Job Introduction
We have 2 x fixed term opportunities for Family Practitioners to join our newly formed Discharge Planning Team.
Our team
The team will be working at pace to prevent drift for those children who have been identified as having a care plan to exit care via a Special Guardianship Order, Child Arrangement order, Placement with Parents, Discharge of Care Order or reunification. This will be a centrally run team so work will be taken from all 8 districts across Staffordshire.
Although we’re already rated as ‘Good’ by OFSTED, we’re determined to uphold the highest standards and drive continual improvement and learning. That’s why we’ve recently gone through an exciting transformation, underpinned by a restorative practice model, which focuses on keeping families together through a community-based approach. If you’ve not worked in this way before, don’t worry – we’ll give you full training to bring you up to speed.
Working with us means collaborating across our different teams, and sharing best practice, knowledge, and experience to continually improve the way we do things. Support is important, as we work in a big county with some diverse challenges – but together, as a team we can meet those demands and achieve so much.
Main Responsibility
As part of the newly formed Discharge Team you'll be working on specific pieces of work to support the Social Workers in preparing children to move on, including parenting assessments/training. And as such you'll also complete the usual key tasks of a Family Practitioner identified in normal job description that relate to these specific pieces of work such as:
- leading on early help assessments and plans
- working together with social workers to support children in need, children on child protection plans and children in care
- contributing to parenting assessments
- supporting mediation, crisis prevention, conflict resolution and life story work
- supporting on the completion of accurate documentation, reports and records relating to work you do with children, young people and their families
And through all this great work you do, you’ll be supporting children and families, with a restorative practice approach, helping them stay together where possible.
The Ideal Candidate
What you’ll bring
You’ll need to:
- Have a minimum of NVQ Level 3 related to working with children and families OR relevant experience working with children and families
- Be flexible with working hours as there may be occasions where evening and weekend work may be needed
- Be flexible on location as this team will be working across Staffordshire
- Have a current UK driving licence and vehicle
But above all, you’ll bring the desire to work with children and families to give them the right support, at the right time with the aim of keeping families together where it’s safe to do so.
For further information about this vacancy, please contact Hardeep Sandhu, District Lead hardeep.sandhu@staffordshire.gov.uk
Interview date: asap following the closing date
About Staffordshire County Council
We are no ordinary county council:
Our Values:
The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.
Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy:
We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future.
We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too.
Our benefits:
We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.
In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to a range of benefits.
Our recruitment process:
As an Authority we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all background and communities
As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Silver Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the minimum criteria for the post.
As you’ll know safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children and young people/vulnerable adults is important to us and that’s why this position is subject to a criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service. If applicable you should disclose details of unspent and unfiltered spent reprimands, formal warnings, cautions and convictions in your application form.
