Family Support Worker

Job Title: Family Support Worker
Starting Salary: £31,537 progressing to £34,433 per annum (pro rata for part time)
Hours: 22.0 / 3 days per week (actual days negotiable) – Term time only
Location: Countywide - Base Hemel Hempstead or Stevenage – with travel countywide (hybrid role)
Contract Type: Permanent
Directorate: Childrens Services

About the team

Hertfordshire's Virtual School is a dedicated service that champions the educational needs of children and young people who are looked after by the local authority, as well as those previously looked after and in kinship care.

For the latter, we provide educational advice, information and signposting to adoptive families and kinship carers. We work in partnership with schools, Early Years settings and supporting organisations. Our aim is to encourage families to advocate for the best educational outcomes of their children. We offer professionals advice, information and signposting to resources, support services and guidance for education that is rooted in attachment and trauma understanding.

About the role

You will work directly with adoptive families and kinship carers, offering tailored educational advice, a space for reflective conversations as well as signposting to relevant services. Your role will be key in fostering the best educational outcomes of previously looked-after children and those in kinship care.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide one-to-one support to families, both virtually and in-person.
• Offer guidance on how early childhood experiences impact education.
• Collaborate with schools, social care, and health professionals.
• Maintain accurate records and contribute to service quality assurance.
• Promote honest, empathetic communication and build trusting relationships with families and professionals.

About you

Essential:

• Experience working with children and families in the education system.
• Proven ability to support positive outcomes in education, care, or therapeutic settings.
• Strong communication and advocacy skills, especially in multi-agency environments.
• Competence in using IT systems for record keeping and service delivery.
• A commitment to safeguarding, inclusion, and continuous improvement.
• A driving licence and own transport.

Desirable:

• Training in trauma-informed practice, therapeutic parenting, or similar approaches.
• Knowledge of the education system and challenges faced by previously looked-after children.
• Experience of supporting adoptive or kinship families.

This is a rewarding opportunity to be part of a child-centred, collaborative team. You’ll play a vital role in shaping services that make a real difference to children’s lives.

We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.

This job role is within the Health and Social Care Services, level HSC8 job profile. Please locate this via:

Job profiles - Health and social care

To hear more about this opportunity please contact Georgie Zacharzewski on (01992 555769).

Interview Date: 17th October 2025.

Benefits of working for us

How to apply

As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps), and including any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert / job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.

Additional information

Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

Safeguarding
This role has been identified as requiring a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

Driving required
You’ll need to have the ability to drive and/or travel around Hertfordshire, either using your own mode of transport or a company car to travel to other locations.

English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.