Parenting Support Worker

Sutton Council
Sutton
Permanent
Full Time
6
36
£32,925 - £35,577 (£36,567 unconsolidated maximum)
Per annum
28 days

03/06/2023, 23:55

W/C 12th June

In Sutton, there is much for us to be proud of both as a council and as a borough. This includes high levels of resident satisfaction, the quality of our services, our success in addressing our financial challenges to date, the way that we involve and engage with residents on key issues facing the borough, and the enthusiastic and motivated staff that we employ. 

Looking ahead, there are plans for the delivery of new homes and new schools and the London Cancer Hub is being developed, while the Council is also seen as a driving force within the South London Partnership of five outer south west London boroughs focused on strategic growth, regeneration and investment.

All of this demonstrates a good track record and an authority that is ambitious and set to deliver more improvements for the borough. We've set out our vision for the future of Sutton in our corporate plan - Ambitious for Sutton. This strategic plan will shape the outcomes we achieve, the services we provide, and the impact we have on residents, to make Sutton a great place to live, work and raise a family.

Situated in Zone 5, Sutton is less than 30 minutes by train from central London, and south and south west London are easily accessible by public transport. There are 10 train stations which serve key neighbourhoods within the borough providing direct connections to London Victoria, London Bridge, London Blackfriars and St Pancras International. Sutton also has direct rail connections with Epsom, Dorking, Guildford and Horsham, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and West Croydon for the London Overground. There’s also an extensive road network which provides close and easy access to the M25 and M23.

This is an exciting new role joining our growing universal parenting support service.  You will be working with our Parenting Co-ordintor to facilitate parenting programmes and support groups.  You will supervise and support parenting volunteers to lead our peer led programmes as well as leading your own. 

You will also work with the wider Family Hub teams to support families on an individual basis to access the support they need. 

You will be facilitating a range of programmes to cover all age ranges as well as specialist groups to support parents who have children with additional needs. 

It is a busy role that requires flexibility to meet the needs of the parents.  You w

We are a new service that started in 2021.  We work with parents to attend our universal parenting programmes.  We aim for most of our programmes to be facilitated by parents for parents.  We have an extensive training programme for parents and have a strong team of parent volunteers who support the delivery of programmes and regular support groups.  We aim to build resilience in families and the wider community. 

As one of our parents put it - "I’m meeting amazing people and hear about different experiences. It’s great to be able to give something back to other parents in my community. I feel that I’ve come a long way from where I started 15 months ago. I never thought that I would be leading and volunteering at a parent coffee session"

The Parenting team is part of the wider Family Hub development in the borough and works closely with a range of services to co-ordinate and join support up for parents and children. 

We are looking for an enthusiastic, passionate and caring individual who wants families to succeed and has the ability to empower others to make positive changes in their lives. 

You must have excellent communication skills, written and verbal.  You will have had experience of working with diverse communities and understand the challenges some of these communities face when accessing services. You will have experience of leading and facilitating parenting programmes, in particular Empowering Parents, Empowering Communities and Care for the families (essential) , other programmes are desirable. 

You must be able to juggle a busy workload and multiple demands and demonstrate your own resilience when faced with difficulties.  You will need to be able to work evenings and weekends when required to run programmes.

You must have a good sense of humour and willingness to give things 'a go'. 

If you would like to discuss the role further please contact laura.devereux@sutton.gov.uk

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across - however big or small - will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

In addition, we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff, supported by our IT infrastructure, including Google Chromebooks and Google Apps.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

  • Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
  • Flexi-time (Please note, this applies to roles at grades 1-9 only)
  • Comprehensive learning and development programme
  • Local and national discounts for shopping, eating out and leisure activities
  • Interest free season ticket loans
  • Local Government Pension Scheme
  • Car parking scheme
  • Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
  • Zip car scheme
  • Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
  • Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
  • Subsidised gym membership

Please apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.

To support our diversity agenda and reduce the risk of bias in our recruitment activities, our short listing process completely anonymises personal information that can identify job applicants e.g. name, title etc. Our hiring managers review and short list applications based on the information provided as part of your application as to how well you meet the requirements and criteria for the role, as outlined in the job profile.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

We pride ourselves on being a diverse, inclusive and welcoming Borough and we aim to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve - the key highlights from our recent Equalities Workforce Report can be seen here. We are respectful of difference and realise the positive value of diversity in our workforce. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and disabled candidates, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce. As part of our Disability Confident Committed status, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role.

We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.

Important Information - Criminal Records
This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory result to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. It replaces the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).

This opportunity is closed to applications.