Family Key Worker - Tide House

• Location: Tide House, Bideford, Devon
• Role Type: Office based (no home working)
• Reporting To: Registered Manager
• About Tide House

Tide House is a Residential Family Assessment Centre rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted (August 2025). We undertake parenting assessments for up to five families placed with us, providing ‘expert evidence’ to support families, local authorities and care proceedings. Families have self-contained accommodation of 1-3 bedrooms, allowing us to support families with multiple parents and children.

Tide House utilises relational approaches to support families to care for their children in a safe and consistent way, alongside undertaking the required assessment of them, as directed by the Local Authority or Court.

The role

The purpose of this role is to provide consistent safeguarding oversight, practical support and evidence-informed assessment input for families during their placement at Tide House, while working closely with the wider multi-disciplinary team.

As a Family Key Worker, you will have a primary responsibility for supporting the safeguarding of children during their time at Tide House. Alongside day-to-day monitoring, support and safeguarding work with families, you will use your skills and experience to gather evidence and contribute to the parenting assessment led by the Social Worker. The Family Key Worker also takes a lead role in ensuring the child’s needs are understood and responded to during the assessment period, and in coordinating the family placement plan.

You will be joining a multi-disciplinary team that includes Social Workers, Therapists, Assessment Support Workers and Family Key Workers. The team is highly skilled and experienced in supporting families with a wide range of needs, including mental ill health, substance use, learning disabilities, domestic abuse and past trauma. There is a clear focus at Tide House on encouraging parents to do things themselves, and for us to assess this, rather than stepping in to do things for them.

This role has an important safeguarding responsibility, both for the families you directly work with and as part of the wider safeguarding culture throughout the organisation. Close support, clear communication and regular recording all help to ensure children at Tide House are kept safe and that their wellbeing is promoted.

This role must be undertaken fully in the office, as it involves direct safeguarding oversight, in person support to families, timely communication with colleagues and access to placement information and monitoring systems. Working hours are 08:00 – 16:00, Monday to Friday plus part of the on-call rota.

The successful candidate will have:

• Professional experience of support or care for children and/or vulnerable adults
• The ability to balance the need to support a family with the need to assess what they are able to do for themselves
• A commitment to safeguarding A trauma-informed approach to working with parents, whilst ensuring a child-focus to the assessment
• Experience of producing accurate written records and using technology effectively to support assessment and safeguarding practice
• An ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing
• The confidence to role model best practice and support the development of colleagues A commitment to professional development

What we offer at Tide House:

• A warm, person‑centred organisation making a real difference
• A homely, nurturing environment where people feel valued
• Small enough for strong relationships, big enough for real opportunities
• A supportive culture focused on improving lives every day
• Clear values and meaningful purpose
• Everything we do is centred around safety, wellbeing and getting it right for families
• A commitment to delivering the best possible outcomes for families through consistent, high quality and relational practice
• A shared vision that everyone is part of and contributes to
• Supportive, visible and experienced leadership
• Managers who listen, guide and actively support you
• A collaborative multi‑disciplinary approach
• Friendly and approachable leadership team
• Regular 1:1 and group supervision Robust, supportive induction
• Structured induction programme to help you feel confident in your role o Hands-on learning and guidance from experienced staff
• Shadowing shifts and ongoing mentoring
• Shadowing shifts and ongoing mentoring
• We invest in developing your skills and career
• Training and qualifications funded (by agreement)
• Pathways for progression into different roles
• Meaningful rewards
• Highly competitive salary
• Paid annual leave (33 days, inclusive of Bank Holidays for this role)
• Paid sick leave
• Private healthcare
• Company pension
• Paid flu vaccine o Paid eye care
• Annual staff celebration and social event
• Excellent IT systems
• Bespoke, in-house, case management system
• Responsive, in-person IT support
• Easy-to-use systems that help you succeed in your role
• Tools designed to make your work smoother and more efficient
• A great working environment
• A calm, positive and well-maintained office setting
• Tea, coffee and biscuits, as needed!
• A team culture built on kindness, respect and collaboration
• A supportive atmosphere where everyone looks out for each other

Job description

Please see attached.

Safeguarding

Tide House is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults. Safer recruitment practices are followed to ensure all candidates are suitable to work with vulnerable individuals. This includes robust vetting procedures, comprehensive pre‑employment checks, and an expectation that all staff uphold our safeguarding policies at all times.

This role, as it involves regulated activity, will require an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, verification of identity, scrutiny of employment history, and the gathering of suitable references.

Equal opportunities

Tide House is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to ensuring that no applicant or employee is discriminated against directly or indirectly as a result of any protected characteristic.

On-call

This role includes an expectation of being ‘on-call’ approximately one week in five, which equates to approximately 10 weeks per year.

How to apply

If you would like to apply, then please complete the application form which can be found here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/EFTbGFx8DJ

If you would like an informal discussion about this opportunity, then please contact Charlotte Parker-Hall on 01237 237120.

Pay: £35,000.00 per year

Work Location: In person