social worker

referral coordinator

administrator

team leader

support worker

National-Fostering-Group

On the face of it NFG provide good opportunities for staff, carers and the children in their care. 
In reality this is not the case and it feels very much numbers / money driven. 
There is a culture of poor management, which isn’t challenged. Rushed supervisions, instructions given - no real exploration of what carers / children need.  No room for social work discussions / not following the company line. Team meetings are numbers focused. 
Any kind of questioning / discussion is shut down  & bullying techniques employed. 
Out of hours duty takes place after a full working day and then lead into another full working day which is challenging when there have been several calls throughout the evening / night. 
Rapid turnover of staff so it is difficult to establish a solid team as you’re often case holding for others until the new staff member joins. 
If you want to actually practice social work in an anti oppressive environment I would not recommend. 

As contractor duties varied therefore given me extensive management information sharing, monthly budgetary analysis for 10 regions and clerical skills combined with strong IT knowledge when working on finance projects. Principal strengths acquired:
* Customer care, using diplomacy with both face to face and telephone during negotiations.
* Team work, having worked in past as a manager of a team, promote team building harmony.
* Management of banking import files, monthly actual budgetary information and resources to ensure key suppliers payment cycle.
* Month end deadlines.
* Create working manuals for SOP's
* Administration and management account support.
* Word and advance excel skills.
Enjoy working in a livery and dynamic environment.

You have to be willing to work in this company - if you just want to coast and get your paycheck, you'll probably get frustrated with local and senior management. If you care about the work you do and put in the effort it can be really fulfilling.

The company definitely cares about its employees and carers and the children that are in its care. There isn't an overbearing focus on commercials/profits - although of course that is a driving factor (as with any business) - SLT is outcomes driven with regards to the carers and children.

If your personal values align with the company's, you'll fit in. No job is perfect and each business area has its different features, but overall it's a great place to work.

At the frontline level, services and staff show a strong commitment to the children they support and work hard to achieve positive outcomes. However, in my experience, this ethos was not always reflected at more senior levels of the organisation, where financial considerations often appeared to take precedence over the needs of children and staff.

While there were some benefits to working for NFG, such as funded training, a recurring issue during my time there was the limited visibility and engagement of senior management. In my opinion, the company's priorities felt short-term, with a focus on immediate financial performance rather than the long-term sustainability of child-centred practice. As a result, attempts to access meaningful support from the wider organisation were often unsuccessful.

There are good and bad days.  A typical good day would be when a child has a good day at school and comes home happy. A bad day could be when a child does not come home and goes missing. I learned patience, empathy sympathy, understanding individual needs, Listening skills, The more experience you have the more you have to reflect on and confidence to be a good foster parent.
The hardest part of the job would be when a child goes missing and is being exploited.
The most enjoyable is when a Parent comes to you with their baby for support and they leave your care to go out into the community.

A fulfilling role as a full time foster carer for the NFA.

Concentrating on the Every Child Matters.

Lots of Courses to attend. But they would not pay for your time there and travelling expences.

Used to get paid for fuel and the use of your car (wear and tear) to take the children to their contact centres to spend time with their parents or siblings.

Towards the end, hours were too long. Didn't get paid enough for the hassle the troublesome teenagers put you through.

Less time for yourself, your husband and family life in general.

Supervising Social worker. 

Overall a good experience. The agency care about the children and family’s and the Group pay well and benefits are good. We get a 4day working week which is good because I like my rest day every week. 

They have been making more changes recently, some for the good like better sick pay. 

From a social work perspective  caseloads are better than local authorities (in my experience worked there before and that’s why I left) charms and policies are lengthy /  more paperwork and the forms get longer and more put on us !!!





This is a bedroom business that has grown by acquiring other bedroom businesses. There is no strategic direction, the systems are incompatible with each other. There are so many manual work-arounds it's surprising anything gets done. Each part of the business operates in a silo and is jealously protective of itself.

The best thing about the job is the people, there is almost a wartime camaraderie, there has to be. I have never looked forward to weekends and holidays as much.

I have been a social worker in the LA for a number of years so coming to this IFA was a breath of fresh air. It saved me from burnout. I get to work from home working just 4 days a week but paid for 5, low caseloads, friendly team, good manager. 
Reading the negative review previously I felt the need to write a positive one from someone working under part of NFG as I’ve never experienced what’s negatively reported in my office. 

At national fostering group we all support each other and everyone truly cares about the mission of the group. It’s great to be part of a company that makes a real difference to children’s lives but also that focuses on work life balance and providing a great place to work for its employees too. I am proud to tell people where I work. There is sometimes pressure and challenges as always but it’s worth it.  

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Social worker 53 salaries reported	£41,580 per year
Referral coordinator 4 salaries reported	£26,507 per year
Administrator 3 salaries reported	£26,957 per year
Team leader 4 salaries reported	£53,050 per year
Support worker 5 salaries reported	£29,420 per year

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