Therapeutic Social Worker – Fostering Support (Bradford)

Position: Therapeutic Social Worker (Fostering Support)
Partner Agency: Supportive Bridge Staffing Agency
Client: Bradford Children and Families Trust
Salary: Grade PO3 (SCPs 40-43), £42,839 - £46,142 per annum + Annual retention payment (paid monthly)
Hours: Permanent, Full-time (37 hours per week)
Location: Sir Henry Mitchell House, Bradford (Vibrant, diverse, and well-connected)
Closing Date: Monday 10th August 2026
Interviews: Wednesday 26th August 2026

Introduction

At Supportive Bridge Staffing Agency, we are dedicated to connecting exceptional, specialized professionals with roles where they can drive profound, positive change. We are incredibly proud to partner with Bradford Children and Families Trust to recruit a passionate, trauma-informed Therapeutic Social Worker for their Fostering Support Service.

This post forms a crucial part of an exciting, newly established multidisciplinary team at Foster for Bradford. The team is dedicated to providing a dynamic, therapeutic response to fostering families to promote stability, reduce placement breakdowns, and nurture the emotional wellbeing of children in care. If you practice with a restorative, relational heart and want to help build a cutting-edge support network, this is the perfect career step.

About the Role

As a Therapeutic Social Worker, you will combine your social work expertise with therapeutic practice to support foster carers and children. Rather than carrying a standard statutory case management load, you will focus on delivering direct therapeutic interventions, clinical consultations, and specialist training to ensure placements remain strong and resilient.

Key Responsibilities:

Reflective Consultations: Provide dedicated reflective space, practical parenting strategies, and emotional support to foster carers and social work staff to address presenting placement challenges.
Direct Therapeutic Interventions: Deliver hands-on therapeutic support directly to children and young people based on your clinical skills (with further training supported by the service to meet emerging needs).
Skills & Training Delivery: Create and facilitate specialist training sessions, workshops, and support groups for foster carers and staff on trauma, attachment, resilience, emotional regulation, and therapeutic parenting.
Transitions & Matching: Utilize your clinical expertise to inform matching decisions and shape transition plans, facilitating smooth, stable moves for children transitioning from residential homes into foster families.
Collaborative Support: Play an active role in a multidisciplinary team, driving systemic improvement across the fostering service.

What You Will Need to Succeed

We are looking for a qualified social worker who has a deep theoretical and practical understanding of developmental trauma and attachment.

Qualifications:
- Essential: Dip.SW, CQSW, BA (Hons) Social Work, or equivalent professional social work qualification.
- Essential: Active registration with Social Work England.
- Desirable: An additional qualification in a recognized therapeutic intervention relevant to supporting children who have experienced trauma, abuse, or significant loss.
Experience:
- Minimum of 2 years of post-qualifying experience in children's social care.
- Proven experience working alongside fostering families, children in care, and managing child protection or complex childcare cases.
- Broad experience working therapeutically with diverse service user groups, including minority ethnic communities.
- Strong skills in interpreting and applying children’s legislation from a trauma-informed, relational perspective.
Requirements:
- Flexibility to work evenings and weekends as required to meet the needs of fostering families.
- An enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

What’s in it for You?

Bradford Children and Families Trust deeply values its workforce and provides a competitive package designed to champion your professional growth and wellbeing:

Retention Bonus: Eligibility for an annual retention payment (paid in 12 monthly instalments).
Generous Annual Leave: 31 days of annual leave, rising to 34 days with continuous service (plus bank holidays).
Financial Stability: Competitive salary progression and an excellent Local Government Pension Scheme.
Work-Life Balance: Supportive family-friendly policies and enhanced parental leave schemes.
Health & Wellbeing: Access to confidential counselling, Occupational Health services, and active staff support networks.
Professional Development: Direct opportunities for specialist therapeutic training, continuous CPD, and clear career progression.

Our Commitment to Safeguarding
Bradford Children and Families Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All preferred candidates will undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check (including the Children’s barred list) and will be required to disclose relevant criminal history prior to interview.