Independent Fostering Vice Panel Chair

Foster Care Associates (The FCA)
Role: Independent Fostering Panel Vice Chair
Panel Locations: Wales
Panel Rate of Pay: £300 per panel attended, inclusive of reading and travel time
Fostering Panel Frequency: Monthly

About Us

Set up by a former foster parent and former social worker in 1994, Foster Care Associates (FCA) is an established fostering agency which forms part of the Polaris Community - one of the UK’s largest communities of children’s services providers.

Today, we’re one of the country’s largest and most experienced independent fostering agencies. But just because we’re large doesn’t mean we’re impersonal. At FCA we’re one big family, and we’re committed to supporting every single child and foster parent, every single minute of the day.

Many who enter our care have experienced a disrupted childhood and our aim is to break this cycle and provide more stability. We do this by carefully matching the right foster parents to the right children and making sure we’re always on hand with support, guidance and help.

Our expertise helps ensure more successful placements - and that’s exactly the sort of continuity we want. This commitment is spelt out in our mission, which is to ‘provide positive and stable family environments for the children and young people placed with our carers and ensure that, with the support of our carers, they can thrive emotionally and academically’.

We have an exciting opportunity for you to join our team as an Independent Fostering Panel Vice Chair.

To complement our existing skill set and ensure we have well-rounded panels for the benefit of those we look after, we are interested to hear from candidates with direct care experience, education experience, experience of being a foster parent or adopter/adoptee, or a background in the police, education, health, law, social work or social care sectors.

Applicants must meet the relevant statutory independence requirements for appointment to an independent fostering panel role.

What Does a Fostering Panel Do?

• Consider applications for approval and recommend whether or not a person is suitable to be approved as a foster parent
• Monitor and advise on the procedures for undertaking reviews of foster parents
• Make recommendations on other matters relating to fostering regulations
• Hold twice-yearly panel business meetings

Independent Panel Member Responsibilities:

• Attend and participate in panel meetings in accordance with the regulations, policies and procedures of FCA, helping to determine the most appropriate outcomes for applications from prospective foster parents
• Prepare for panel meetings, reading panel papers carefully, identifying key issues and alerting the Chair as appropriate
• Contribute to the panel’s consideration of cases and to the making of clear and well-evidenced recommendations
• Ensure that all those attending panel are treated with respect and courtesy
• Address diversity issues and promote anti-discriminatory practice at all times
• Ensure that issues of concern, in relation both to individual cases and to more general matters, are raised as appropriate
• Safeguard the confidentiality of all panel papers and panel discussions

Independent Panel Chair/Vice Chair Responsibilities:

• Chair panel meetings when required, ensuring that all items of business are covered and that the panel operates in accordance with regulations and the policies and procedures of the agency
• Prepare for panel meetings, reading panel papers carefully, identifying key issues and alerting the Agency Panel Adviser if necessary to ensure, as far as possible, that the case is adequate for submission to panel
• Attend quarterly quality assurance meetings with the management team
• Offer and participate in consultation regarding service delivery and the development of the agency
• Maintain the confidentiality of panel documents and panel discussions
• Maintain oversight of panel items with a view to ensuring high standards of practice and adherence to regulatory timescales
• In conjunction with the Agency Panel Adviser, conduct panel members’ annual appraisals

What We Offer:

• Full induction
• Annual training, online training and Development Days
• Annual appraisal for the Independent Panel Vice Chair
• £300 per panel attended, inclusive of reading and travel time

For an informal discussion about this post, please contact Ffion Williams - Fostering Service Manager on 07813 054937.

To be considered for this position, please submit an application and we will be in touch.

The successful candidate will be required to complete an enhanced DBS check, the cost of which will be met by FCA.

FCA is an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates.