Family Support Worker (Social Care/ Services) inMerseyside inMerseyside PUBLISHED 29 APR 2024

Primary Purpose Of The Job


This is fantastic opportunity to support a Services/Centre Manager and Team in delivering high quality services to support children and their families and make a positive impact. You could be placed within a local authority social services team, a Family Well-Being/Children's and Family Centre service, a specialist provider or a charity/third sector organisation. All positions provide the security of being fixed term and not day-to-day work.


DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE TO
: Services/Centre Manager


DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR:
Facilitating and developing parental involvement and providing support for children and their families as agreed with the services manager and team and relevant agencies.


THIS POST IS SUBJECT TO DISCLOSURE:
Enhanced DBS, right to work, and five-year reference history.


Main Areas Of Responsibility


Families are usually referred to you by a social worker, and you may work together to assess and support the service users. Your role will vary depending on the needs of the family you are assisting and the nature of the placement, but you may also have a specialist area, depending on the placement focus.

The challenges faced by your service users could relate to:

• anti-social behaviour and criminal activity, such as a parent in prison
• behaviour and social interaction
• bereavement and caring responsibilities
• bullying
• disability
• domestic violence and abuse
• drug and alcohol addiction
• education and learning
• finance and debt
• housing and homelessness
• language barriers
• learning difficulties
• marital discord, separation and divorce, including care orders
• mental or physical health issues
• parenting skills
• physical and mental health issues, disabilities and learning difficulties.
  
  

As a family support worker, depending on placement, tasks will include some or all of the following:

• complete an initial assessment of families' needs so that you can identify and plan the support needed to address issues and prevent any problems from escalating
• undertake regular caseload review meetings with individuals and families during home and community visits to ensure they're fully supported to progress and achieve desired outcomes
• work with social workers, colleagues, other support service professionals and multi-agency networks to evaluate caseload needs and the progress that has been made
• manage your own workload, administration and diary commitments
• assess parenting skills and help people to build physical and emotional caring abilities through a range of practical activities
• help children with learning and development
• enhance parents' understanding of different education and play strategies
• provide practical home management support, such as how to bathe a child properly, how to potty train or how to manage behaviour
• provide budgeting advice to parents so they can manage their household spending
• coach, mentor and motivate families to understand the benefits of relevant activities
• maintain accurate and up-to-date administration and caseload records, including reports of all interactions
• stay with a family during a crisis situation, such as a parent being in hospital
• attend court sessions when relevant, for example in cases of child protection
• adhere to professional practice standards and legislation, including confidentiality, safeguarding, equality, diversity and inclusion policies
• ensure you're up-to-date on your knowledge of local service provision for appropriate signposting and referrals.
  
  

You Will Also Need To

• Promote the Equal Opportunities Policy of the Council or other host organisation
• To promote the safeguarding of children in accordance with the council's/organisation's framework for the care and protection of children.
• To be proactive in providing information on support services to parents and others.
• To promote inclusion strategies within the Children Centre.
• To attend regular supervision and personal review and development meetings as part of the performance management framework and participate in individual and team training and development activities.
• The post holder may also be required to carry out, as necessary, any other duty deemed to be commensurate with the grade and status of the post and the skills and experience of the post holder.
  
  

This job description is not intended to be either prescriptive or exhaustive. It is issued as a framework to outline the main areas of responsibility.


Other Details

• Your work will usually be split between the office, attending meetings, organising workload, typing reports and updating caseload activities, and the family's home. You may also attend court.
• You will work in a multidisciplinary team or partnership of support agencies, in a variety of settings including local authority offices, families' homes, schools, nurseries, youth centres, probation offices, homeless refuges, local courts, and the premises of voluntary and charitable organisations.
• Holding a driving licence and your own vehicle to visit different locations within your day-to-day role whilst not compulsory is an advantage.