Council leaders from children and adult social care have joined forces once again during Social Work Week to highlight the rewarding careers in the sector and the vital support our social workers provide.

 

This initiative is part of a national campaign led by Social Work England, taking place from 16 March, aimed at raising awareness of the wide-ranging opportunities within the social care sector.

 

 

 

Councillor Nick Dorrington, Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education at Portsmouth City Council, said: “Social care practitioners support families across the city on a daily basis in a range of different roles. This makes for a dynamic and interesting career that will see you work with some of the more vulnerable people in society to enable change and improve outcomes.”

 

 

“It’s incredibly rewarding…”

 

Claire Y, an experienced social worker in the fostering recruitment and assessment team, recruits and trains new foster carers in Portsmouth to support children and young people.

 

Claire shared: “My role is varied and includes attending events to raise awareness, meeting people, sharing information about fostering, taking initial enquiry calls, and assessing applicants through to becoming foster carers.”

 

Claire works closely with people to understand their strengths, identify areas for support, and help them prepare to foster through training, information sharing, and support groups. She also supports them through the fostering panel at the end of their assessment.

 

Claire shared that she loves getting to know people and seeing them progress from their first enquiry to becoming approved foster carers: “It’s incredibly rewarding to help people prepare to offer safe, happy, loving homes for the children in their care. The thing I enjoy the most is getting to know people and seeing them progress on their fostering journey.”

 

 

Social work practitioners make a significant impact…

 

Councillor Dorrington added: “We need more professionals who can step up and make a difference in Portsmouth. Social Work Week provides an opportunity to showcase the full range of jobs and the significant impact made by those who work within them.”

 

Portsmouth City Council provides a range of social work opportunities for those wishing to take a step into the profession with extensive training and development pathways.

 

This includes apprenticeships to upskill existing staff members as well as employment programmes such as the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) programme and the Step Up to Social Work scheme.

 

 

The aim is to attract passionate and dedicated individuals…

 

Councillor Matthew Winnington, Cabinet Member for Community Wellbeing, Health and Care at Portsmouth City Council, added: “Through this national awareness campaign, we want to showcase the rewards and challenges of working in this sector.”

 

“Our hopes for the future in Portsmouth are centred on building a robust and resilient social care workforce. By attracting passionate and dedicated individuals to the profession, we can ensure that our community continues to flourish.”

 

 

 

Foster carer Sandy* shared: “My social worker is so in tune with our needs and is always aware of the training and support I need to fulfil my role.”

 

As part of Social Work Week, Foster Portsmouth will be celebrating their committed social workers and devoted foster carers. We will also be encouraging people to start their fostering journey, providing information on the extensive local support networks provided by social workers and the other professionals who make up our ‘team around the child’, the application process and the financial assistance that is available.

 

 

Developing positive relationships…

 

Social services assistant Claire K supports our supported lodgings carers who help care for young people, preparing them for independence and adult life. Claire shared: “We really enjoy supporting our carers and seeing them develop positive relationships with those they are caring for.”

 

In her role, Claire forms positive relationships with carers, and is on hand if they need guidance or advice. She added: “We regularly meet with our carers for supervision and have reviews for those they are caring for. This approach ensures they achieve their goals of the arrangement and for the young people.”

 

Kerry, another social services assistant in our supported lodgings team, also feels: “It is rewarding to see the progress our young people make as they become confident young adults who move on to independent living.”

 

Kerry enjoys helping young people reach their potential. She collaborates with team members, including personal advisors, to ensure young people can access the support they need to transition to independence. In addition to performing regular reviews, Kerry works alongside other professionals who may be supporting these young people in achieving their goals and becoming more independent. These professionals also work closely with our supported lodging carers.

 

 

Support at every stage of the process…

 

At Foster Portsmouth we recognise that support is vital and we’re proud to offer our foster carers an extensive range of 24/7 support. This support is available at every stage of the process through an assessing social worker during the application process and then, in addition to the child’s social worker, carers will have a dedicated supervising social worker providing them with support, advice and encouragement throughout their fostering journey. They’ll also have access to a skilled team of professionals specialising in health and education, including child and adolescent mental health, all of whom make up our ‘team around the child’.

 

Supported Lodgings carers Tamara and Menno have received continued support from Foster Portsmouth via out of hours social workers as well as their own supervising social worker who they meet regularly. Tamara shared: “She is my sounding board and my adviser. No question or worry is too trivial for her, and she ensures that my queries and concerns are addressed promptly. She is always my first port of call.”

 

READ MORE ABOUT THE SUPPORT AND BENEFITS AVAILABLE WITH US

 

 

“Mockingbird has changed how we do things…”

 

Team leader Tom leads the way with our Mockingbird model of foster care. He supports families within each Mockingbird constellation, and his team are responsible for developing hub homes. Tom shared his learnings and hopes for the future of the programme:

 

“When we launched mockingbird, it became clear quite quickly that the connections and relationships that formed between the home hub carers and their satellite carers were really strong and central to the mockingbird model. We also found foster families within each constellation started to connect and support each other”.

 

“The relationships are stronger between families and foster carers. As a result of this support, the children tell us that they enjoy the friendships that have formed within mockingbird. All foster carers in the constellations have the opportunity to support one another. They share their experiences, training and signpost each other to useful resources”.

 

Tom ends: “Mockingbird has changed how we do things and it has been a delight to be part of that journey.”

 

Foster carer Zhoura adds: “There is such an amazing support network with Foster Portsmouth and so much training. I have my own social worker who is a regular visitor and the child has a social worker as well. It’s really important to have social workers because sometimes you may be struggling or you need to know about courses you need to go on. They’re there to support you.”

 

 

You too could make a difference…

 

Anyone aged 21+ with a spare bedroom could foster with Foster Portsmouth regardless of their age, gender, faith, ethnicity, sexuality, marital or work status, or whether they rent or own their own home.

 

Our foster carers – many of which continue to foster for many years – come from Portsmouth itself or the immediate surrounding areas; from Emsworth and Rowlands Castle to Gosport and Fareham, and Petersfield and Havant to Hayling Island and the Isle of Wight.

 

There are many types of fostering and everyone will be able to find one that’s the right fit for them. This could be a short or long-term arrangement for a child or siblings until they’re ready to live independently or be reunited with family, support for children with a disability or unaccompanied children seeking safety and asylum, supported lodgings to develop their independent living skills, a parent and baby placement, or respite care.

 

Carers receive local round the clock support and ongoing quality training such as therapeutic care including through our mentoring scheme and our innovative award-winning Mockingbird programme which provides a support network of other foster carers similar to that of an extended family. They also receive competitive fees, discounts, benefits and allowances, social activities, and free membership to The Fostering Network.

 

To enquire about fostering with Foster Portsmouth, or to arrange a 1:1 with one of our experienced team or existing foster carers, please contact us.

 

If you would like to join our dedicated team of social work practitioners, you can search for children social care jobs on the Stronger Futures website.

 

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*Name has been changed to protect privacy.