Family Support Worker - Children With A Disability Service

Do you enjoy working with and supporting children and their families, are you creative and adaptable, do you strive to be part of an outstanding organisation? 

Do you want to be part of our journey in providing excellent services for children and families of Kirklees, and ensuring the best outcomes for our children and young people? 

This is an exciting opportunity to work restoratively with families in Kirklees, as part of the Early Support team within The Children with a Disability Team which provides assessment and support for families. We also provide long term care placements as well as short breaks in our residential service and access to play schemes and holiday clubs. 

The Team

Early Support services work within a Families Together model which is an integrated early support model that brings together diverse services across all sectors to provide a whole family approach to supporting children and families when, where, and how they need that support. 

As a Family Support Worker within The Children with a Disability Team, you will be expected to support and assess the needs, risks and strengths of children, young people and their families. You will support the delivery of the aims and objectives of the Early Support team. 

You will use a multi-disciplinary agency approach and restorative practice to deliver coordinated support. 

The Role

The role will involve working professionally and creatively with all family members, engaging effectively with children, young people and their families from a variety of backgrounds. Due to this, it would be advantageous if applicants were able to speak additional languages. You will work flexibly to meet the needs of the service.

You will have the ability to engage families with multiple complex needs, challenging behaviours and who may be resistant at times. 

You will be expected to support and assess the needs, risks and strengths of disabled children, young people, and their families with a range of multiple and complex support needs. Working across the borough, you will provide a range of evidenced based interventions that help to prevent family breakdown escalation into the care system and empower disabled children, young people, and their families to make positive changes to their lives. 

Role Requirements 

• A level 4 qualification in working with families or an equivalent would be advantageous, but is not essential, but you will need substantial experience of working with vulnerable families from diverse backgrounds to deliver improved outcomes. 
• You will need to demonstrate a clear understanding of safeguarding in practice and understanding of safeguarding procedures. 
• Travel is an essential part of this job and therefore it would be extremely difficult for you to do your job effectively if you did not use a car for all or most of the time. It is essential that you hold a full and valid driving licence and it is expected that you will either use a council vehicle or your own car (exceptions may be made for disabled applicants). 

For a full list of the role requirements please see the attached Job Focus Sheet. 

What the team say about the role 

"I think what I love about the job is that no two days are the same, each day brings with it new challenges, new rewards and new opportunities to support families. I love being able to see the difference my role makes when families achieve their goals and children report feeling happier at home. You can’t put a price on that! The family support team are so kind and supportive, it’s like being one big family ourselves. I love learning from my colleagues and sharing new ideas with each other, it makes you realise that you are not alone and are in it together. What I also love most about the job is how much it has enabled me to learn and grow as a practitioner, finding new and creative ways to support families and improve outcomes for children." 

"I enjoy working side by side with children and families, building relationships and supporting them to achieve positive changes in their lives. It is really rewarding seeing the positive impact we have on family’s confidence and wellbeing. It is a privilege to witness and support both children and parent’s journeys." 

"Practical and emotional support is provided by management and colleagues who share a passion for the role and work together to ensure everyone is confident and able to manage in challenging times."

Previous applicants need not apply.