• Flexible working available, using a hybrid model - working from home and your contracted work base which is negotiable.
• 25 days annual leave, increasing to 28 after 5 years continuous service
• Part time for 18 hours per week

The Family Assessment and Support Team (FA&ST) is a unique team, working independently from childcare social workers undertaking dedicated parenting assessments of parents in placement or in the community, independent of the child’s social worker. The team consists of assessing social workers, supervising social workers, senior social work assistances and foster carers who provide parent and child foster placements for Somerset Council.

We work closely together providing parents with a high level of support to develop their parenting skills and reduce risk. We have an excellent reputation within Somerset Council and continue to develop our knowledge and practice in relation to parent and child fostering and parenting assessments.

You can read more about the team on our fostering website https://www.fosteringinsomerset.org.uk/types-of-fostering/parent-and-child.htm

We’re working to improve the lives of people in Somerset – and you’ll be a key part of that.

This the role supports foster carers and undertakes observations and direct work with parents to inform the assessment of their parenting.

As a Senior Social Work Assistant (SSWA) you will undertake targeted work with parents on topics including (but not exclusively); child development, stimulation, substance misuse, healthy relationships and their support network alongside an assessing social worker and you will be required to provide detailed and accurate recordings. You will also be required to support foster carers, including arranging support and ensuring safety standards are maintained.

We offer ongoing support, training and guidance to help you be the best you can be.

You do not require social work qualification for this role, but a good knowledge of undertaking direct work with parents and foster carers, and good transferable skills will be considered.

We are a countywide team and you will need to be able to travel extensively across Somerset and to areas not currently serviced by public transport.

You will need to travel for weekly team meetings and other times to be agreed. We support flexible working so when you are not carrying out visits you can negotiate working from home or any local office base. Good technology is provided to help you stay connected to your team and manager through virtual meetings, team check-ins and service sessions.

We’re proud to be here for the people of Somerset. And that means everyone in Somerset. An important part of this is ensuring that we are as diverse and inclusive as the people and communities we serve.

We welcome applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences to enrich our team. You can always contact the hiring manager for a chat if there’s anything you want to talk about before you apply.

We are proud to offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of people in Somerset.

We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:

• We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
• Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave
• Staff discounts in gyms.
• Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
• Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
• A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
• My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more.

The salary range for this role is £12,251 to £13,266 per annum for 18 hours per week.

For further information or an informal discussion about this exciting opportunity, please contact Maria Hargreaves on 07818529167 or via email - maria.hargreaves@somerset.gov.uk

When completing your application/CV please provide your full employment history and ensure that any gaps in employment are explained. Please start with your current or most recent employment.

If you have all the information you need, just hit the apply button - we can’t wait to hear from you.

This post requires a criminal background check via the Disclosure procedure.