Senior Practitioner- Fostering Quality Assurance and Policies

Are you passionate about making a difference in the lives of children and families?

Do you have the leadership skills and commitment to support carers and empower children and young people to achieve their full potential?

If so, Birmingham Children's Trust would love to hear from you!

At Birmingham Children’s Trust, we are dedicated in providing outstanding care and support to children and families across Birmingham. Our mission is to ensure every child has the opportunity to thrive in a safe, nurturing environment. We are a dynamic and forward-thinking organisation, committed to innovation and excellence in social work practice.

A rare opportunity has emerged for a permanent Senior Practitioner role within Birmingham Children's Trust's Fostering Service. With national reforms underway and an increased focus on kinship care, it is truly an exciting time to be involved in this area. The Trust has demonstrated a strong commitment to ensuring more children can remain within their family network, a goal that aligns with the evolving landscape of kinship support. If you are passionate about making a difference and eager to be part of these positive changes, this could be a fantastic chance to join us!

This is a brand new role within the service. The Senior Practitioner will focus on developing a Mockingbird type of support scheme for the Fostering service. This is key to further enhancing the support that we offer to our carers and children, as well leading on quality assurance and policies across the service. You will join an experienced and dedicated management team, shaping and delivering best practice.

You will be highly skilled, knowledgeable and at the forefront of best practice in Fostering including the National Fostering Reforms. You will support the Heads of service in new initiatives and developments, such as enhanced support for carers based on Mockingbird principles.

You will be involved in continuing to prioritise the voice of the child and our carers throughout the service. At the heart of this role is a commitment to ensuring that the welfare, safety, and individual needs of children in care remain central to all aspects of fostering support and practice.

About you

You will:

• Have the ability to lead and develop social work practice at an operational level through effective performance management.

• Be able to demonstrate a good understanding of Kinship fostering and SGO regulations, which equips you to analyse and intervene effectively.

• Have up to date knowledge of national policy, strategy and developments regarding kinship care to promote a culture of continuous learning and development of social work practice within the kinship area of practice.

• Bring a commitment to achieving positive outcomes for children and young people, alongside the ability to provide effective leadership, support, and professional challenge to your team.

• Have experience of working with children and families within a safeguarding environment is desirable. You will be responsible for quality assuring practice across the team, ensuring compliance with fostering regulations, statutory guidance, and quality standards, while promoting a culture of continuous improvement and high-quality service delivery.

• Play an active role in the ongoing development of the service, supporting on key areas of work such as the continued development of our kinship local offer and initiatives to strengthen the recruitment, support, and retention of our foster carers.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced and motivated Senior social work who wants to step up into a specialist role, who is passionate about kinship and fostering services and committed to delivering the very best outcomes for children, young people, and their families.

We have been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted, following a 2023 inspection. This is a fantastic achievement for Birmingham Children's Trust, with many positive highlights focusing on areas including the quality of staff leadership, partnership working, safeguarding and corporate parenting.

This is a hybrid role based in Birmingham so you must have the correct right-to-work documents to work in the UK. Sadly, we do not support those who require sponsorship or on a VISA

Additional Information

Interviews will be held in person on Monday 12October .

As part of the application process, please submit your CV and a supporting statement clearly demonstrating your skills and experience for this role.

Onboarding Process: Please note as part of our onboarding process, the successful candidate will be required undergo a series of background checks with Experian including Experian DBS, Experian Right to Work, and Digital ID verification. These are essential pre-employment requirements.

Our Benefits:

• You will receive a retention payment of up to £5,000 (terms and conditions apply).
• A generous annual leave package of 30 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days after 5 years of service and 35 days after 10 years of service.
• Free on-site parking at our offices on One Avenue Road (Aston) and Lifford House (Stirchley). We also provide onsite electric car charging ports which are free to use!
• Full access to our amazing internal employee benefits scheme including, Occupational Health services, Rewards Schemes, Benefits discounts (including the Blue Light Card), Health & Fitness and Personal Wellbeing support and much more!
• Flexible and hybrid working policy - we are well adapted to a hybrid model of working which includes a combination of time spent in the office and at home and we offer a variety of working patterns.
• Pension Scheme - You will receive a generous local government career average pension scheme in line with the local government pension scheme.

For further information, feel free to contact Robina Gardner (Head of Service) by email on Robina.Gardner@birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk

Benefits

Help us to change children and young people’s lives!

At Birmingham Children’s Trust, we are committed to making a positive impact on the lives of over 10,000 children and young people in our city every day. Our mission is to support the most disadvantaged children and young people in Birmingham, ensuring they are safe, happy, and healthy.

Why Join Us?

• Impactful Work - be part of a team that makes a real difference in the lives of the city’s most vulnerable children.
• Supportive Environment - enjoy a supportive and collaborative work culture where your contributions are valued.
• Career Development - benefit from tailored development programs, supportive supervision, and a range of learning opportunities to enhance your skills and advance your career.
• Generous Benefits - take advantage of our competitive reward package including generous leave allowance, Local Government pension scheme, and additional benefits.

Our Values

We approach our work with care and compassion, actively listening to the needs of the children and young people we serve. We involve them in the decisions that affect their lives, ensuring their voices are heard and respected.

We are committed to using our resources wisely, ensuring that every penny is spent where it counts the most. We foster collaboration among schools, health professionals, and the police, working together to create a supportive network for our young people.

We believe that when we work as one cohesive team, the children and young people of Birmingham are more likely to thrive. Our unified approach ensures that we provide the best possible support and opportunities for their growth and development.

Join us and together, we can create a brighter future for all.

Safeguarding

At Birmingham Children’s Trust, we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.

Depending on the role, you may be asked to undergo the appropriate level of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check to assess your suitability for working with children and young people.

The level of check (Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List) is determined based on the specific responsibilities of the role and the level of contact with children and young people.

We are committed to the fair treatment of all applicants, including those with criminal records. Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar an individual from working with us. This will depend on the nature of the position and the circumstances and background of the offence.

Please note that we reserve the right to close the job early should we reach the required number of applications, therefore please ensure you submit your application and supporting statement early to avoid any disappointment.