Jobs, fresher vacancy - Senior Social Worker • Birmingham

Company: CRA GROUP RECRUITMENT AND PAYROLL LTD

Birmingham

3 Month Contract With A Local AuthorityRole PurposeThe Senior Social Worker (SSW) within the Fostering Team is responsible for supporting, supervising, and developing foster carers to ensure high-quality, safe, and stable placements for children in care. The role involves ensuring foster carers effectively implement children’s care plans, promoting positive outcomes, and ensuring the voice of the child is central to all practice.Key Duties and ResponsibilitiesProvide regular supervision and support to approved foster carers on a 6–12 weekly basis, in line with fostering regulations and service standards.Offer professional guidance to foster carers in managing complex placements and meeting children’s emotional, behavioural, and developmental needs.Support foster carers to understand and implement children’s care plans, placement plans, and delegated authority arrangements.Identify training, development, and support needs of foster carers and contribute to their ongoing professional development.Undertake visits to children in foster placements to ensure care plans are being implemented and placements remain safe and appropriate.Capture and represent the voice, wishes, and feelings of the child, ensuring their views inform care planning and decision-making.Monitor children’s welfare and progress, escalating concerns and safeguarding issues in line with statutory procedures.Attend and actively contribute to Children in Care Reviews, fostering reviews, and relevant multi-agency meetings.Prepare high-quality written reports for reviews, meetings, and panels, ensuring accuracy, analysis, and child-focused recommendations.Work collaboratively with children’s social workers, IROs, education, health, and other partner agencies.Participate in the team duty rota, responding to placement issues, foster carer queries, and unplanned events as required.Support less experienced staff where appropriate, contributing to reflective practice and team development.Maintain accurate and timely case records in line with statutory requirements and organisational policies.Work flexibly from home, attending the office at least twice per week for team meetings, supervision, and service activities.Ensure practice aligns with relevant legislation, statutory guidance, fostering regulations, and local policies.Uphold professional social work standards, values, and ethics at all times.RequirementsDegree in Social Work (or equivalent)Registration with Social Work EnglandSignificant post-qualifying experience, ideally within fostering or children’s servicesStrong knowledge of fostering regulations, childcare legislation, and safeguarding practiceExcellent assessment, report-writing, and communication skillsAbility to work independently and within a multi-disciplinary team