Family Worker - Children's Specialist Support Team

We are looking for a Family Worker who is enthusiastic, self-motivated, and passionate about improving outcomes for children with disabilities.  The ideal candidate will be committed to the principles of participatory practice, an effective communicator who can engage with families in assessment and planning, and work in partnership with others.

 

About the team… 

The Children’s Specialist Support Team (CSST) is a highly skilled team working with children who have disabilities and/or complex health needs. We are an experienced, friendly and supportive team who focus on ensuring that children are at the centre of all we do.  We provide a range of services for children with additional needs and those who are assessed to have additional vulnerability. This includes the Council’s statutory responsibilities for disabled Children in Need in the community (including care packages and short breaks).

The team is an eclectic mix of different service areas covering a wide breadth of work with children with disabilities, Occupational Therapy, Short Breaks (including Larchwood, our short break respite unit), Access to Records and Missing Children and Child Exploitation. Taking a child first and social model approach – partnership and collaborative working is the key to our success.

The team is well integrated with local partners and co-located with and joint work with specialist workers in domestic abuse, mental health and substance misuse, meaning no lengthy waits for much needed services for our families and interventions that help build resilience and mitigate risks.  We receive positive feedback from children and their families.

Everyone comes together once a month for group supervision and we have dedicated admin support.

Our workforce tells us:

• There is a supportive and approachable leadership and management team
• All teams offer each other good peer support; there is a strong focus on shared problem solving
• They feel appreciated and their development is prioritised
• Supervision is of high quality, reflective and routinely provided

Key responsibilities

• To work as part of a team providing a holistic service for children with disabilities and their families.
• To support children and their families by working directly with them and also by co-ordinating the work of other professionals/services to offer support and opportunities.
• The Family Worker role is varied and supports all the functions of the Children’s Specialist Support Team, including behaviour support and the Short Breaks Service (which are co-located), with a key purpose of ensuring we deliver the right help at the right time to ensure children, young people and families have the best possible outcomes in life.

Our benefits… 

• 25 days* increasing to 28 days* after 3 years’ continuous service.
• The opportunity to buy up to 10 additional days* annual leave per year and sell 5
• Hybrid working opportunities to support your wellbeing and work-life balance. 
• An inclusive and social working environment with a variety of staff networks. 
• Local government pension scheme.
• Life insurance cover (linked to the pension scheme)
• Sports and social club. 
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and fostering leave. 
• Career development through internal and external training opportunities. 
• A great office location next to travel links and Bracknell Forest’s thriving town centre. 
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support your health and wellbeing. 
• Staff dental and health plans. 
• Discounted leisure centre and gym membership. 
• Supermarket discount. 

*(pro rata for part time). 

 

Our Values

At Bracknell Forest Council our values define who we are and what is important to us.  Our core values are inclusive, ambitious, and always learning. These values influence the way we work with each other and the way we serve our residents and engage with our communities. We make our values real by demonstrating them in how we behave every day. If you’re excited about joining a diverse team that celebrates learning and strives for excellence, we’d love to hear from you. 

We are committed to ensuring an inclusive recruitment process for all applicants. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application or interview, please let us know by contacting recruitment@bracknell-forest.gov.uk.  We will work with you to support you throughout the process. 

Interview date

Interviews will be held on Friday 17^th January 2025

Interviews will be conducted in person, providing candidates with the chance to personally meet the team and experience our work environment.

We will be reviewing applications regularly and reserve the right to close the advert early if suitable candidates are identified. To avoid disappointment, you are advised to submit your application as soon as possible.

Please note AI is prohibited during the interview, any candidate using AI will be withdrawn from consideration.

Want to ask us a question?

For an informal discussion or to ask any questions about this role, please contact:

Catherine Lloyd, Team Manager, tele 01344 351680 or email:

Catherine.Lloyd@bracknell-forest.gov.uk

Or

Benigna Amago, Assistant Team Manager  

Benigna.Amago@bracknell-forest.gov.uk

 

For more information on working for Bracknell Forest Children’s Social Care visit our micro-site: https://www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/jobs/childrens-social-care-jobs/about-childrens-social-care  

 

At Bracknell Forest we champion equality, diversity and inclusion. At Bracknell Forest Council, we are always learning, ambition and inclusive. Please see our candidate pack for more details.

Bracknell Forest Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect everyone employed with us to share this commitment. All successful candidates for this role will be subject to a DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) check as part of our pre-employment checks process.

We can only accept applications from candidates currently residing in the UK.

Candidates currently residing in the UK who require sponsorship to work are encouraged to assess their eligibility for a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) based on the relevant criteria. Please be aware that sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case-by-case basis.

No agencies please.