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About Coram

Coram is committed to improving the lives of the UK’s most vulnerable children and young people.

We support children and young people from birth to independence, creating a change that lasts a lifetime.

Coram is the UK’s oldest children’s charity founded by Thomas Coram in London helping vulnerable children and young people since 1739. Today, the Coram group helps more than one million children, young people, families and professionals every year by providing access to the skills and opportunities they need to thrive.

About Coram Ambitious for Adoption

Coram Ambitious for Adoption Regional Adoption Agency [RAA] is a commissioned Voluntary Adoption Agency delivering statutory adoption support services and family finding for a number of local authority partners.

The post adoption post holder will be located in Bromley, as part of the wider RAA partnership located across London and surrounding areas. The hub services for the RAA include the recruitment, assessment and support of Coram approved adopters, which are located at the Coram Campus in London.

The post holder will be employed by Coram, a service with a long track record of serving children well and outstanding ratings from Ofsted. The task for the Regional Adoption Agency is to ensure that all children who have a plan for adoption are given every chance to have that ambition realised and when placed in a permanent family receive the relevant support as their needs change and develop.

About the role

We are seeking a dynamic adoption support social worker or senior practitioner wishing to play an active role in the delivery and development of a high-quality adoption service as part of the Coram Ambitious for Adoption Regional Adoption Agency.

The post holder will be part of a small, knowledgeable and supportive team and will have access resources and services within Bromley as well as the bigger network of support from colleagues across the RAA.

Main duties

  •  To undertake the role of adoption support services advisor for the relevant location
  •  To undertake a comprehensive and holistic assessment of adoptive families, children and young people to include relevant agencies including children’s services, schools and health professionals, to inform adoption support needs and to identify the most applicable services to meet needs.
  •  To undertake a range of adoption social work tasks within the locality requiring clear and timely interventions, regular review and the delivery of a high-quality outcomes.
  • To provide written and verbal reports which are concise, informative and based on analysis and research including relevant life story, child history and updated assessments operating to a high professional standard.
  •  To operate within a multi-professional environment including health and education services, including consultation with clinical therapists and taking advice where applicable to meet the child’s assessment of need.
  •  To make full use of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund to ensure that timely specialist support is delivered and to make applications to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund
  •  To provide post-adoption support services to adopted adults
  •  To make appropriate use of all referral pathways for services to meet need, including a range of therapeutic providers and local authority services.
  •  To provide advice and support to others including the child’s social worker to enable sufficiency in the planning for adoption support and its accurate recording to ensure stability of an adoption placement.
  •  To participate in the management of permanence planning within the local system of delivery that supports best outcomes for children, achieving high standards of professional practice.
  •  Ensure high quality recording is completed in a timely manner, is accurate and up to date providing concise and accurate information using the relevant case management recording systems.
  •  Ensure all matters in respect of child safeguarding are responded to promptly, effectively and escalated in line with the child with the relevant Local Authority and Coram safeguarding procedures.
  •  To maintain an up to date working knowledge of legislation, statutory and policy frameworks and regulatory practice codes in order to ensure that statutory responsibilities are undertaken for children.
  •  To keep up to date with national research including learning from regional agency performance nationwide, service feedback and coproduction and ensure practice is legal and safe at all times including data handling, confidentiality and regulatory requirements.
  •  To operate competently in developing and sustaining internal and external working relationships with other professionals, local authorities and Coram Ambitious for Adoption RAA.
  •  To be involved and contribute to the monitoring of practice standards, meeting the key performance indicators for the regional agency and engaging in quality case audits and the statutory inspection process on outcomes of the service.
  •  To work with the wider RAA to develop support and training for adopters within the locality and across the RAA in relation to adoption support.

To arrange an informal discussion – please contact, Ana Parr – RAA Service Manager at ana.parr@coram.org.uk

Coram is an equal opportunities employer and we believe a diverse workforce enables us to improve the services to the children and families we help. We are genuinely committed to encouraging candidates from all sections of the community we seek to support. This includes those from, Asian, African, Caribbean and other minority ethnic backgrounds, those that identify as LGBTQ+, those with disabilities, those with lived experience of care, those with neuro-diversity, and those from other groups who are underrepresented at Coram.

If applicants feel comfortable, we would encourage them to draw on lived experience as well as professional experience in their personal statement as part of their application.

We are committed to the safeguarding of children and where appropriate will require the successful applicant to undertake a check from the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Registered Charity No. 312278.