Family Practitioner

Join a team where stability, experience and child‑centred practice come first.

The Fostering South Team supports and supervises foster carers across the South of Staffordshire, working collaboratively to provide safe, nurturing and stable homes for children in our care. We are a well‑established and stable team, benefitting from a wealth of experience and a strong culture of mutual support.

Our fostering service is committed to safeguarding children, promoting placement stability, and building the capacity needed to meet the diverse needs of children and young people. By working closely with foster carers, partners and colleagues, we strive to ensure every child has the opportunity to thrive in a secure and supportive environment.

You'll:

• Support the social work team including H&S documents, safe care plans, some unannounced visits and DBS checks.
• Direct work with foster carers and children including life story work, feelings/emotions work, carer coaching.
• Duty work including some scheduled weekends and evenings.
• Support the carers with TSD (training standards) and training progression.
• Foster Carers Support groups as required.
• Source and purchase appropriate equipment for fostering placements as agreed by the manager.
• Support the recruitment of foster carers.

You'll have:

• some experience working with families and others using a restorative approach, offering high support and high challenge and interventions to help stabilise and support children, young people and their families.
• have a current UK driving licence and vehicle.
• have a good understanding of the fostering role and the needs of children in care.
• have experience of direct work with children/adults/care givers.

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.

Interviews will be held at the Bird Street office in Lichfield on Monday 9th March 2026.

If you require any other information about the role please contact sue.prendergast@staffordshire.gov.uk

This role is currently subject to a review of weekend working arrangements, including any paid enhancements.

Don’t feel you meet all the requirements? We value transferable skills, experiences, and qualifications so consider applying anyway or make contact for an informal chat.

Our Recruitment Process: We anonymise applications during shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered. Please complete your application fully, especially the supporting statement, to highlight what you’ll bring to the role.

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 Our rewards and benefits - Careers at Staffordshire

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 Gold 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.