Family Support Worker

West Sussex County Council is a diverse organisation that provides services to more than 850,000 residents' every day. Through our Early Help Service, we will work with children, families, and young people to help ensure that every person is supported to achieve his or her potential. The foundations for mental health, emotional control, doing well in education and parenting ability are all set in place in the early years; the home surroundings, family life and parenting are all important factors in determining positive outcomes for children as they grow and develop.

For more information about Children's Services, please visit our Education, Children and Familiespage and our WSCC Health and Social Caresection of our website.

For more information about working for West Sussex County Council (WSCC), please visit our WSCC About Uspage on our West Sussex County Council website.

About The Job

Salary: £27,334 - £29,777 per annum

Working Pattern: Full time (37 hours per week)
Contract: Permanent
Location: Arun Early Help Hub - working across Littlehampton and Bognor areas.

Interview Date: 24th May 2024

You must be able to travel throughout the county including to locations that are not always accessible by public transport.

As a Family Support Worker, you will be assessing the needs of children, young people, and families to access, coordinate and deliver the support they need. You will work to improve their outcomes and lived experience, helping prevent their difficulties from becoming irreversible.

Key to this role is delivering direct work and interventions through our Whole Family Approach process tailored around a range of issues that children, young people, and their families may experience. Through this way of working, you will help to keep children safe whilst supporting and sustaining positive change for them and their families.

You will need strong skills in partnership working to develop and maintain effective relationships with parents, families, and partners such as Education, Health, Police and Children's Social Care, to achieve positive outcomes for all children and young people.

We are looking for someone with experience of working with children, young people and/or families, who has emotional resilience and a passion for supporting a diverse range people in our communities.

Experience and Skills

Key Skills:

1. Works effectively with families in crisis, managing own and others' anxieties and working within the boundaries of the role.
2. Manage casework effectively with children/young people and their families, establishing needs, setting objectives, and reviewing progress.
3. Engage and work creatively in partnership with children/young people and their families, in order to effect positive and lasting change.
4. Work in an empowering way with families, focusing on their collective strengths and resources, e.g. using a Solution focused approach.
5. Reflect on own practice and to learn from experience. To take responsibility for own performance and to be proactive in relation to own work and professional development.
6. Analyse and interpret complex information and prioritise needs in order to make recommendations/decisions which will have a positive outcome.

Qualifications and/or experience:

• NVQ level 3 Health and Social Care or equivalent qualification, demonstrating that level of ability in working with children/young people and families or relevant experience. Relevant organisational knowledge of systems, procedures and policies associated with operating a client focused service.
• Significant experience of working with children/young people and their families in a crisis situation and using a range of direct work interventions.
• Experience of working in a multi-agency context, demonstrating an awareness of differing roles and responsibilities and effective methods of collaboration.
• Knowledge of child and adolescent development and age-appropriate behaviour relevant to the Early Help service.
• Understanding of current childcare legislation and policy.
• Knowledge of Safeguarding policies and procedures.
• Valid and full driving licence and access to a vehicle / ability to travel around the county independently.

Rewards and Benefits

As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do.

For a full list of the benefits, you can find them on our Rewards and Benefitspage.

Further Information

The reference number for this role is CAFHE03988

For issues or queries regarding your application please contact Laura Pett Richards at .

How to apply

To apply, please upload your CV and cover letter explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role.