Specialist Foster Carers in Essex
The role
St Christopher’s is currently working in partnership with Essex County Council to find 30 new specialist foster carers to look after vulnerable young people in Essex.
Working as part of a team, you will provide a stable, caring and supportive environment to help turn a young person’s life around. Young people placed in specialist foster care are likely to have very challenging forms of behaviour linked to individual, complex emotional needs.
Being a specialist foster carer is a tough job – but one with huge rewards. With your help, each young person has the real potential to make positive changes in their lives.
The package
We believe that the better we support you in your new career, the better you’re able to help a child to have a brighter future.
We offer an attractive financial package of up to £35,000 a year to our self-employed specialist foster carers:
- When you have a young person placed with you, you will be paid £750 a week, which includes an allowance for the child to cover their costs and your household expenses.
- When you are in between placements, we will pay you a retainer of £350 per week for up to 12 weeks at any one time.
As part of our specialist team of foster carers, you will also be given extensive training and support from a range of professionals, including:
- 24 hours a day social worker support and frequent face to face meetings
- Support from other specialist foster carers
- A comprehensive professional development programme.
- Access to a child psychiatrist, psychologist and a qualified education adviser.
In addition, every specialist foster carer is entitled to 21 days respite per year
You
Our ideal candidate is likely to have a background in social work, foster care, youth work, residential childcare or teaching. As well as enthusiasm, patience and energy – and a belief that with the right support and environment, everyone has the potential to make positive changes in their lives - you will have a sound knowledge of child development stages and attachment issues.
About St Christopher’s
St Christopher’s is a registered charity with over 140 years’ experience in providing support to vulnerable children. Our fostering team in Essex is dedicated to providing local support to our specialist foster carers in order to help them to create brighter futures for those children and young people who need it most.
If you have experience of working with challenging young people - perhaps in social work, housing support, youth work, foster care or teaching – then we want to hear from you!
For more information, read the attached documents and register your interest on the St Christopher’s website.