Family Support Practitioner

Family Support Practitioner

Location: York

Salary: £24,000 - £28,647 per annum

As part of a ground-breaking and hugely transformational partnership with Mitie Care & Custody and People Plus, Forward have been successful in its bid to be a top table delivery partner in the operation of HMP Millsike, a brand-new Resettlement Prison situated on land opposite the existing HMP Full Sutton, currently in construction and due to open in April 2025.

This represents a chance for Forward to evolve our mission in a way that will be an integral part of a completely new way of delivering prisons within the prison system, and one that will be a huge reputational boost for our organisation, as the first to have a top table seat in our sector.

We campaign to change public attitudes and policy so that people, who are often written off by society, can access support that transforms lives. We are proud to be the UKs leading addiction recovery charity, improving public awareness and understanding, demonstrating the potential of people to recover and rebuild their lives.

We believe that anyone is capable of lasting change, as celebrated in our More Than My Past and Taking Action on Addiction campaigns. Forward Trust now have over 70 service delivery projects, with more than 20,000 clients per year supported by 700 staff and 150 volunteers. We are proud that around 30% of our workforce have lived experience of the issues we seek to address.

What you will be doing

A key stakeholder in HMP Millsike's Reducing Reoffending strategy, working closely with Residence and Wellbeing, Practice Plus, Tees Weir Valley Health and People Plus you will contribute to the delivery of Forward Trust's innovative 'One Millsike' offer. You will mobilise and develop our Forward Trust interventions, working in partnership with Mities Care and Custody and HMPPS to successfully mobilise, open and operate HMP Millsike.

Connections Family & Relationship Services. Delivering all Visits functions with Mitie Care and Custody Prisoner Custody Officers delivering the Forward Trust Visits offer alongside our Connections Visits and Family and Relationships / Visits Teams. Three family and / or relationships interventions (MPACT, Parenting Programme, Relationships Matter). Running the Family and Relationships Unit, again with Prisoner Custody Officers working alongside Forward Trusts Team. Ensuring all services are fully supported by trained prisoner Peer Mentors. Managing services for families, visitors and children which includes managing Schools and Local Authority Liaison, and providing catering, a foodbank, and specialist play facilitators for visitors and their children.

What we are looking for

As a Family Support Practitioner you will work in HMP Millsike, providing specialist support to prisoners and family members through the delivery of effective 1:1, group interventions and structured programmes. In addition, you will also be required to work closely with other HMP Millsike staff, Forward staff and external partners to ensure a holistic package of care and support is provided.

A key requirement of the role will be to make and maintain links to prisoners local communities, e.g., connecting them/their families to local support services, linking with local schools to support father-child relationships, and ensuring they have support in place to maintain positive relationships on release.

Recognising the importance of relationships in the lives of the people we support is crucial to providing the best possible treatment and services. You will have the skills to focus specifically on supporting prisoners to recognise healthy and unhealthy relationships, improve connections with family members and significant others, build new relationships and understand the role relationships play in their addiction, offending, mental health and other areas of need.

As the Family Support Practitioner you will also directly support family members and affected/significant others, promoting a whole family approach to recovery and rehabilitation.

You will also support those prisoners who do not have family relationships in place, helping them to build and maintain meaningful relationships to support their rehabilitation.

Within our headcount for Family Support Practitioners, we are also looking for a lead for:

• Persons Convicted of Sexual Offences (PCoSO)
• Care Leavers

What we offer

• Training and development opportunities
• Flexible working
• Simply Health Cashback Scheme (Optional)
• Season Ticket Loan Scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Crisis Loan Scheme (subject to criteria)
• Electric Car Scheme (subject to criteria)
• 3 x Wellbeing Days (pro rata'd for part time employees)
• Access to Blue Light Card
• 25 days (rising to 30 with length of service) Annual Leave plus Bank Holidays
• Contributory Pension Scheme Employer matched contributions of up to 6% in the first two years service and up to 9% thereafter
• Death in Service Payment (2x annual salary)
• Critical Illness Insurance (subject to qualifying criteria)

To Apply

If you feel you are a suitable candidate and would like to work for the Forward Trust, please click apply to be redirected to their website to complete your application.

*We reserve the right to close this vacancy early

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