Children’s Services
Fostering
Senior Family Support Worker
Ref: 001660
Contract: Permanent
Salary: £34,434 to £38,220 per annum (Grade 6)
Hours: 36.66 per week (office and community based any flexible working options to be discussed with Manager in advance, some unsociable hours agreed in advance to meet the needs of the service)
Location: Spindles office as base
Closing Date: Thursday 27 August 2026
Interview Date: TBC.
Role Overview:
The Family Support Worker will provide intensive, relationship-based support to Special Guardianship families to promote placement stability, strengthen parenting capacity, and improve outcomes for children and young people. The postholder will work directly with Guardians, children and professionals to prevent family disruption and reduce the risk of breakdown.
This role is focused on strengthening family relationships, improving parenting capacity and providing early intervention to prevent placement breakdown, particularly where teenagers and trauma-related challenges are impacting family stability.
PACE training and experience of attachment-focused or trauma-informed practice is highly desirable.
Key Responsibilities:
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Deliver practical and therapeutic parenting support to Special Guardians to increase confidence and resilience in managing challenging behaviours.
- Support carers to understand the impact of trauma, loss, separation and adverse childhood experiences on children's development and behaviour.
- Provide coaching and modelling of effective parenting strategies tailored to the individual needs of children and young people.
- Develop and deliver parenting interventions, workshops and support groups where appropriate
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Support the service in identifying early signs of placement stress and intervene proactively to prevent escalation.
- Hold a small caseload and undertake direct work with families experiencing significant challenges that place the SGO arrangement at risk.
- Develop and implement support plans focused on maintaining family relationships and preventing placement disruption.
- Coordinate practical and emotional support during periods of crisis.
- Work collaboratively with social workers and partner agencies to ensure timely intervention and effective risk management.
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Build trusting, respectful and professional relationships with children, young people and Special Guardians.
- Use a strengths-based approach that recognises and builds upon family resilience and existing Family support networks.
Key Requirements:
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Experience of working with children, young people and families.
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Understanding of attachment, trauma and child development.
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Experience supporting families experiencing conflict or risk of relationship breakdown.
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Ability to engage and build effective relationships with teenagers and carers.
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Strong communication, assessment and problem-solving skills.
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Ability to work independently and as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
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Maintain accurate and timely records of interventions and outcomes.
- Contribute to assessments, support plans and reviews.
- Monitor progress against agreed objectives and provide feedback to professionals and families
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Desirable
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PACE training and/or experience of DDP-informed practice.
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Experience working with Special Guardianship, fostering, adoption or kinship families.
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Knowledge of placement stability and breakdown prevention work.
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Experience facilitating parenting programmes or family interventions.
About Us:
We want Oldham to have vibrant, safe neighbourhoods where people are proud to live with opportunities for healthier, more fulfilled lives; and a sustainable, thriving economy. As we look to the future, the challenges may be significant, but so are the opportunities. We’ve identified three missions with our residents and partners, focusing on what will deliver the biggest impact:
A Great Place to Live, Healthier, Happier Lives, and Green and Growing.
We’re looking for candidates who will support us to achieve our ambitions and we encourage you to download our Corporate Plan: Ready for the Future and our Oldham Plan for further information.
Our Values and Behaviours:
By driving innovation, investing in our people, and championing our communities, we will ensure that Oldham continues to be a place where everyone can live their best life. To support this, we have three core values which define who we are and how we operate. These are ‘Proud, Ambitious, and Together’, and they shape our culture, inform our decisions, and inspire us to deliver on our commitments to the people of Oldham.
We have translated these values into five behaviours which guide our actions and are the standards we hold ourselves to, day in and day out:
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Work with a resident focus
- Support local leaders
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Committed to the borough
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Delivery high performance
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Take ownership and drive change
You can find out more about our values and behaviours on our greater.jobs Oldham page
Our Benefits Package:
At Oldham Council we offer a great benefits package for our employees, which includes the following:
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25 days annual leave which increases after 5 and 10-years’ service
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The option to purchase additional annual leave.
- An attractive LGPS benefit pension scheme with the option to make shared cost additional voluntary contributions.
- Discounted gym membership with Oldham Active.
- Staff discount scheme for shopping, entertainment, eating-out, eating-in, travel, motoring and more.
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Salary sacrifice scheme for home and electronics and Cycle to Work.
- Wellbeing support, including a Mental Health First Aider network and an Employment Assistance Programme that provides 24 hours access to advice and support.
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Staff recognition and celebration events.
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Peer support groups
Inclusive Recruitment:
We work closely with employees to help them work at their best, including making adjustments such as flexible working, describing available working patterns, providing equipment or making changes to the workplace.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and therefore expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
If you have lived or worked abroad for 3 months or more in the last 5 years or 12 months or more (whether continuously or in total) in the last 10 years whilst aged 18 or over, please refer to the link below for details for how to obtain your Certificates of Good Character. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants
Unfortunately, at this time we are not able to offer sponsorship.
If you have completed the GM Elevate (Leadership Development) Programme please indicate this within the ‘About You’ or ‘Supporting Statement’ section of your application.
If you’re an applicant with disabilities and have previously been in or currently in care, a carer, someone who has served in the Armed Forces, or you’ve participated in the GM Elevate Programme, and you meet the essential criteria of the role, you are guaranteed to reach the first stage of assessment under our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme.
Data and Privacy:
For details of how we use your data please see our Privacy Notice
Important Information:
Please note that should a vacancy that has been released for internal or external recruitment be deemed suitable for a current employee at risk of redundancy, it can be pulled back at any point, up to the post being formally offered to a candidate who is not at risk of redundancy.
Right to Work in the UK from 1st July 2021.doc
