Team Manager (Fostering)

Role Summary
As a Team Manager (Fostering) at Community Foster Care you will promote the ambitions and dreams of children, by leading and enabling our team of Supervising Social Workers and Family Support Workers, whilst reporting to the Registered Manager. You will do this by recruiting, enabling and enhancing foster families to provide safe, stable, loving, nurturing family homes. You will harness CFC resources and therapeutic approach to achieve this.

We have two Team Manager posts, one based in Lancaster and one in Gloucester. Each will take a lead on managing and developing a specialist area. Therapeutic and Practice Development or Recruitment and Retention of Foster Carers

Recruitment and Retention of Foster Carers
As Lead for this area, you will:

•  Implement the relevant aspects of the Recruitment Strategy and support the ongoing review of the approach
•  Oversee and monitor carer’s journey from engagement call through to approval; lead and develop practice to ensure that they are dealt with efficiently and effectively in line with CFC’s policies, values and ethos.
•  To ensure high-quality preparation training of all applicants and other interested parties.
•  Manage and co-ordinate the regulatory elements of the recruitment and assessment process, including decision making from initial enquiry through to assessment and presentation at panel.
•  Ensuring all recruitment activity is appropriately recorded in CHARMS to enable effective monitoring.
•  Supervise Social Workers undertaking Fostering assessments, to ensure reflective, analytical and thorough assessments in line with CFC policy.
•  Take the lead and develop practice around the completion of assessments, and keep up to date with new research in this area.
•  Undertake the role of Panel Advisor for the agency.
•  Providing Expert Advice: Offering guidance to panel chairs and members on fostering regulations, National Minimum Standards, and best practices.
•  Quality Assurance: Overseeing the preparation and presentation of reports, ensuring accuracy and completeness.
•  Annual Panel Report: Prepare the annual panel report to be considered by the panel annually.
•  Ensuring Compliance: Verifying that panel procedures and processes adhere to legal requirements and national standards.
•  Panel Member Management: Recruiting, inducting, and providing ongoing training for panel members.
•  Policy Development: Contributing to the development and review of fostering policies that prioritise child safety and welfare.
•  Communication and Collaboration: Facilitating communication between the agency, panel, and decision-makers.
•  Feedback and Improvement: Providing feedback to social workers and managers on the quality of reports and panel recommendations, and contributing to the improvement of fostering practices.

Therapeutic and Practice Development
As Lead for this area, you will:
• Actively contribute to the design/implementation of staff training programmes. This may require you to undertake/deliver training personally as necessary.
• Take ownership of the carer training and development plan. Supported by a business support officer, you will be responsible for developing the training plan for the year for the whole organisation. The training plan will be informed by identified learning needs.
• Ensure an effective and engaging provision of support groups for foster carers
• Monitor and quality assure carers’ personal development plans, support Social Workers to identify areas of development for individual carers as well as provide reports identifying learning needs for the whole organisation. This is to ensure that carers are provided with the skills required to meet the needs of the children we look after.
• Lead on the development of therapeutic practice across the agency; keep up to date with new research and developments in this area. Support the Therapeutic Growth Group in the development and delivery of a therapeutic fostering model.
• Take a lead on promoting and facilitating the participation of young people in the organisation.
• Work closely with the consultant psychotherapists; co-ordinate and monitor their work, ensuring that we are fully utilising the resource as well as fulfilling any contractual obligations entered into for additional placement support.
• Take a lead in the support and development of our commitment to critical reflection and explorative approach; co-ordinate and oversee the implementation of related initiatives such as the “Reflective Therapeutic Work discussion groups”.
• To take overall responsibility for meeting the learning needs of social work students undertaking work placements within CFC.
• To take a lead on ensuring that CFC provide an effective AYSE programme for newly qualified social workers as required.

As Team Manager, you will:
• Ensure that there is clear and effective communication between all departments and areas
• Create a strong and cohesive team identity, whilst maintaining alignment with the mirror team in the other area
• Manage the operational effectiveness of the team of Supervising Social Workers and Family Support Workers. Supporting and enabling them by offering containment, whilst allocating and prioritising workloads and taking responsibility for ensuring all cases are safely managed. In some circumstances, manage a case directly to ensure safe resolution.
• Be responsible for decisions to place children with families, ensuring effective matching with families is in line with regulations, policy and good practice. The requirement for any additional resources will also be effectively considered, negotiated, monitored and delivered
• Be responsible for ensuring that all children's journey, is informed by effective Care Planning in line with CFC Care planning and Guidance and other good practice guidance.
• Ensure that social work case records, assessments, plans and documentation for all children and young people for whom the team is responsible are effectively maintained in line with practice standards and organisational policy and procedure.
• Chair meetings as required, such as carer reviews, end of placement reviews, stability meetings and Standards of Care meetings etc.
• To establish and maintain effective working relationships with Local Authorities and other key agencies to achieve the best outcomes for young people and to represent the agency in external forums.
• To collate and verify the data to accurately inform the Agency KPI reporting. Consider the data and make plans to enhance and develop the service.

Safeguarding
Work with tenacity and courage in line with best practice to safeguard all children. This will include, but is not restricted to:
• Ensuring comprehensive and timely risk assessments.
• Enabling and monitoring the safe practice of Foster Carers.
• Working effectively within the Charity’s policies and structures and with other Agencies and Professionals.
• Ensuring effective communication with Children, Young people and Adults.
• Working effectively within the relevant local policies.
• Completing effective recording, including Ofsted notifications.
• Challenging ineffective or unsafe practices or decisions.
• Ensure adherence to the Health and Safety Policy.

Key requirements you should be aware of
• You may often be required to work outside of office hours.
• You will participate and provide management cover on the out of hours telephone support rota.
• You must be able to travel effectively, as extensive travel will be a key feature of the role.
• You must be a qualified Social Worker with your own Social Work England registration.

Key consideration
As Team Manager, you will at all times:
• Adhere to Relevant Legislation and Regulation, including The Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011, Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards and the Care Standards Act 2000
• Seek to develop and enhance good social work practice for yourself and others.
• Promote Community Foster Care’s reputation and protect its ability to achieve its mission.
• Good understanding and ability to work to the policies and procedures of the Agency.

What we require from all our employees
• A commitment and alignment with Community Foster Care’s Values
• A resolve to make effective use of critical reflection, utilising the various fora to do this with others
• A commitment to your personal growth, including a willingness to embrace challenges and actively seek constructive feedback
• An aptitude to ensure efficient and effective use of CFC’s resources and funds relevant to your role, including the consideration of the commercial aspects of a fostering service.
• Capacity to be a highly functioning team player
• A fidelity to anti-oppressive practice, underpinned by an understanding and promotion of equality and diversity


It is the nature of the work of CFC, that tasks and responsibilities are unpredictable and varied. All staff are therefore expected to work in a flexible way when the occasion arises where tasks are not specifically covered in the Job Description and have to be undertaken.

CFC is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children; applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure & Barring Service clearance at enhanced level.

CVs will not be accepted under any circumstances; all applicants must complete an application form.