Casual Fostering Assessing Social Workers

Salary details: £ - £

Foster for East Midlands Councils is looking for passionate and experienced Children's Social Workers to join our team of Casual Fostering Assessing Social Workers.

Every fostering assessment has the potential to change a child's life. By undertaking high-quality assessments of prospective foster carers, you will play a vital role in helping more children and young people find safe, stable and nurturing homes where they can thrive.

What you can expect in this role

You will be supported every step of the way with:

✅ Regular case supervision from an assessment team Manager for FFEMC
✅ A comprehensive guidance pack
✅ Training and support sessions
✅ Access to the Fostering National Minimum Standards and assessment tools

What you will need

Whether you have prior fostering experience or transferable assessment skills, this is a fantastic opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the lives of children in care, all whilst developing your own practice.

• This opportunity is open to all practising Children’s Social Workers
• Applicants must hold a Social Work degree and be registered with Social Work England
• You must have permission from current line manager prior to applying (if this is a second role)

Time commitment

• Each assessment is expected to take no more than 100 hours, and we expect your commitment to see an assessment through to the end should it be positive (Assessments will only be ended early in agreement with the Team Manager)
• Some assessments may need more that 8 assessment visits due to complexities, this will be agreed by the Team Manager and the hours claimed should not exceed 100
• Your time will include visit preparation time, travel time, assessment sessions (usually around 2 hours each visit) and write up time, including time taken to undertake and write up references / other paperwork related to the assessment
• It is expected that assessment visits will take place at least fortnightly (usually weekly) to ensure no drift, unless agreed by the Team Manager within supervision
• All mainstream assessments should be completed within 6 months (ideally sooner) and all IFA transfers will take place within 4 months

In return you’ll get…

Paid at £24.71 per hour (maximum payment of £2,471 pre-tax), with pay for all hours worked on assessments that end early (such as when applicants are unsuitable)

Mileage will be paid in accordance with Derby City Council’s mileage policy. Within D2N2, you will be paid from home to the applicant’s address

Application process

If you are interested in this opportunity, please submit an expression of interest to the Team Managers Jade Louth jade.louth@fosterforeastmidlands.org.uk and Rochelle Wallace Rochelle.wallace@fosterforeastmidlands.org.uk .

Your expression of interest should be no more than 2 sides of A4 and it should detail your suitability for the post, based on the requirements of the Job Description and Person Specification.

Shortlisting and interviewing

All expressions of interest are shortlisted using the criteria set out in the Person Specification.

We are operating a rolling shortlisting process, which means shortlisted candidates may be invited to interview before the closing date.

Onboarding

Successful applicants will be offered a Derby City Council Casual Contract for this role, with any assignments (assessments) accepted being delivered on behalf of Foster for East Midlands Councils.

All applicants will be required to undertake pre-employment checks, which includes verification of Right to Work and references.

As part of our safer recruitment checks the successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS check. The DBS Update Service can be used by candidates with an existing DBS check at the appropriate level, however the original paper DBS certificate must be evidenced during the pre-employment process.

Reasonable adjustments

Please let us know of any individual requirements or reasonable adjustments you may have during the application, interview, or onboarding process and we’ll do all we can to help. We strongly believe in social understanding of disability and for us it’s all about removing barriers to equality.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. If you are a disabled person, you have the choice to apply under our Guaranteed Interview Scheme so long as you demonstrate that you meet the essential requirements for the job.

If you have any questions regarding this vacancy or are having difficulty applying, please contact the Team Managers Jade Louth jade.louth@fosterforeastmidlands.org.uk and Rochelle Wallace Rochelle.wallace@fosterforeastmidlands.org.uk

Please be aware that Derbyshire County Council is placing this advert on behalf of this organisation and you should refer directly to its website for details of the terms and conditions attached to this post. Any queries regarding this advert or the recruitment process should be made directly to the organisation.