Team: Quality Assurance ServiceJob Family: CBG11 – EnablingSalary: £41,042 - £44,296 per annum pro rataContract: Hybrid - Permanent Hours: 26 hours per weekLocation: You will be expected to attend a CBC office location as often as needed to carry out your role, which will be no less than once per month.Closing Date: 11th January 2025Interview Date: 15th January 2026 - these will take place at Priory House, Monks Walk, Shefford, Bedfordshire, SG17 5TQ. More about the role: We’re looking for an innovative and dynamic Fostering Review & Regulation 44 Officer. You will be a tenacious social worker who is passionate about quality, committed to excellent services for children and driven to strengthen outcomes across fostering and residential care. This unique dual-role post brings together the statutory functions of the Fostering Review Officer and the Regulation 44 Independent Visitor, offering you the opportunity to influence standards across both fostering services and children’s residential homes. Fostering Review Officer Function You will be responsible for undertaking robust annual reviews of CBC foster carers, as well as additional reviews when circumstances change. You will evaluate the quality of care provided, identify strengths, highlight risks, and drive forward improvements. Your assessments will inform Fostering Panel, helping to ensure the continued suitability, development and support of our foster carers. You will build constructive, trusting relationships with foster carers, children and young people, and colleagues across operational teams. Regulation 44 Visitor Function Under the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015, you will carry out monthly independent visits to our two children’s residential homes. You will assess compliance with Regulations, scrutinise records, speak with children and staff, and rigorously evaluate how children’s safety, welfare and wellbeing are being promoted. Your independent oversight will help strengthen practice and ensure homes maintain the highest standards. It’s a great time to join us; Children’s Services has been awarded ‘employer of the year’ alongside a ‘Good’ OFSTED inspection in 2025. We pride ourselves on delivering excellent quality relationship-based practice, we’re a cohesive and highly performing workforce which embraces a continual learning and developing culture. Is this exciting opportunity speaking to you? To apply you will need a proven track record in either Fostering or Children's Residential Care and must be a Registered Social Worker. Our Offer We have a number of rewards and benefits available to our staff, to view these please visit our Rewards and Benefits page Our aspiration is to be a truly flexible employer. We welcome discussion on location, hours and working pattern as part of the application process. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You will be expected to demonstrate how you meet the key accountabilities and competencies in this Recruitment Pack. Our Competency Framework and Qualification Guidance are to be read in conjunction with our Recruitment Pack. For an informal discussion about this position, please contact: Ben Feasmen at Ben.Feasmen@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk or call 0300 300 6820 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Safeguarding: Central Bedfordshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all employees, volunteers and contractors to share this commitment. This post is subject to the disclosure of criminal records. To maintain a fair and consistent approach for applicants, it is Central Bedfordshire Council's policy to only consider applications made via our online application system and we therefore thank you for not submitting your application offline. Our National Careers Service team offer a free monthly workshop covering CV writing and how to complete the statement sections of the Central Bedfordshire Council online application form. This MS Teams workshop is open to anyone from the UK and lasts around 1.5 hours. Please book your place here. More information about this service can be found here: Support getting into work or learning | Central Bedfordshire Council