Strengthening Families Workers - SEND

Strengthening Families Workers

Salary - £27,803- £31,364 (Grade 5)

Hours - 37 hours per week

Contact type - Fixed Term contract / secondment opportunity until 31 March 2025

Location – City Wide Family Hubs

Following the news that the City of Wolverhampton Council has become a pathfinder to support the delivery of the Families First for Children Programme (FFCP), we are seeking to recruit full time Strengthening Families Workers (SFWs).

We have a number of SFW posts available which have a specialist function:

• 6 posts 37 hours
• 1 post 18.5 hours

Will specialise in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

These are fantastic opportunities if you have experience of SEND and you want to make a real difference. We need people like you to help us deliver excellent support to the children and families in our city.

What is the role?

You will:

• Work directly with children, young people and their families in order to promote, strengthen and to develop the potential of parents/carers and their children in order to prevent children suffering significant harm and/or becoming looked after.
• Undertake or contribute to multi-agency assessments/ Family Help Plans of children and families in need of help and support.
• Adopt a preventative approach to supporting children, young people and their families.
• Manage a caseload of children / young people and groupwork, adopting a flexible and creative approach.

What you’ll need:

• NVQ level 3 or equivalent e.g. in Education, Health or Social Care, Community Development or Diploma in Youth & Community Work
• The achievement of English and Maths or equivalent to level 2 of the National Qualification Framework
• Minimum of 2 years post qualifying, recent experience in a relevant field e.g. Education, Social Care, Early Years.
• This experience will include supporting children and families in groups and individually within frameworks; experience of community development work; conducting assessments of need, in relation to children and families; experience of working in a diverse community.

For your valued contribution we offer:

• Fantastic learning and development offer including access to Research in Practice
• Vibrant and active employee networks including four staff equality forums (Race Religion and Belief; Disability and Age; Gender Maternity and Paternity and LGBT+)
• Access to an external and independent confidential reporting service for employee concerns to be raised (“Safe Place”)
• Commitment to eliminating discrimination and supporting employee wellbeing to ensure a good work /life balance, including a strong employee assistance scheme and wellbeing offer

Please note, internal candidates should have sought agreement from their line manager before applying.

This post is subject to a satisfactory DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check.

For more information on these posts, please contact:

Keysha.Cespedes@wolverhampton.gov.uk - For SEND role

Closing Date: Monday 1 April 2024

Interviews and written exercise will take place on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 April 2024

Children and Young People’s Panel (if successful at interview) will take place on Friday 5 April 2024

Our working arrangements

All council roles are allocated to either a fixed, field or flexible work style. Some roles are agile which enable and empowers employees to maximise their performance and productivity, whilst maintaining a healthy work life balance. Roles with a fixed workstyle work in a fixed permanent council location. Roles with a field workstyle are usually allocation where employees are required to be out working in the community with a minimum requirement for 'touch down' space at any council location. Roles with a flexible workstyle have a flexible base location to meet the needs of the business and employees can work from a mixture of home or any council office, partner/client, or external location, as required to meet service requirements.

Please refer to the Job Description for further information on the workstyle assigned to the role you are applying for.

For more information about working for our organisation including the culture of the Council, the Council plan and vision, staff equality forums, core HR policies and much more please click here.

Diversity

We are committed to building a workforce that is reflective of the diverse community we serve. We want to attract the best applications from people of all backgrounds and underrepresented groups because we strongly believe in adding value through diversity, inclusion, and equality. Our employees enable us to deliver services that are accessible, inclusive, and reflective of Wolverhampton residents.

Our status as a Disability Confident Employer showcases our commitment to people with disabilities or health conditions, advocating for their opportunities and potential. We've received the Stonewall Silver Award, emphasising our dedication to the LGBT+ community by nurturing an inspiring, inclusive, and equal workplace. As of March 2023, the RACE Code Quality Mark signifies our active engagement with racial equality. These recognitions validate our continuous efforts towards fostering an inclusive work environment that respects and values our diverse employees.

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 essential criteria for the post.

We encourage, inspire and value an inclusive culture here at the council where employees can flourish, thrive and be themselves. We have four staff equality forums for employees to join. These help to ensure our employees have a voice, they feel empowered to speak up and where everyone is treated with respect - Learn more about the staff equality forums here

Recruitment of Ex-Offenders

We are committed to the fair treatment of all our employees, potential employees, or users of our service regardless of offending background. The Council uses the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for any vacancies that require a DBS check to obtain information about applicants to assess their suitability for employment in positions of trust. We do not discriminate unfairly against any individual on the basis of a conviction or any other information revealed as a result of a DBS disclosure - Learn more here

Employment Information & Support

If you are considering applying for an apprenticeship or a role where the salary is (Grade 2-5), and would like to visit us to learn about the application, interview process and what it is like to work for the council, please click on this link to find out more - Learn more here