Placement Support Officer
| Posting date: | 30 July 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £28,142 to £33,699 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 17 August 2025 |
| Location: | Reading, Berkshire |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 3 days per week |
| Company: | Reading Borough Council |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | BFC0874 |
Summary
Brighter Futures for Children
About us
Brighter Futures for Children is a not-for-profit company, owned by, but independent of, Reading Borough Council. Although we are independent, we are very much part of the Reading Family. Our people enjoy all of benefits as other Council employees including membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme and continuous service.
We work closely with partners in the local community and key organisations including Reading Borough Council, policy, public health and voluntary groups. We are responsible for the delivery of children’s social care, early help & prevention, education services (including SEND). This also includes fostering and adoption, the Youth Offending Service and traded services with schools.
Our main aim is to protect and enhance the lives of the children of Reading. We help families find long-term solutions to ensure children lead happy, healthy and successful lives.
About the role
We have an exciting opportunity for you to join our Placements Team as a Placement Support Officer.
In this vital role, you will support the Outcome Focused Placements Officers and the Operations Manager in coordinating placement requests for Looked After Children (LAC), including those with complex needs and special educational requirements. You’ll play a key part in ensuring that placements are suitable, cost-effective, and aligned with the best outcomes for children and young people.
Working closely with internal teams and external providers, you’ll help maintain accurate records, populate placement agreements, and support the monitoring and review of placements. You’ll also contribute to the development of commissioning strategies by ensuring effective data collection and reporting.
This is a great opportunity for someone who is organised, proactive, and passionate about improving the lives of children. You’ll receive training and support to develop your skills in placement coordination, contract monitoring, and data management, all while working in a collaborative and supportive environment.
For more information about the role, please read the job description and person specification.
Our offer
We offer a supportive environment to grow and develop your career with the opportunity to put your ideas across. Innovation and ambition are strongly encouraged, and you’ll get a great feel for that working in our friendly and collaborative environment.
A competitive salary alongside a range of benefits including:
• Local Government Pension Scheme with generous employer contribution
• Incremental holidays starting with 26 days plus public holidays (rising to 33 after 10 years’ service)
• Discounted Child Care (on site nursery)
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Season train ticket loans
• Salary Sacrifice Car Lease Scheme
• A range of local shopping discounts
Inclusion and Diversity
We want Brighter Futures for Children to be a great place to work and to ensure that our children, young people and families are represented in leadership roles and positions of power. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking.
We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and those of Other Ethnicities, LGBT+, disabled and neurodiverse communities to make a real difference to our children, young people and families so that equalities and justice remains at the heart of everything we do.
Asking for Adjustments
Brighter Futures for Children is committed to making our recruitment practices barrier-free and as accessible as possible for everyone. This includes making adjustments or changes for disabled people, neurodiverse people or people with long-term health conditions.
If you would like us to do anything differently during the application, interview or assessment process, including providing information in an alternative format, please let us know.
Closing date: 17 August 2025
Interview date: W/C 25 August 2025
We look forward to hearing from you!
About us
Brighter Futures for Children is a not-for-profit company, owned by, but independent of, Reading Borough Council. Although we are independent, we are very much part of the Reading Family. Our people enjoy all of benefits as other Council employees including membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme and continuous service.
We work closely with partners in the local community and key organisations including Reading Borough Council, policy, public health and voluntary groups. We are responsible for the delivery of children’s social care, early help & prevention, education services (including SEND). This also includes fostering and adoption, the Youth Offending Service and traded services with schools.
Our main aim is to protect and enhance the lives of the children of Reading. We help families find long-term solutions to ensure children lead happy, healthy and successful lives.
About the role
We have an exciting opportunity for you to join our Placements Team as a Placement Support Officer.
In this vital role, you will support the Outcome Focused Placements Officers and the Operations Manager in coordinating placement requests for Looked After Children (LAC), including those with complex needs and special educational requirements. You’ll play a key part in ensuring that placements are suitable, cost-effective, and aligned with the best outcomes for children and young people.
Working closely with internal teams and external providers, you’ll help maintain accurate records, populate placement agreements, and support the monitoring and review of placements. You’ll also contribute to the development of commissioning strategies by ensuring effective data collection and reporting.
This is a great opportunity for someone who is organised, proactive, and passionate about improving the lives of children. You’ll receive training and support to develop your skills in placement coordination, contract monitoring, and data management, all while working in a collaborative and supportive environment.
For more information about the role, please read the job description and person specification.
Our offer
We offer a supportive environment to grow and develop your career with the opportunity to put your ideas across. Innovation and ambition are strongly encouraged, and you’ll get a great feel for that working in our friendly and collaborative environment.
A competitive salary alongside a range of benefits including:
• Local Government Pension Scheme with generous employer contribution
• Incremental holidays starting with 26 days plus public holidays (rising to 33 after 10 years’ service)
• Discounted Child Care (on site nursery)
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Season train ticket loans
• Salary Sacrifice Car Lease Scheme
• A range of local shopping discounts
Inclusion and Diversity
We want Brighter Futures for Children to be a great place to work and to ensure that our children, young people and families are represented in leadership roles and positions of power. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking.
We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and those of Other Ethnicities, LGBT+, disabled and neurodiverse communities to make a real difference to our children, young people and families so that equalities and justice remains at the heart of everything we do.
Asking for Adjustments
Brighter Futures for Children is committed to making our recruitment practices barrier-free and as accessible as possible for everyone. This includes making adjustments or changes for disabled people, neurodiverse people or people with long-term health conditions.
If you would like us to do anything differently during the application, interview or assessment process, including providing information in an alternative format, please let us know.
Closing date: 17 August 2025
Interview date: W/C 25 August 2025
We look forward to hearing from you!
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.