Job Introduction
Milton Keynes City Council are seeking to appoint new independent members and independent social workers to sit on our Fostering and Permanency Panel.
In exchange for supporting us to provide high quality foster care for our children, we offer a competitive daily rate which is inclusive of preparation time.
The Fostering Panel makes recommendations on who is suitable to care for vulnerable children, ensuring that the children in our care are placed in the best home possible.
We hold two panels each month (mainly on a Thursday) and successful candidates will be placed on a rota along with other panel members. Most Panels are virtual but having people who are geographically close to Milton Keynes would be an advantage.
You do not need experience of sitting on fostering panels, as long as you have transferrable skills, including the ability to respectfully challenge others when needed and to be child focused.
Due to current under-representation on our panel, we would particularly welcome applications if you are from an ethnic group other than white or are male. We would also particularly welcome applications from people with:
- Personal experience of being a Kinship Persons Foster Carer or a Special Guardian (this cannot be with Milton Keynes)
- Personal experience of being a care experienced young person (you must be over 18)
- Personal experience of being part of the LGBTQ+ community
For further information please contact Sarah McGrory 01908 252206
This role is may suitable for home working, following an assessment.
Interviews for this role will be held on 10 June.
Milton Keynes City Council is a modern and friendly place to work. Find out more about working with us here: www.mkcounciljobs.org.uk
Main Responsibility
In this role, you will be paid a set rate, inclusive of preparation work. This is £200 per Panel, and you will need to be available from 9.10am to 4:30pm for a full day panel. You’ll need to be available for the whole day if necessary. As a panel member you are expected to attend at least 50% of the Panels you are invited to per year.
To support you with your new responsibilities, we will provide you with the opportunity to attend training relevant to the role including at least one annual face to face training day.
About the Role
The main responsibilities of this role are:
- To attend fostering panel meetings prepared to contribute to the panel discussion.
- To take responsibility for making a recommendation, based on the evidence presented.
- To raise any questions and concerns, either prior to, or at the meeting.
- Commitment to challenging discrimination and promoting anti-discriminatory practice.
- A commitment to ensuring the confidentiality of all panel papers and panel discussions.
- To participate in a panel induction and in panel training
- On an annual basis, participate constructively in the review of their panel membership.
The Ideal Candidate
A commitment to keeping children within their own family or community where this is possible and to maintaining contact between children living in foster families and their birth families where this appears to be in the child’s best interests.
A commitment to fostering and adoption as a way of meeting a child’s needs where this appears to be in the child’s best interests.
A commitment to safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare.
A valuing of diversity in relation to issues of ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, and sexuality.
An understanding of, and a commitment to, the need for confidentiality.
A willingness to increase knowledge and understanding of issues through reading, discussion, and training.
Should you be offered the role, as part of the pre-employment checks an Enhanced DBS will be actioned for you (unless you are on the DBS Update Service).
About The Organisation
Milton Keynes City Council is a large, modern and financially stable employer with around 2,500 people working across our eight areas. Together we provide local residents and businesses with a wide range of important round-the-clock services and aim to make our city a better place to live.
We work hard because of the demands placed on us, like protecting children from harm or preventing homelessness. However, working for the city is always rewarding and everyone has the opportunity to make a real difference.
We’re very proud of our diversity and are committed to having a workforce that reflects the community we serve. Whatever your background, you will be welcome here if you share our values of being dedicated, respectful and collaborative.
We offer great training and support and because of the size and scale of the organisation there are always new opportunities to explore when it’s time for a new role.
If you’d like to know more about how we do things and what matters to us, take a look at our short booklet What makes us Milton Keynes City Council.
