Support Worker CFS

Support Worker CFS

Fixed Term, Full Time

£26,284 to £33,256 per annum

Location: Chelmsford

Working Style: Anywhere worker

Closing Date: Tuesday 30th June at 11:59PM

This is a 12 months fixed term contract

Here in Essex, we continue to raise the bar about practice and our investment in our workforce is second to none. It’s an exciting time to join us. Not only have we been named Outstanding by Ofsted, we are delighted and at the same time humbled to have been crowned Social Work Employer of the Year for the second time in the last three years!

The Opportunity 

Children and Families is recognised as a service in which social work can develop and prosper, with a culture of collaboration, integrity and compassion; promoting development and wellbeing of children, young people and their families; protecting them from neglect and abuse.  Working together with partners delivering a range of early help, family support and effective social work interventions which build resilience, remove barriers and enable children and young people to look forward to a brighter future. 

This post will be part of the Adopt East Team employed by Essex County Council. The post will support the work of 3 Regional Adoption Agencies/Alliances across the Eastern region. The post will work across the Eastern Region within the adoption service developing the support offer to adopted young people and their families. This is an exciting opportunity to bring together good practice across the region to ensure that we have a consistent and innovative support offer to adopted young people and their families. Essex will be the employing authority but we would encourage applications from anywhere in the Eastern region.

Support Workers work within the adoption service, working collaboratively with Qualified Social Workers to deliver bespoke, targeted intervention work, in accordance with the adoption support plans, to adopted children and families. This work will normally be time limited, with measurable impact and meet the assessed needs. This is a new opportunity that has arisen as a result of the Eastern Region being successful at gaining funding to develop our support offer to young people. A considerable amount of the intervention will be offered via therapeutic groupwork. This is project that is closely connected to the Department of Education and Adoption England which provides an exciting opportunity to help shape future services for young people. 

Educated to Level 3 or with activity based alternative experience, in a social care setting, you will be passionate about engaging with and providing direct support in the community, building strong working relationships with partners to jointly deliver improved services.

The post is for 12 months fixed term with the possibility to extend based upon continued funding being made available. For candidates already employed by one of the Eastern region Local Authorities this role would be open for a secondment opportunity subject to line management agreement.

Accountabilities 

• Responsible for supporting social workers to implement adoption support plans, predominately through group based creative provision to adoptive families.
• Responsible for maintaining high standards of professional practice which contribute to continuous improvement across the service.
• Responsible for highlighting issues and implementing plans to safeguard a child.
• Building strong, effective relationships with the service users, providing practical advice and support, where necessary and deemed appropriate; enabling children and families to sustain change and function effectively within the community. 
• Work collaboratively across the service, with internal and external professional partner agencies, to ensure improved outcomes for children and families.
• Provide information and advice in relation to involvement/accessing of third party agencies relevant to the needs of the service user (e.g. benefits agencies, immigration and housing).
• Participate in meetings, reviews, case conferences and court hearings to provide information, insight and evidence where relevant to the service area.
• Using reporting mechanisms to report progress to the Department for Education and Adoption England. 

 The Experience You Will Bring 

Essential:

• Educated to NVQ/BTEC Level 3 or equivalent experience.
• Experience of building strong, effective relationships with children and families in times of challenge and crisis, ideally with adopted families.
• Experience of undertaking group work with young people, ideally in an adoption setting or within a therapeutic environment. 
• Experience of undertaking direct, activity based work with children and families where required. 

Desirable:

• Knowledge and understanding of the issues impacting children, young people and families, leading them to require support.
• Knowledge of legislative and policy guidance applicable within Social Care settings.
• Proven track record of working with partners and external agencies.
• Evidence of continuing professional development and in-depth knowledge in relevant professional area.
• Experience of working in an adoption support or youth work setting.
• A certificate in First Aid and/or knowledge of Sign Language is desirable in this role.

To read more about us please visit: Children & Families

Please take a look at our ‘No Magic’ Children & Families video

Why Essex/Eastern Region? 

The role requires the postholder to be mobile throughout a wide operational area including travelling around the Eastern region. However, there are opportunities for work to be undertaken virtually too. Driving licence and car or ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means is essential.

Although the role is advertised by Essex County Council the role is intending to work across the Eastern region. Applicants are encouraged from anyone located anywhere in the Eastern region.

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you. 

In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR)) on our careers site

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email sandra.middleton@essex.gov.uk

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