Senior Practitioner - Fostering And Kinship Assessment Team

Role Responsibility

Full time / Permanent 37 hours per week – Worrall House, Kingshill

Part time / Permanent 22.5 hours per week – Brook House, Whitstable

This is an exciting time to join Kent Fostering Service as we are introducing three new Kinship Assessment Teams across the County. We are looking to recruit 2 Fostering Senior Practitioners to join our teams based in Worrall House, Kingshill and Brook House, Whitstable. We are looking for experienced practitioners who are able contribute to the development of these new teams, which will be focusing on a range of Kinship Assessments, within an already successful and supportive Fostering Service.

You will be a motivated practitioner, passionate about Fostering and Kinship care, with sound interpersonal skills, and proven experience in undertaking high quality, analytical assessments with adults and children.  

Alongside undertaking Connected Person Fostering Assessments, you will be completing Special Guardianship Assessments; Child Arrangement Order Assessments; Viability Assessments: and delivering preparatory training to Kinship Carers . You will also be required to present assessments to the fostering panel and  and at times attend court, therefore it is essential to have excellent presentation skills and a confident and articulate manner.

Part of your role will be to undertake statutory supervision and support for Connected Person Foster Carers whilst in the assessment process, working collaboratively with the team around the child, to achieve the very best outcomes. You will need to show that you are disciplined, highly organised and able to meet very tight deadlines.

You will be expected to undertake the more complex assessment work, particularly with Connected Persons Foster Carers and where there might be higher levels of risk and vulnerability.   You will develop areas of specialist practice and be a role model and mentor for less experienced staff, including sharing knowledge and experience through leading Practice Meetings and undertaking second opinion visits where required. On occasion you will also deputise for the Team Manager undertaking clearly defined tasks, including quality assurance and sitting on fostering panels.

The role at times will include evening and weekend work so a flexible approach and the ability to travel in a timely and effective manner across the County and on occasions out of County is required. You should have a good understanding of the Fostering Regulations, National Minimum Standards and the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review Regulations.

This is a great opportunity to be joining new teams whose goals are to improve the outcomes of children through completing thorough Kinship Assessments along with preparation courses for carers to equip them with the knowledge and skills to care for their relatives/friends.

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure Application to the Disclosure and Barring Service and to registration as a qualified Social Worker with Social Work England.

Closing date for applications is 26th January 2024

Interviews to be held on Monday 5^th February 2024 to be held at Brook House, Whitstable.