Social Worker - Assessor

Who are Fair Ways and what do we stand for?

At Fair Ways we believe in making a difference through passionate care, support and education. Together we aim to build an institution that makes a difference to society and leaves a legacy greater than ourselves and our contributions. Our values sit at the heart of everything we do; we measure our wealth by the difference we make, rather than the profit we make.

Fair Ways is a leading children’s services charity based in the Solent, delivering Fostering, Education, Residential and Family services and cares for over 400 children, families, young people and vulnerable adults each year.

We are looking for a Social Worker to support the growth and development of our Registered Family Centres in Southampton, we are also able to support a social worker through their assessed and supported year in employment (AYSE). The Family Centres are made up of a number of self-contained flats or pods each with their own bathroom and kitchen facilities and a separate bungalow which can accommodate an additional 2 families.

Families will be referred to the Family Centre if there have been concerns identified around the safety of the children within their existing family unit. Once with us, the families will be continuously encouraged, assessed and guided through a 12 week stay where they are monitored 24/7 to encourage sustainable positive parenting changes.

As a Social Worker with Fair Ways you will deliver the highest standards of care and support to our children, families and vulnerable adults through:

• Assessing and Observing -To take a lead role in parenting assessments through formal and informal observations of the residents with their child ensuring a high-quality service is delivered and maintained.
• Keeping Children, families and vulnerable adults Safe -Managing any presenting safeguarding issues in accordance with Fair Ways Policies and Procedures to keep children, families and vulnerable adults safe from harm for the duration of their assessment.
• Supervision and training
  - To line manage a small number of direct reports offering reflective supervisions, guidance and undertaking monitoring of any required training and development in line with our professional development and progression plans.
• Being a clear and confident communicator -To attend and contribute to multi-agency meetings, court hearings and other forums to represent the Residential Family Centre and support the Assessors.
• Building strong professional relationships -To proactively maintain safe supervision levels and respectful relationships with parents and children through effective support, guidance and care ensuring the maintenance of safe practice.
• Accurate and detailed report writing -To maintain full oversight of the assessment process for families for the full 12 weeks, writing the parenting assessment reports for courts. Maintaining effective, regular communication with outside agencies regarding parenting capacity.
• Being a Trauma Informed professional -To oversee and model trauma informed responses through the individualised use of therapeutic and (in some services) physical intervention to ensure families are supported appropriately during times of crisis and to demonstrate an understanding of the parents’ early life experiences.
• Supporting and developing new initiatives
  - To support the management team to develop the community-based assessment and outreach packages for family transitions into the community.
• Committing to your personal and professional development -To manage personal and continuous professional development through self-assessment, supervision and training.

The successful candidate will be working 37.5 hour per week Monday to Friday.
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