Family Support Worker (Childrens Services)

Human Resources & Development - Form 35 Version 16 - Issued May 2023 JOB DESCRIPTION AND PARTICULARS OF APPOINTMENT Family Support Worker ▪ Job Title: ▪ Post Number: P24178 ▪ Grade and SCP: Grade 7 SCP: 12 - 17 ▪ Directorate: People's directorate Where your role fits at Shropshire Council As Shropshire Council we are rightly proud of our achievements and we have proven to be a resilient local authority in our response to the many challenges we overcome, particularly over recent years. We will be continuing this momentum with ambition and a focus on delivering our four key priorities outlined within the Shropshire Plan: Healthy People, Healthy Environment, Health Economy, and Healthy Organisation. We are committed to achieving this by aligning everything we do to our vision 'Shropshire - living the best life;' to tell everyone that Shropshire Council is a great place to be. We will enable a skilled, happy, healthy, diverse, inclusive, empowered, and proud workforce that influences and leads change, addressing any inequalities. As a member of the Children's Social Care, you will support the achievement of these key priorities, making a real difference to the lives of people in Shropshire. Who will your manager be and what will you be responsible for? The post holder is responsible to the Team Manager who is in turn responsible for the post holder's health and safety, training, and development. You will work with a range of professionals and families across Shropshire. You will gain excellent and varied opportunities for developing your knowledge and skill set, strengthened by regular, high-quality supervision and training opportunities. You will gain excellent and varied opportunities for developing your knowledge and skill set, strengthened by regular, high-quality supervision and training opportunities. What will you be doing? The post holder will be responsible and accountable in: ▪ Assisting the social worker or other professional in formulating plans and agree action necessary to carry out that plan. ▪ Co-work with a social worker or other professionals to deliver services to a child and its family, within an agreed plan. ▪ Undertake, as determined by the child's plan, specific responsibilities relating to the emotional well-being of looked after children, children subject to a child protection or early help plans and individual sessions with young people. ▪ Undertake return home interviews with children who have been reported as missing to the police. ▪ Work with children and young people who are at crisis point through the provision of focused work as planned and directed by the case holder to prevent admission into care where it is safe to do so or prevent placement breakdown. ▪ Assist in the co-ordination of packages of intensive support by attendance at planning and review meetings as required. ▪ Monitor and review effectiveness of intervention with case holder/lead professional on a regular basis, providing updates and progress reports as required. ▪ Encourage and facilitate families and carers to install boundaries, structure, and routine in children's lives through programs of direct work with children and their parents/carers, including use of Shropshire's Parenting model, Solihull approach. ▪ Ensure case notes, plans and records are maintained to an excellent standard, that additional reports are completed within timescale (i.e., to coincide with statutory timescales) and that any Care First recording is kept up to date at all times. ▪ Work to enable children and young people and their parents to progress such matters such as housing, welfare benefits or any other work to prevent escalation of need. ▪ Network with other professionals to ensure a cohesive level of planning and response. ▪ Maintain case records to the highest standard, in written or electronic format as required. ▪ Where appropriately trained, deliver training programmes to individuals and to groups to meet elements of the plan. ▪ Develop skills through training in areas of work relevant to the setting. ▪ To ensure that Health & Safety standards are met. ▪ Collaborating with colleagues to ensure the team functions successfully in support of the Council's corporate and service objectives. ▪ ▪ Promoting and supervising contact between children and their parents and/or relevant others. ▪ Support with transport arrangements to enable contact between children and their parents and/or relevant others. ▪ Undertake as directed by the child's plan specific responsibilities relating to the emotional well-being of looked after children including the completion of life story work and individual sessions with young people. These duties are illustrative and not exhaustive. The post holder will be expected to become involved in a range of work to enable the service to respond effectively to the changing requirements of the Council and changes affecting the workforce. What we expect of you You will: adopt a customer focused approach when delivering your service, ensuring engagement ▪ with service users and maintenance of an appropriate personal profile. act as an advocate for your service and work collaboratively with colleagues across the ▪ whole Council to meet the needs of the people of Shropshire. meet individual, service and personal development targets agreed through the Personal ▪ Development Review Process, learn from experience, and are committed to continuous improvement individually and as an employee of the Council. work with colleagues to meet your team's key performance indicators, support a culture ▪ of team working and ensure the team functions successfully in support of the Council's corporate and service objectives. meet the behaviours and competencies adopted by the Council in the way in which they ▪ achieve their objectives and carry out their work. What are your conditions of Service? The conditions of service are those laid down by Shropshire Council, which have been adopted and amended as necessary from those laid down by the National Joint Council for Local Government Services. Your primary work base will be at Shire Hall with the requirement to regularly work from home. Your post is subject to the following: ▪ The post is Permanent for 37 hours per week. ▪ Normal office hours are 8:45- 5pm Monday - Thursday 8:45-4 pm Friday with a minimum lunch break of 30 minutes. Occasional evening work may be required. ▪ The post is subject to the Council's annualized hours scheme as implemented within the specific work area. This post carries eligibility to join the Local Government Pension Scheme. Information about this will be sent with any formal offer of appointment. Annual leave entitlement is a pro rata flat rate scheme of 207 hours (28 days) annual leave plus bank holidays, with five days extra awarded to those staff with five years local government service giving an entitlement of 244 hours (33 days). Two days of an employee's allowance (pro rata for part time staff) must be taken at Christmas for any potential Christmas closures. Employees who work in a building/ service which is required to open over the Christmas period, the two days leave (pro rata) can be carried over into your next leave year but must be used by the end of March. The appointment is subject to one months' notice in writing on either side. The appointment is subject to six months' satisfactory probationary service during which time the notice period will be one week on either side. Smoking is not allowed in Council buildings, in Council vehicles or in any Council place of work. It is a condition of your appointment that you provide a suitable vehicle for the performance of your duties and that this is readily available for use during normal working hours. You are entitled to claim for reimbursement of the costs of travel on council business at the rate of 45 pence per mile. What pre-employment checks will we undertake? The appointment is subject to receipt of the following pre-employment checks: 1. Satisfactory employment references 2. Medical report 3. Evidence of the qualifications required for the post/listed on your application form This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such all applicants who are appointed to this post will be subject to an Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service before the appointment is confirmed. This check will include details of cautions, reprimands, or warnings as well as convictions and non conviction information. Supplying false information or failing to disclose relevant information could be grounds for refusal and could amount to a criminal offence.