Join Our Vibrant Service as a Focus Foster Carer

£39,104 - £42,848 per annum (made up of skills payment £540 per week and £212- 284 per week basic allowances per week tax free

We are looking for a professional who can change a life, where you can really make a difference? Using your professional experience in a different way.

Focus Fostering is a specialised form of fostering providing solo homes for children between the ages of 5 to 18 years old. The children referred to the Focus fostering scheme have more complex support needs and may have often had a number of previous foster care placements which may have broken down. Focus fostering can be demanding but also highly rewarding.

Focus foster carers provide specialised support for young people with complex needs and challenging behaviours. An enhanced carer will need to be able to provide a nurturing and stable environment to help a child/young person stabilise and adapt post trauma. This involves meeting their physical, emotional, and social needs, supporting their education, and promoting their well-being to help them thrive.

We currently have 11 successful focus families and are looking to expand further.

This is fostering with purpose, backed by professional training and support.

What skills do you need?

If you've worked in residential care, education, SEN, social work, CAMHS, or counselling, youth worker or with children with disabilities, amongst others you already have many of the key transferable skills we’re looking for:

  • Emotional resilience and the ability to stay calm under pressure.
  • Behaviour management experience with children who display challenging behaviours.
  • A trauma-informed approach or an understanding of attachment difficulties.
  • Experience supporting children with mental health, SEN or behavioural needs.
  • Strong communication skills to work as part of a multi-agency team.
  • Relationship-based practice that supports emotional regulation and trust-building.
  • Patience, empathy, and consistency in your care approach.

You will receive comprehensive support from your own allocated social worker, with fortnightly contact and also access to a multi-agency service including social workers, therapeutic social workers, support workers and virtual school. The support offered reflects our commitment for children to have the right to a family life despite their difficulties and includes:

  • 24 hours, seven days a week support with a dedicated on-call service.
  • Fortnightly meetings with the Focus team and other Focus foster carers.
  • Fortnightly face to face contact with your social worker.
  • Full training and preparation programme.
  • A generous weekly allowance.
  • Access to a team of professionals to support you and the child in placement.


Salford fostering team provide our foster carers with excellent on-going training, support and tax-free financial package and benefits. We have a supportive network of foster carers to help support fellow carers. The team support family fun days during school holidays and host various afternoons and evenings on a regular basis to receive peer-to-peer support.

The role will involve:

  • Creating a safe, secure, and nurturing home.
  • Supporting a child’s daily routines, education, health, and emotional development.
  • Promoting positive relationships, including contact with birth family (where appropriate).
  • Working closely with professionals, attending meetings, and advocating for the child.
  • Helping young people stabilise post-trauma and build resilience for the future.

What You’ll Receive:

We know therapeutic fostering is demanding that’s why we’re committed to providing everything you need to succeed:

  • Fostering allowances
  • Full therapeutic training and preparation programme.
  • 24/7 support including a dedicated on-call service.
  • Fortnightly face-to-face visits from your family placement worker.
  • Regular peer support groups with other Focus carers.
  • Access to our wider multi-agency team (social workers, psychologists, teachers).
  • Fostering Network Membership
  • Blue light card
  • Company shop membership
  • Access to networking and community events

Why join us?

Whether you're looking to step away from a shift-based role in residential care, transitioning from social work or youth work or looking to use your teaching or counselling experience in a new way this is your chance to create lasting change in a young person’s life.

This is more than fostering it’s a professional role with real emotional and financial rewards.

Interested?

To find out more or to express your interest, email: fosterforus@salford.gov.uk or Emily.Garner@salford.gov.uk
For more information, please visit FosteringSalford City Council


Location

, , Salford, , United Kingdom

Job ID

1945

Supporting You Through Every Step of Your Journey

We want every candidate to feel welcomed, informed and confident when applying for a role with us.

This section brings together everything you need to succeed - from guidance on writing an authentic application to and understanding how to use AI responsibly.

You’ll also find information about our Greater Manchester commitments, including our inclusive employment schemes and standards, as well as tools to help you explore your potential pay, benefits and entitlements. We’re here to ensure you have the support you need at every stage.

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Your Pay, Your Benefits, Your Future

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Applying Authentically With AI: Our Greater Manchester Approach

Across Greater Manchester’s local authorities, we want to hear your genuine experiences, skills and motivations, expressed in your own words.

To keep our recruitment process fair and inclusive, please complete your application personally and follow the instructions carefully. AI can be used to support you - for example, to help structure your answers or as a reasonable adjustment - but your application should still reflect your authentic voice. If you do use AI as a support tool, a brief explanation helps us ensure an equitable selection process.

Applications that depend too heavily on AI‑generated content may not progress to shortlisting.

This guidance outlines acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI, along with suggestions for using it in a way that supports you while keeping your application true to you.

  1. What Is AI and How Do We Use It Across Greater Manchester?

    AI refers to technology that can create or refine content, such as text, ideas, summaries, or planning. It can help improve productivity, problem-solving, and creativity.

    We’re open to using innovative digital tools where they can help us work smarter and deliver better services for our residents. However, every use of AI is carefully considered to make sure it is ethical, responsible, and aligned with public-sector values.

    When it comes to recruitment, we take a human-centred approach.

    This means:

    • A trained hiring manager reads every application

    • Shortlisting is based on objective criteria required for the job

    • Interviews are conducted in person or via teams by the hiring manager for the role

    • All hiring decisions are made by hiring managers, not algorithms

    AI does not make decisions in our recruitment process and our managers are being upskilled to spot AI in applications, particularly when this might have been used in a way that doesn’t feel genuine. If something in an application raises a question or concern, we will test this out with assessments or at the interview stage to confirm authenticity.

    Our aim isn’t to catch anyone out but to make sure we’re getting to know the real you, giving every candidate a fair chance and finding the right person for the role.

  2. Using AI in Your Application

    When it comes to job applications, what matters most to us is you. We want to see your personality, your experience, and what excites you about joining our team. 

    We recognise that AI can be a helpful tool to support accessibility during the application process. If you choose to use AI for support, please read the instructions carefully and make sure your application is written in your own words, reflecting your genuine skills, knowledge, experience and enthusiasm.

    We’re looking forward to hearing your story.

  3. How to use AI Effectively and Responsibly

    Your application is your chance to show us:

    • Who you are

    • What you can bring

    • The values you hold

    • Why you want to make a difference

    AI can help you organise your thoughts or improve clarity but it cannot express your unique voice, experiences, or motivations.

    AI is most helpful when used to:

    • Help you structure the information you are providing to evidence the criteria

    • Give examples of how to use STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result)

    • Proof-read to highlight grammar or spelling errors

    • Provide inspiration if you're finding it difficult to find the right words to explain something

    But remember: your honesty, lived experience, and motivations are irreplaceable.

  4. Do’s and Don’ts for Using AI in the Recruitment Process

    Do:

    • Use AI as a supportive tool, not a replacement

    • Ask AI to help tidy up your writing or clarify structure

    • Use it to brainstorm examples, then rewrite them in your own voice

    • Reflect on AI suggestions and adapt them to match your experience

    • Use AI to help with research, but express your understanding yourself

    Don’t:

    • Copy and paste AI-generated content directly into your application

    • Let AI exaggerate or invent experience you do not have

    • Rely on generic statements that don’t reflect the specific role requirements

    • Remove your individuality, we want to hear your voice