London Borough of Hackney
Fostering Family Support Practitioner – Children and Families Service
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Fixed Term Contract / Secondment Opportunity until March 2028
Are you passionate about helping foster families thrive?
In Hackney, we believe every child deserves a safe, stable, and loving home. Our Fostering Service is dedicated to supporting our incredible foster carers so they can provide the best possible care for Hackney’s care-experienced children and young people.
We are looking to diversify our team to better reflect the families we serve. We are particularly seeking a male practitioner who can provide a positive male presence and role model for our young people—particularly adolescent boys—who may have lacked stable male figures in their lives.
This isn’t a desk job—you will be in the heart of our community, working directly in foster homes to provide the practical and evidence-based support that keeps families together.
The Role
As a Fostering Family Support Practitioner, you will be:
- Bridging The Gap Between Assessment And Action
- Working Under The Guidance Of a Team Manager Or Senior Social Worker, You Will
Responsibilities
- Deliver Hands-on Support: Use systemic and behavioral approaches to help carers manage complex behaviors and daily parenting challenges. This includes accompanying young people with additional needs into the community and providing personal or safeguarding assistance in public facilities where required.
- Be the Voice of the Child: Build genuine rapport with children and young people, ensuring their wishes and feelings are at the center of every plan.
- Collaborate: Work alongside schools, health services, and youth hubs to wrap a network of support around our families and carers.
- Assess and Observe: Provide key insights and high-quality reports that contribute to the holistic assessment of a child’s needs and safety.
- Be Flexible: Adapt your schedule to meet families when they need you most—whether that’s an early morning routine, an evening check-in, or crisis intervention within the “Hackney Village” model.
About You
You are resilient, empathetic, and comfortable navigating the domestic dynamics of a fostering home. You are a natural communicator who can build quick rapport with young men and boys, helping them navigate their emotions and behaviors in a constructive way.
Requirements
- Qualifications: NVQ Level 3 in a child-related discipline, or an equivalent level of demonstrable professional experience and training in a social care, youth work, education, or fostering environment.
- Experience: Substantial experience working directly with children and families, ideally within a social care or fostering context. Direct experience engaging and supporting young men and adolescent boys is highly desirable.
- Skills: A good understanding of child development and the ability to balance risk with protective factors.
- Workload Management: Proven ability to multitask and prioritize effectively in a fast-paced environment, ensuring that both administrative tasks and direct family interventions are delivered to a high standard.
- Communication: Good report-writing skills and the ability to build quick rapport with both children, young people, families, and professionals.
- Values: A commitment to systemic and trauma-informed practice that is rooted in anti-racism. With an understanding of, and eagerness to advocate against intersectional inequalities to ensure that every child, regardless of their background or identity, receives equitable support and the opportunity to thrive.
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Why Hackney?
Hackney Children’s Social Care is a place where innovation is encouraged and professional development is a priority. You will join a team that values your clinical insights and provides the supervision you need to grow. We don’t just place children; we build futures. We need practitioners who are as committed to our carers as our carers are to our children.
How To Apply
If you have the resilience, heart, and skill set to support Hackney’s fostering community, we want to hear from you.
As a Council, our most outstanding asset is our staff, who are highly dedicated to serving our residents and committed to our goals as an organisation.
If you want to work in a place where you can represent our values so we achieve the best for our residents, please click on the apply button below.
We operate a fair and open anonymous selection process. Therefore, we do not accept supporting statements or CV’s.
To proceed with your application, you will need to create an account and submit your application.
As part of the application process, you will need to complete a number of competency-based questions. These questions allow you to demonstrate your suitability for the role and provide examples of your skills, knowledge, and experience outlined in the job description.
We understand the benefits of using AI in the workplace. However, if you are thinking of using this tool to submit your application, we ask you to think about what value it will add. AI tools tend to lack the personal touch and authenticity we value in candidates. We encourage you to showcase your unique knowledge and skills using your own voice.
This application process replaces a supporting statement.
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Prior to applying for a vacancy for a secondment opportunity, please liaise with your line manager and inform them of your interest in applying for the role.
Important Dates
- Closing date for applications: 02 August 2026 (22:59)
- Interview date: W/c 25 August 2026
We are also working towards our vision, which is to be a place for everyone; where residents and staff can be proud. In order to achieve this, we are seeking individuals who embody our “PROUD” values: Purpose and Respect, where we foster belonging through active inclusion, kindness, and open dialogue; Ownership, where we champion proactive collaboration and accountability for our shared success; and Unity and Diversity, where we work as one Council to break down silos and champion anti-racist behavior.
Hackney Council works to eradicate discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. We also recognise that people can be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will also work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class. We also welcome those interested in flexible working. We particularly welcome applications from disabled people, as this group is currently under-represented in our workforce.
The Council has a dedicated employment support service (Hackney Works), which offers Hackney residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you are thinking about applying for a job, please contact the Hackney Works team to find out what support is available: hackneyworks@hackney.gov.uk
GENUINE OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT: This post is restricted to male applicants only. This is a Genuine Occupational Requirement (GOR) in accordance with Schedule 9, Part 1, Paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010.
The Requirement Is Based On The Objective Need To
- Provide a positive male role model and targeted identity support for care-experienced children and young men, promoting healthy emotional expression and stability within foster placements.
- Ensure gender-balanced support within fostering households where a male practitioner is deemed most effective for the stability of the placement or crisis intervention.
- Provide necessary physical assistance and safeguarding interventions for boys with additional needs in public changing facilities or toilets (e.g., leisure centres and swimming pools) where privacy and decency dictate a practitioner of the same sex.
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