Strengthening Families Workers - SEND

Following the news that the City of Wolverhampton Council has become a pathfinder to support the delivery of the Families First for Children Programme (FFCP), we are seeking to recruit full time Strengthening Families Workers (SFWs).

We have a number of full time / part time Strengthening Families Worker posts available which will specialise in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

These are fantastic opportunities if you have experience of SEND and you want to make a real difference. We need people like you to help us deliver excellent support to the children and families in our city.

What is the role?

You will:

• Work directly with children, young people and their families in order to promote, strengthen and to develop the potential of parents/carers and their children in order to prevent children suffering significant harm and/or becoming looked after.


• Undertake or contribute to multi-agency assessments/ Family Help Plans of children and families in need of help and support.


• Adopt a preventative approach to supporting children, young people and their families.


• Manage a caseload of children / young people and groupwork, adopting a flexible and creative approach., Vibrant and active employee networks including four staff equality forums (Race Religion and Belief; Disability and Age; Gender Maternity and Paternity and LGBT+)


• Access to an external and independent confidential reporting service for employee concerns to be raised ("Safe Place")


• Commitment to eliminating discrimination and supporting employee wellbeing to ensure a good work /life balance, including a strong employee assistance scheme and wellbeing offer


Please note, internal candidates should have sought agreement from their line manager before applying.

This post is subject to a satisfactory DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check.


• NVQ level 3 or equivalent e.g. in Education, Health or Social Care, Community Development or Diploma in Youth & Community Work


• The achievement of English and Maths or equivalent to level 2 of the National Qualification Framework


• Minimum of 2 years post qualifying, recent experience in a relevant field e.g. Education, Social Care, Early Years.


• This experience will include supporting children and families in groups and individually within frameworks; experience of community development work; conducting assessments of need, in relation to children and families; experience of working in a diverse community.
  
  We are committed to building a workforce that is reflective of the diverse community we serve. We want to attract the best applications from people of all backgrounds and underrepresented groups because we strongly believe in adding value through diversity, inclusion, and equality. Our employees enable us to deliver services that are accessible, inclusive, and reflective of Wolverhampton residents.


Our status as a Disability Confident Employer showcases our commitment to people with disabilities or health conditions, advocating for their opportunities and potential. We've received the Stonewall Silver Award, emphasising our dedication to the LGBT+ community by nurturing an inspiring, inclusive, and equal workplace. As of March 2023, the RACE Code Quality Mark signifies our active engagement with racial equality. These recognitions validate our continuous efforts towards fostering an inclusive work environment that respects and values our diverse employees.

As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the essential criteria for the post.

We encourage, inspire and value an inclusive culture here at the council where employees can flourish, thrive and be themselves. We have four staff equality forums for employees to join. These help to ensure our employees have a voice, they feel empowered to speak up and where everyone is treated with respect - Learn more about the staff equality forums here, From Monday 11th December 2023 an exciting change is happening for us as an organisation - we are implementing a new system which will improve your candidate experience! To access your candidate portal for our new system, head to https://wolverhampton.wm-jobs.co.uk/members/.

If you already have an application in progress with us before the new year, don't worry, this will continue as it normally would and there will be no impact on your application or the process. More information on our new and improved system can be found on the WMJobs help pages!

City of Wolverhampton

There's never been a better time to join the award winning City of Wolverhampton Council to further your career. We are a progressive and future facing organisation, and passionate about making our city better for all who live, work and travel here.

We are an ambitious organisation focused on delivering the best services for people in Wolverhampton; working for us gives you the opportunity to make a difference to their lives.

Our continual drive for improvement led to us winning APSE Overall Council of the Year Service Delivery Award, also achieving Annual Service Award Finalists for our services in Waste and Recycling; Public Protection; Best Housing Regeneration and Homelessness multi-agency work, showing that the City of Wolverhampton Council is truly an organisation striving for daily excellence in all we do.

Equal Opportunities

The City of Wolverhampton Council employs over 5,000 people in more than 600 different trades and professions. We are committed to representing Wolverhampton's diverse community and therefore strongly encourage applications from all applicants meeting the essential criteria. The council operate a guaranteed interview policy for veterans who have served in the military, those who have previously been under our care and are under the age of 25 and disabled candidates, where it is evidenced that the essential criteria of the post is met.

The city has seen rapid developments with major projects like the i54, Way Youth Zone and i10 and more exciting developments are planned for the westside of the city. The leisure-led mixed user scheme includes a multi-screen cinema, restaurants, bars, hotel, multi-storey car park and apartments, all accessible by foot from our city centre.

We benefit from being in a prime location, with excellent transport links at the heart of the UK's high speed rail and motorway networks, making us an employer of choice for people across the West Midlands.

Wolverhampton is rated as one of the top cities in the UK for families. Almost 90 per cent of the city's primary and secondary schools are rated as 'good' or 'outstanding' by Ofsted. The City also offers a wide range of family friendly facilities with stunning parks and green spaces and top entertainment attractions such as Wolverhampton Art Gallery, the Civic and Wulfrun Halls and the Grand Theatre all of which attract top acts such as Jimmy Carr, Gary Barlow, World Darts Competition, upcoming bands and West End productions.

Why Work for City of Wolverhampton Council?

We invest heavily in skills and training for our employees; you will develop and grow with us through your time, benefiting from regular professional development conversations, and varied training opportunities.

We offer a wide range of benefits including competitive salaries that progress within different grades for the variety of jobs on offer. The majority of our positions offer a generous annual leave entitlement of 25 days - this increases with length of service. There is also an added option to buy up to 10 days additional leave in each leave year. New entrants also benefit from 8 days bank holiday entitlement (basic leave entitlement of 33 days).

The council offers an excellent Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with employee and employer contributions based on salary grades and other benefits including:

• Index linked pension


• Option to convert your pension for tax-free cash when you retire


• Retirement on the grounds of ill-health at any age.


The council also offers a wide range of flexible working options to fit in around your commitments including:

• Flexi-time


• Reduced hours working


• Job share


• Homeworking


• Term time only


Other rewards

• Discounted city parking at a number of sites with reduced charges for blue badge holders


• Annual Travel Card Scheme


• Salary Sacrifice scheme for cars - with a wide range of 'green' vehicles, cycles and associated equipment, personal IT equipment and smartphones


• Retail, leisure, legal and ethical savings and loans through our competitive rewards portal