Form F Assessor Jobs
Are you an experienced social worker looking for an exciting new opportunity? Discover the role of a Form F Assessor and take the next step on your career journey.
Become a Form F Assessor with FCA
At FCA, we are always welcoming new foster parents who can provide loving homes for vulnerable children and young people across the UK. As a Form F Assessor, your role will be to carry out fostering assessments. These help us make sure that every foster parent we recruit can provide children with the safe, stable, and nurturing homes they deserve.
Our own qualified social workers complete many of our fostering assessments; however, self-employed social workers with contracts through the Polaris Community conduct most of them. If you apply for a Form F Assessor role, you’ll be self-employed, which gives you the flexibility to balance working with other commitments you may have.
“As an Independent Form F Assessor, I have completed assessments for other fostering agencies; however, I prefer the supervision and support provided by FCA, not only to myself but also to the applicants.”
“I have found the quality assurance process to be vigorous. This reassured me that the Assessment Manager who reviewed and quality-assured my assessment had read it in full and was paying close attention to detail.” – Teresa, Independent Form F Assessing Social Worker.
What do Form F Assessors do?
You may already have experience completing Form F assessments, but if you don’t and are considering becoming a Form F social worker in the future, here is a summary of what they entail.
To complete each assessment, you’ll meet applicants in their homes to gather details about their lives. From work experience and skills to health and personal qualities, you’ll write the information you collect in their Form F report. This will also include reviewing their support network and completing home and pet safety checks.
By the end of each assessment, you’ll have a report that’ll help the Fostering Panel evaluate how the applicant’s circumstances could impact their suitability to foster.
What’s the Form F Assessor criteria?
To become a Form F Assessor at FCA, you need to meet the following criteria:
- You’re a qualified social worker.
- You’ve gained plenty of hands-on experience since qualifying, especially in assessment work.
- You’re registered with the relevant social work council for your country. For example, SWE for England and SSSC for Scotland.
- You already have, or are happy to arrange, professional indemnity insurance.
- You’re available to take part in our induction and ongoing training days.
- You can drive, have reliable access to a car, and are happy to travel when needed.
- You’re able to meet all statutory and company background checks.
- You have good working knowledge of childcare legislation, such as the Children Act 1989, Fostering and Adoption Act 2002, National Minimum Standards, and Fostering Services Regulations.
- Having experience of completing a Form F Assessment and presenting it to panel is also desirable.
If you believe you have the relevant social work skills and experience, we would like to hear from you. Below, we look at the job application process and our fostering assessment process in more detail.
How does the application process work?
Once you’ve applied, we’ll review your application. If we believe you have the relevant skills, knowledge, and experience to become a Form F Assessing Social Worker, we’ll invite you to an interview. You’ll also attend an induction.
If your application is successful, we’ll begin all the necessary background checks and contact your references before offering you a self-employed contract.
Our fostering assessment process explained
Here is a step-by-step guide to our fostering assessment process, so you know what to expect if you become a Form F Assessing Social Worker with FCA.
You’ll become part of the team
When someone applies to foster with us, you’ll become part of the team that manages their assessment. The members of the team include:
- Recruitment Support Officer (RSO): They handle checks, keep in touch with applicants, and work closely with you as the assessing social worker.
- Assessing Social Worker: That’s you, and you’ll conduct the assessment.
- Assessment Manager: They’ll oversee the process, providing you with advice, guidance, and support whenever needed.
Accepting an assessment
Once you accept an assessment, you’ll receive an Assignment Confirmation note that explains:
- The terms of the fostering assessment and how it will work.
- The costs involved and data protection management.
- Any key issues that we’ve identified from the prospective foster parent’s initial enquiry, home visit, and application.
You’ll also receive detailed guidance that will help you complete the Form F report, along with a submission date for the report, a provisional panel date, and dates for two scheduled consultations with the Assessment Manager.
Consultation discussions
Consultation discussions are the meetings you’ll have with the Assessment Manager throughout each assessment, where they’ll provide their support.
They can happen face-to-face or via phone, and they’ll share the notes from these meetings with you after the consultation. You can also contact the Recruitment Support Officer or Assessment Manager at any time for advice or to clarify issues. They’ll always be happy to help and aim to respond to you as soon as possible.
Completing the assessment
During assessments, you’ll meet applicants, referees, and any other people relevant to completing your Form F report.
This report must be completed and submitted by the agreed date so it can be quality assured. We’ll then share it with the applicants so they can confirm it’s factually correct.
Recommendations
We don’t expect you to reach a positive recommendation; instead, your recommendation should be informed by the evidence you collect during the fostering assessment.
Panel attendance
As part of your role, you’ll attend your applicant’s panel meeting alongside them to address any concerns and answer questions raised by panel members.
Ready to apply?
The role of a Form F Assessing Social Worker can be challenging, but it is also an exciting opportunity to play a hands-on role in foster parent recruitment. And when you choose to do it through FCA, you’ll receive extensive support, ongoing training, and the back-up of an experienced assessment team.
So if you have good analytical, planning, and organisational skills, and the right experience, why not apply today?