Job Title: Supervising Social Worker
Location: East Bergholt Office, with travel across the EFS geography
Fostering Team Manager / Registered Manager
Hours: Full Time (35 hours per week)
Eastern Fostering Services is a therapeutic, child-centred Independent Fostering Agency rated Outstanding by Ofsted. We are committed to securing stable, healing, and lasting placements for children who have experienced trauma, loss, and adversity. We work within a trauma-informed framework and prioritise relationship-based practice to achieve the best outcomes for our children and young people.
As a Supervising Social Worker, you will play a critical role in supporting and supervising foster carers who provide therapeutic placements to children with complex needs. You will ensure that every child is safeguarded, supported, and enabled to thrive, in line with the Fostering Regulations 2011 and the National Minimum Standards.
Support and Supervision
Provide reflective, trauma-informed supervision to foster carers at least monthly (and more frequently as needed).
PACE, Dyadic Developmental Practice), promoting an understanding the adaptive behaviours that children can develop and display.
Deliver individualised support to carers to promote placement stability, resilience, and child development.
Ensure that foster carers understand the overall aims of Eastern Fostering Services and follow agency policy and procedures.
Child-Centred Practice
Ensure children's voices are heard, understood, and acted upon.
Children and young people to be seen away from their foster carers on a regular basis.
Monitor children's emotional wellbeing, safety, and placement progress through direct and indirect work.
Participate in and contribute to multi-agency meetings such as Looked After Child (LAC) reviews, Personal Education Plan (PEP) meetings, and Strategy/CP meetings.
Tailor your approach with children according to their understanding, communication abilities and preferred method of communication.
Compliance and Quality
Maintain clear, evidence-based, and timely records in accordance with Ofsted and agency requirements, using EFS Intuitive Care database.
Complete carer annual household reviews, contribute to panel recommendations, and follow any resulting support plans through.
Support and evidence carers' compliance with fostering regulations and standards of care
Foster Carer Development
Contribute to the delivery of pre-approval Preparation to Foster training and ongoing development sessions for approved carers.
Identify and respond to foster carers' training needs in line with their Personal and Professional Development Plans.
Support effective matching of children with foster carers.
Regularly review and risk-assess placement suitability, taking prompt action to prevent disruptions.
Undertake unannounced visits to fostering family homes.
Work closely with our therapist and participation staff to promote holistic care for each child.
Assist in the positive promotion of the agency and recruitment of prospective foster carers.
Undertake Form F assessments of prospective foster carers if caseload allows.
Facilitate and participate in a range of group activities, such as foster carer support groups, holiday activities and children's participation groups.
Adhere to the company policy on learning and development and ensure all mandatory training is completed within expected timeframes.
Adhere to the company Equal Opportunities policy and work towards an ethos where everyone is treated with respect, dignity and equality.
Adhere to Health and Safety Policies
Registered with Social Work England
Minimum 1-2 years' post-qualification experience working with children and families (preferably in fostering or looked after children services)
Excellent recording, assessment, and report-writing skills
Able to work flexibly (including occasional evenings/weekends) and participate in an out-of-hours rota
Full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle
Experience in a therapeutic fostering environment or trauma-informed setting
Knowledge of Ofsted's Social Care Inspection Framework and expectations for fostering agencies
Experience with fostering panel processes and carer assessments
Additional training in therapeutic models (e.g.