell area.
We provide children, young people and families with the right service at the right time. Put simply, we change lives for the better.
One of the key priorities for the service is the recruitment and retention of Foster Carers. We are also actively working towards raising awareness of private fostering, supporting current foster carers and expanding our relationship with internal and external stakeholders.
If you are passionate about improving the outcomes for children and young people then join us to contribute to the work of our Family Placement team.
Bracknell Forest Council has a friendly, creative, and dynamic working culture that enables social work professionals to make a real difference for the most vulnerable.
Bracknell Forest Council have a nationally recognised practice model – the ‘Family Safeguarding Model’. In a recent Focused Inspection Ofsted stated “Implementation of the chosen social work model provides a collegiate, holistic and dynamic practice environment, allowing social workers to make quick inroads into addressing long-standing parental issues which impact on the experiences and progress of children”, July 2021.
Overall, Inspectors found that social workers and other frontline practitioners benefit from manageable caseloads, good training and powerful and highly reflective supervision that ensures children are at the heart of decision making.
Favouring a relational approach in all that we do, over 80% of our workforce are permanent employees, caseloads are manageable and caring for ‘you and your family’ is a priority for the Council.
We promote relationship based practice and more time with children and families so if you have chosen social work as a profession and are passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people then join us to contribute to a service that works with families to enable lasting change for children.
This is an opportunity to join a Local Authority who were assessed by OFSTED as ‘Outstanding’ in the last Inspection of services for children in need of help and protection, children looked after and care leavers.
Our teams of qualified social workers and family workers are supported by specialist officers in domestic abuse, mental health and substance misuse, meaning no lengthy waits for much needed services for our families. It is all here, accessible and underpinning the planning and work being delivered to mitigate against risks, build resilience in families and enable families to meet their own children’s needs more effectively. Access to family group conferences and mediation work with families is additionally available and supports all involved, to secure decisions and outcomes in children’s best interests.
We have a good early help offer and work in collaboration with statutory partners and voluntary agencies in the community. Supporting families to access these services and support is also part of our daily morale purpose to enable families to secure safety and confidence in their own abilities to look after their children.
Bracknell Forest has a friendly, creative, and dynamic working culture that enables social work professionals to make a real difference for the most vulnerable.
Because we’re Bracknell Forest…
What it’s like working in our team…
The Family Placement Team is a small but very supportive team. The work we do can be challenging and we understand the importance of peer support and advice. We work closely together and alongside the children’s social workers to ensure that we are providing the best support to our vulnerable children. Our staff have the time to get to know everyone they work with, excellent support from managers and colleagues across the department and expert guidance whenever they need it.
Our workforce tells us:
- There is a supportive and approachable leadership and management team.
- All teams offer each other good peer support; there is a strong focus on shared problem solving.
- They feel appreciated and their development is prioritised.
- Supervision is of high quality, reflective and routinely provided.
You will be supported to carry out the following duties, responsibilities and training…
- To provide a consistent and reliable high quality administrative service to the team, organising, taking minutes and other clerical duties.
- To develop and maintain a variety of record (i.e. DBS, Mosaic) and financial systems (Foster Carers BACS, Softbox).
- To undertake available training opportunities and show commitment to continuous development – maximising potential and ensuring an efficient and improving delivery of services
- The role will enable you to continually develop your skills and knowledge, as well as contribute to the ongoing improvement of the services and support we deliver.
The benefits you will experience are…
- An inclusive and social working environment with a variety of staff networks
- Opportunities for flexible and agile working, we offer a hybrid model of working to promote flexible working around personal and family commitments.
- Generous annual leave commencing at 25 days increasing after 3 years’ service to 28 days (pro rata for part time). With additional annual leave purchase policy.
- Regular opportunities for development with internal and external training courses.
- A great office location next to travel links and the regenerated town centre.
- Internal sports and social club opportunities.
- Access to counselling and occupational health services
- Discounted leisure centre and gym membership.
- Supermarket discount.
- An interest free loan for a rail season ticket.
- Regular, reflective one to one supervision
What we’re looking for…
We are seeking an Administrative Assistant to support the Family Placement Team. The ideal candidate will have excellent people skills and experience of working in an office environment.
An ability to take detailed minutes, use of Excel to record data and statistics and work to deadlines with autonomy. Good knowledge of computer systems and data input principles.
You will be able to work well with professionals and have the drive to provide a quality service for children, young people and their families.
Interview date
Interviews will be held on 10th April 2024.
Want to ask us a question?
For an informal discussion or to ask any questions about this role. Please contact:
Name: Sam Howard
Job Title: Team Manager, Family Placement Team
Phone Number: 01344 351658
At Bracknell Forest we champion equality, diversity and inclusion and welcome applications from candidates from all backgrounds, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or age. As a Disability Confident Employer, please let us know if you need any adjustments at any point during the recruitment process by contacting our friendly recruitment team on recruitment@bracknell-forest.gov.uk
We will be reviewing applications regularly and reserve the right to close the advert early if suitable candidates are identified. To avoid disappointment, you are advised to submit your application as soon as possible.
Bracknell Forest Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults. We expect everyone employed with us to share this commitment. All successful candidates for this role will be subject to a DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) check as part of our pre-employment checks process.
Any successful internal candidate will be offered the position as a secondment and, in line with Section 8.1 of the Secondment Policy, must consult with their manager before applying.
We can only accept applications from candidates currently residing in the UK.
Any candidates that are currently residing in the UK and wishing to apply who would require sponsorship can determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for the role by assessing their circumstances against the relevant criteria.
No agencies please.
Equal Opportunities
Bracknell Forest Council – Working for Equality. We welcome applications from all sections of the community.
How to apply
Please note, we do not accept CVs submitted without a fully completed online application form.
