About Sparks

Sparks Fostering is an independent fostering agency working across England. We recruit, assess, train and supervise foster carers, and we match them with children in the care of local authorities. Our most recent Ofsted inspection rated us Good, Good and Outstanding.

Who we are

We are a small agency and we mean to stay one. Everything we do is measured against one question: is this in the best interests of the child? That shapes who we approve, how we supervise, and the decisions we take when something is difficult.

We find, assess and approve foster carers, and then we train, support and supervise them. The local authority holds the child’s care plan. Our job is to make sure the home a child goes to is the right one, and that the carers in it are supported well enough to do the work.

We recruit carers and staff across England. Most of our own work is remote, with visits and meetings in person where they are needed. Sparks is a paper-free agency, so carers and staff use simple online systems to keep records, upload documents and join meetings.

Our most recent inspection rated Sparks Good, Good and Outstanding. Ofsted publishes the full inspection history on its own website, and our Statement of Purpose sets out in detail what we do and how we are run.

Our vision, values and principles

Our vision is a culture in which children in our care are given every opportunity to thrive and recover from trauma — made possible by a well trained, highly motivated team who take pride in their part in it.

Wherever possible, children are best looked after within their own families, with their parents playing a full part in their lives. Compulsory intervention is sometimes necessary to safeguard a child, and where it happens our job is to make the care that follows as good as it can be.

Each child is valued as an individual and given support that fits their own needs and background, so that they build identity, self-confidence and self-worth. The particular needs of disabled children and children with complex needs are fully recognised and taken into account.

A child’s wishes and feelings are established and taken into account whenever a decision is made about them.

Children in foster care deserve to be treated as a good parent would treat their own children, with as full an experience of family life and childhood as possible and without unnecessary restrictions.

The relationship between a child and their foster carer is the central one. Carers are recognised as core members of the team around the child, with their authority clearly defined, and they receive the support and development they need to do the work well.

The people behind Sparks

A small agency team, and a fostering panel that sits outside it.

A Director, who is also the Registered Manager. A Responsible Individual. An Agency Decision Maker. And a team of supervising social workers across England.

Every fostering family has their own supervising social worker, allocated locally so that they can visit you. They supervise and support your household, they are the person you contact between visits, and they are the link between you and the rest of the agency.

The panel sits outside the agency’s line management. It makes recommendations, and the Agency Decision Maker takes the decision.

It is chaired by an experienced foster carer, and includes a health specialist, an education specialist, and a member with personal experience of being in care.

Already fostering somewhere else?

If you are approved with another agency and it is not working, you can talk to us before you decide anything.

Call us for a confidential, no-obligation conversation. You would not need to tell your current provider you had spoken to us until you had decided you definitely wanted to move. If you want impartial advice and end up staying where you are, that is fine — it still benefits the children you care for.

If you have children living with you, the expectation is that they stay, and that the disruption to them is as small as possible. The allowance you currently receive would be honoured, and could be increased. That is discussed when you apply.

A transfer assessment is much shorter than a first assessment. It uses the information your current provider already holds, with a reference from them and an update written by a Sparks social worker.

Working with us — the work and the pay

We recruit staff and panel members across England. The work is mostly remote, you set the hours that suit you, and the pay follows the work actually done. We are transparent about both.

Most of the work is remote and online, but all staff must be available for local visits and meetings when these are needed. You work the hours that suit you. We support motivated staff to progress, and we try to make this a place people stay.

Pay is directly related to the amount of work completed. We publish the rates below rather than asking you to apply to find out, and they compare well with other providers.

Local visits are part of every role that supervises a fostering household, so we will ask whether you drive and which areas you can cover.

The roles

Four kinds of role, with what each pays and what we look for. Where we are not recruiting we say so, and you can still send a CV to be kept on the list.

Panel membership is currently full. You can still send a CV to be kept on the waiting list.

Panel members are paid £155 per panel. Panel chairs and experienced social workers are paid £205 per panel. There is no additional fee for induction, appraisal or training.

Members read and review fostering assessments and other documents, and contribute to the discussion. They also give feedback on how Sparks is performing, based on the reports they receive. Assessments are long and detailed, so good literacy and analytic skills are needed, along with a real interest in what children in care need.

Panel work is flexible — members attend when they are available, with an expectation of at least one panel every two months. Induction is completed within 10 weeks of signing the engagement agreement, with an appraisal once a year and training at least once a year.

The panel chair needs a sound understanding of the fostering process, the authority and competence to chair, the ability to analyse and explain complex information and to identify the key issues, and excellent spoken and written communication. The chair must be independent of Sparks Fostering.

Social work is allocated when new foster carers join the agency, so send your CV with a view to being contacted when work becomes available.

Qualified social workers are paid £200 a month per fostering household, and £200 a month for each child living there — £400 where a child has additional needs. So supporting a household with one child with complex needs pays £600 a month. Assessment work is paid separately at £45 an hour.

The work is supervising and supporting foster carers, completing fostering assessments, supporting applicants through the application, attending panel and professional meetings, and supervising support workers. Out-of-hours support may be needed where there is no allocated support worker.

You need a professional social work qualification and registration with the regulator, good interpersonal skills, and written work of court-report quality. Full employment checks are carried out. Support workers who want to qualify as social workers are supported to do so as far as is reasonably practicable.

Registered manager roles come with partnership opportunities. If that interests you, write to us and say so.

You need a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care and Children and Young People’s Services — or you enrol within six months and complete within three years. At least two years’ experience relevant to fostering in the past five, and at least a year supervising and managing professional staff. We can support a social worker to gain that experience. You should be confident carrying out management audits and producing management reports, and we can train you to do that work.

Both roles are currently filled, so we are not recruiting.

The Responsible Individual undertakes the training the role needs, attends quarterly management reviews to assure the sound running of the service, acts on any concern they identify or that is raised with them, and notifies Ofsted and other relevant organisations of significant changes to the agency.

The Agency Decision Maker is an experienced social worker who decides on the approval or deregistration of foster carers on the panel’s recommendation, considers any Independent Review Mechanism recommendation where that applies, checks that panel process has been followed and that all the paperwork is in, and records the decision. They need at least three years’ post-qualifying experience in childcare social work, knowledge of childcare law and practice, experience of foster care and family placement work, and training in assessment.

How to apply, and recommending someone

It starts with a CV. Email it to [email protected], saying which role or roles you are interested in. You will have a reply within two working days telling you whether to go on to the next step.

Email your CV to [email protected] and say in the email which role or roles you are interested in. You will get a reply within two working days.

If we ask for one, send a sample of assessment writing to the same address. Alternatively, watch the video we send you and answer the question ‘Why did the foster carer struggle with the child’s behaviour?’ in no more than 250 words.

If we ask you to, complete the declaration form we send you, and let us know when you are available for interview.

These are the questions we ask, so you can think about them beforehand:

  • Why do you want to work for Sparks Fostering?
  • How does working for Sparks fit with your career plans?
  • What did you think of the Sparks policies and guidance on this website? They are under Policies and Guidance in the main menu.
  • What have you found challenging in previous employment — the work, the employers or colleagues?
  • What skills, abilities and knowledge would you bring to the team?
  • Do you drive, and which areas can you cover?

Employment checks are carried out: an Enhanced DBS check, professional references, personal references and ID checks. A contract is issued once the checks are complete, and then you get training, support and supervision.

Adults with care experience are given additional support to complete the application. Tell us when you send your CV and we will set that up. Recruitment, like everything else we do, follows our Equality and Diversity policy, published under Policies and Guidance.

If you know someone who would make a good foster carer, you can recommend them to us, and there is a bonus payment if they are approved. There is also a bonus for referring someone who goes on to join the staff team.

You could be welcoming a child to your home soon

Apply to Foster Now

Or call 07920 097 834  ·  [email protected]