Fostering Practitioner

Job Introduction

Fostering – Recruitment and Family Finding Team

Fostering Practitioner– Scale 5 £29,064 - £31,022

37 hours per week

There has never been a more exciting time to join our service. In this role, you will be part of our innovative and forward-thinking Fostering Service. We are an ambitious and aspirational service. We are looking for a fostering practitioner that has an interest in ensuring that our foster carers and children are appropriately supported to ensure stability for our children.

The successful applicant will be responsible for supporting foster carers in a variety of ways by using therapeutic parenting techniques and modelling PACE when working with them. The role will include direct one to one support and group support to foster carers and will be required to provide written reports on the support they have offered. finding families for our children to live when they cant be cared for by their family.

The successful applicant should have a skill to develop a strong and robust direct working relationship with all internal foster carers in order to understand their individual needs and provide the right support at the right time for them. The Fostering Services’ model of care is Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) and as a minimum there must be a commitment to achieve a level 1 in DDP. The successful applicant will need to be creative and have an ability to work as part of a team and independently. This post will include some evening and weekend working and responding to emergencies.

Our team is very experienced, highly supportive, friendly and passionate about what we do. We work hard but also find time to celebrate achievements and good practice. The Recruitment and Family Finding team work closely and collaboratively with colleagues within the Mainstream Support and Supervision team, Kinship team as well as with Social Workers and managers from other areas of Children’s Services. The work is interesting, often complex and challenging but is crucial to achieving placement stability and permanence for our children.

The fostering service has a systemic practice approach, supporting our foster carers to parent therapeutically.

Our brilliant practitioners are at the heart of our ambitious approach to improve outcomes for children and families in Telford and Wrekin: that’s why from tailored in-house training to the West Midlands Teaching Partnership, we will ensure that you have access to the best development opportunities.

We value our practitioners and offer staff rewards and plenty of opportunities for personal development and career progression including:

• We offer competitive salaries and a fantastic leave package — starting at 24 days, rising to 32 days with service, plus 8 bank holidays and an extra concessionary day to enjoy.
• Flexible working & career progression
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Staff discounts & salary sacrifice perks
• Free parking & confidential wellbeing support
• Hybrid working model - whether you're in the office or working from home, we support a balance that fits your personal and family commitments

Here at Telford and Wrekin Council, we have been judged to be outstanding overall in terms of effectiveness (the only Authority in the West Midlands with this judgement). Here’s just some of the great things Ofsted had to say when they visited us in 2024:

• children in care benefit from living in supportive permanent foster care homes which enable them to thrive both at home and at school or college
• where children have a plan of long-term fostering, social workers focus on securing permanence for them through matching with foster carers; children are cared for by foster carers who are appropriately skilled and fully supported to meet their individual needs
• the quality of fostering assessments is strong; foster carers are supported well and there is a comprehensive training offer for foster carers
• there is a strong learning culture within children’s services.

If you share our passion for making a difference, we would be delighted if you joined us.

For further information on the role please click on the links below to view the job description and person specification.

We are committed to equality and diversity. Posts working with children or vulnerable groups will be subject to an appropriate criminal records check.

If you think you can meet the challenge and would like to find out more about this role, please contact Sam Beeston by emailing samantha.beeston@telford.gov.uk

If you are interested in applying, we recommend that you apply as soon as possible as we may close the vacancy early if suitable candidates are appointed. For more information about working for Telford & Wrekin Social Care, please view our recruitment page: https://www.telford.gov.uk/cscr

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applicants.

Please click on the links below to view the job description and person specification.

A CV template is available if you do not already have a CV.

We believe great services start with great people — and that means building a workforce that reflects our community. At Telford & Wrekin Council, everyone belongs, and every voice matters.

Find out further information about working at Telford & Wrekin Council including our full list of benefits.

Roles involving children or vulnerable adults will require a criminal records check. It’s an offence to apply if you’re barred from working with these groups.

Please note: We do not hold a sponsorship licence for visas.