Senior Family Support Worker
| Posting date: | 15 August 2025 |
|---|---|
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 14 September 2025 |
| Location: | leicestershire, LE9 7PA |
| Company: | Leicestershire County Council |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 5937 |
Summary
Organisation: Leicestershire County Council
Work Location: Oakfield South Belle Vue Road, Earl Shilton, LE9 7PA + Oakfield North Forest Street, Shepshed, LE12 9DB
Worker Category: Field Based Worker
Salary: £39.939 - £42.699 per annum (pro rata for part time)
Working Hours: 37 Hours
Contract Type: Permanent
Closing Date: 25th August 2025
Interview Date(s): 3rd September 2025
About the Role
Oakfield Short Stay Primary is a dynamic Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) 30-place pupil referral unit. We are dedicated to ensuring every child achieves success and realises their potential. Our Primary School operates across two bases, providing a supportive and engaging environment for pupils who join us following a permanent exclusion or dual registration from mainstream education.
Oakfield Short Stay School is Leicestershire’s provision for school aged children who have been permanently excluded or are at risk of permanent exclusion from school. We have expanded the age range of Oakfield School and as a result we are recruiting staff. Our Secondary Inclusion Partnership staff who did put provisions in place for secondary aged children and young people who have been excluded from school, or who are at risk of this, are have recently joined the team. Therefore, you will be part of a vital team in an exciting period of development, working with us to meet the needs of children and young people between the ages of 11 and 16 who struggle to manage in mainstream and need a different offer of education to secure their successful next steps.
Role Overview: This role is for a Senior Family Support Worker, who will be part of the Senior Level Outreach Team and will work with families as part of a multi-disciplinary approach across several localities across Leicestershire. The role would suit an experienced and suitably qualified person who has experience of working with SEMH pupils. Many of our young people present with challenging behaviour, and we are looking for someone who can demonstrate strong empathy and ability to intrinsically connect with pupils with complex SEMH needs and lead in delivering a service that enables them to re-engage with their education and support the family.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead and Inspire: To provide the required statistical information for monitoring purposes and lead in the development of family support services at Oakfield
- Support Reintegration: strategically create systems that enable the reintegration of pupils back into mainstream schools, ensuring they receive the support they need and equipping them with the skills they need to be successful.
- Collaborate with Agencies: Work closely with LA colleagues, families, school leaders, and other external agencies.
- Accountability: To prepare and monitor evaluation and impact documents.
- Promote Inclusion: Demonstrate a commitment to inclusion, ensuring all pupils and staff members feel valued and supported.
What We Offer:
- Unique Learning Environment: Experience a diverse and dynamic workplace where every day is different.
- Professional Development: Access opportunities for professional growth and bespoke training.
- Supportive Team: Join a highly skilled and supportive team of practitioners.
- Make a Difference: Play a crucial role in transforming the lives of young people.
- Flexibility: Options for part-time or full-time work to suit your lifestyle.
A DBS enhanced check for a regulated activity is required for this post.
For information on our approach to the recruitment of ex-offenders, please see our policy statement.
About You
To apply for this post, you must:
Please refer to the 7 point criteria giving examples of how you meet the criteria below
- Qualifications & Experience – Hold an NVQ Level 3 or HLTA qualification, with GCSEs in English and Maths, and have experience supporting vulnerable children and managing family interventions
- Family Support & Advice – Act as the first point of contact for parents regarding exclusions and placements, providing guidance, coordinating induction plans, and ensuring an inclusive approach.
- Service Promotion & Outreach – Inform families about key services, collaborate with community professionals to identify training needs, and manage data for monitoring and evaluation.
- Management & Leadership – Supervise the Family Support Worker and contribute to strategic decision-making as a key member of the Senior Management Team.
- Safeguarding – Serve as the Designated Safeguarding Lead, maintaining up-to-date knowledge, training staff, keeping accurate records, and escalating concerns appropriately.
- Corporate Responsibilities – Ensure compliance with policies related to Health & Safety, Child Protection, Equal Opportunities, and Data Protection while maintaining comprehensive records.
- Key Skills & Attributes – Demonstrate strong communication skills, time management, ICT proficiency, safeguarding knowledge, empathy, and the ability to build positive relationships within the community.
You must also have an understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion.
In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and will ask you to evidence when you have demonstrated them as part of the selection process.
Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability.
Interested in Flexible Working?
We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below. This may include requests for term-time working, part-time hours, compressed hours, flexible start and finish times, home/remote working, etc.
Every role within the Council has a defined working style which determines where they can work. The worker category applicable to this post is detailed in the above advert. You can find out more about our worker categories in the Our Working Styles page on our career site.
For more information or an informal discussion, please contact:
Visits are highly encouraged, if you would like to discuss the role further or arrange a visit please contact Vicky Edwards on 07860 611280 to arrange a visit.
For informal discussions about the role, please contact
Vicky Edwards - Executive Head of County Primary and Secondary Short-Stay Provision
Email - Victoria.Edwards@leics.gov.uk
Phone - 07860 611280
How to Apply
Leicestershire County Council is an inclusive organisation which is on a journey to embed and celebrate equality, diversity and inclusion at every level. We warmly welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, as having a diverse workforce with different perspectives and ideas is fundamental to our values and enriches the services we offer our communities. We particularly welcome applicants from Ethnically Diverse and LGBTQ+ communities and people with disabilities to create a balanced workforce and one that reflects the communities we serve. Applicants with a disability who meet the criteria listed in the 'About You' section above will be offered an interview under the Disability Confident Employer Scheme.
To apply for this job, please click on the apply button. You will need to upload a supporting statement as part of your application which explains how you meet the criteria listed in the 'About You' section above. For more information, see the How to Apply section on our career site.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.
If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post or you want to request an application pack in an alternative format, please contact our Employee Service Centre by telephoning 0300 3030222 (select option 2) or raising a ticket via our online portal: https://emss.org.uk/support.
By applying for this post, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme