Support Worker| Permanent| Part-Time 18.5 hours

Support Worker - Part-Time - Permanent - Grade 6 - £28,142 - £32,061 pro rata - Fostering Service

We’re one assessment service made up of two dedicated teams, all working together with the same purpose: making sure Lancashire’s children, young people, and families receive the very best support.

Our Mainstream Assessment Team

Our Mainstream team leads on recruiting and assessing Lancashire's mainstream foster carers. This includes initial visits, completing full fostering assessments, and preparing families through tailored training so they feel confident, supported, and ready for the fostering journey. As a support worker, you will be required to undertake initial visits, support families in completing registration of interest packs and take part in our marketing and training events.

Our Kinship Assessment Team

Our Kinship colleagues focus on assessing and supporting Lancashire’s kinship carers. Their work includes carrying out viability assessments for prospective Connected Carers and Special Guardians, completing Regulation 24 assessments, supervising carers, and preparing detailed assessment reports for both Fostering Panel and Court. They play a key role in helping children remain within their wider family networks whenever this is safe and right for them. As a support worker, you will be required to undertake initial visits, support families in completing registration of interest packs and take part in our training events.

Both our Team is based at County Hall in Preston, although we currently work flexibly. As our work takes us across Lancashire, you’ll need to be able to travel independently.

Exciting Opportunities to Join Us

We’re looking for two Support Worker (Grade 6) to join our assessment service:

• Mainstream Assessment Team – 1 Support Worker
  • Part-time
  • Immediate start from 4th August 2026.
  Permanent position

• Kinship Assessment Team – 1 Support Worker
  • Full-time
  • Immediate start.
  Temporary position (6 months)

Everything we do is grounded in clear and heartfelt principles:

• Putting children, young people, and families at the heart of every decision.
• Making sure families are genuinely involved, whether the decision is big or small.
• Working together to continually shape and improve the support we offer.
• Building meaningful relationships and effective partnerships across services.
• Removing barriers so children and families can access the opportunities they deserve.
Moving towards a fully trauma-informed workforce so we can better support children who have experienced adversity.

What You Can Expect When You Join Us

• Supportive, stable leadership: Our permanent management team is approachable and committed to helping you grow.
• Clear career progression: We take pride in supporting development and celebrating strengths.
• A strong team culture: You’ll join a team and be fully involved in team meetings, reflective sessions, and wellbeing events.
• Competitive salary: We’re happy to discuss salary at interview, basing our offer on your knowledge, experience, and skills.
• Employee wellbeing support: All LCC staff can access our free Employee Assistance Programme for counselling and advice on personal, family, or workplace matters.

Who We’re Looking For

We’d love to hear from support workers who share our values and want to make a real difference. You’ll be someone who is:

Supportive – You understand how powerful it is when carers feel truly supported, and you’re committed to helping children feel safe, happy, and loved.

Innovative – You enjoy exploring new ideas and contributing to initiatives that help us continually improve what we offer.

Respectful – You recognise the diverse needs of our children, carers, and colleagues, and your practice is inclusive and anti-discriminatory.

Collaborative – You value partnership working and want to play an active role in shaping the future of our fostering service.

Interested?

If you’re passionate about relationship-building, committed to achieving positive outcomes, and want to be part of a supportive, forward-thinking team, we’d love to speak with you.

Gareth Winstanley (Mainstream Team Manager)|

View phone number on uk.workus.org| View email address on uk.workus.org

Kevin Goosey (Kinship Team Manager)|

View phone number on uk.workus.org| kevin.goosey @lancashire.gov.uk

You will be required to provide a car for use in connection with the duties of this post and must be insured for business use.

This position is part time, please note the salary quoted is full time equivalent, the salary received will be paid on a pro–rata basis.

The post you are applying for is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). If successful you will be required to apply to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for a 'disclosure'. Further information can be found on the 'Our Recruitment Process' tab.

In return Lancashire County Council offers a range of benefits, which can be found on LCC Vacancies website.

We reserve the right to close down a vacancy early, before the closing date, if we receive sufficient applications.

Job Description/Person Specification