Independent Review Officer and Independent Chair

Human Resources & Development - Form 35 Version 15- Issued October 2022 JOB DESCRIPTION AND PARTICULARS OF APPOINTMENT • Job Title: Independent Reviewing Officer/ Conference Chair • Post Number: • Grade and SCP: SCP 39-43 • Directorate: People - Children's Social Care and Safeguarding 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 Independent Review Unit within the Children and Young People's Safeguarding Group, you will support the achievement of these key priorities, making a real difference to the lives of people in Shropshire. To achieve this vision, we will focus on achieving the following priorities: • Ensuring children and young people are safe and well looked after in a supportive environment • Narrowing the achievement gap in education and in work • Ensuring the mental wellbeing of children and young people by focusing on prevention and early intervention • Keeping more children healthy and reducing health inequalities • Supporting and encouraging children and young people to make a positive impact and have their views recognised • Working with our partners to develop our collective capacity to ensure we improve outcomes for children and young people. Overview of your role Who will your manager be and what will you be responsible for? You will be: • Reporting to the Principal Independent Reviewing Officer who is in turn responsible for your health and safety, training, and development • Sharing responsibilities for chairing Child Protection Conferences and the Statutory Reviews of children who are Looked After by the Shropshire Council and to significantly contribute to quality assurance measures to promote service improvements and monitor compliance to practice standards • Contributing to the strategic organisation and management of the child protection conference and review process, in accordance with LSCB policy, statutory and service specific policies for children looked after. What will you be doing? Shropshire has established an Independent Review Unit. This unit plays an important function in independently reviewing plans for children, whether in need of Protection Services, looked after by the Local Authority or section 20, Children Act Short Breaks (Disabled Children) Key responsibilities are: • To fulfil the responsibilities under the statutory guidance - "IRO Handbook". In particular, monitoring the appropriateness of the care plan and ensuring its implementation without delay. • To manage and chair Statutory LAC Reviews and Child Protection Conferences and to ensure that child protection and care plans are appropriate, achievable, and regularly reviewed. • To maintain high standards at children looked after reviews, ensuring meetings are child centred and focused on the needs of the child. • To maintain and promote a high level of participation/involvement of children, parents and carers in children looked after reviews. • To provide a quality assurance role to ensure continuing high standards and improved outcomes for children. • To contribute to reports required for the Local Safeguarding Children Board, the Safeguarding Group and other management groups. • To collate, prepare and submit appropriate data for statutory returns and local management information. • To contribute to the monitoring and evaluation of the children looked after system and electronic management information systems. • To participate in the process of conflict resolution and the investigation of complaints made within the Children's Services complaints procedure To participate in the process of conflict resolution and the investigation of complaints made within the Children's Services complaints procedure. • To assist in the development and implementation of Council policies in respect of children looked after and contribute to developments arising from changes in legislation and government guidance. • Ensure effective multi-agency working with other Council partners and other agencies as required. • To keep up to date with current research and legislation and ensure that evidence-based practice is promoted within Children's Services. • To participate in and contribute to the work of the LSCB. • Such other duties that is commensurate with this level of post The above duties are an illustrative outline and are not an exhaustive list. You 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 Shirehall, Shrewsbury with the requirement to regularly work from home. Your post is subject to the following: • The post is permanent, contracted for 37 hours per week, • Normal office hours are 8.45 to 5pm Monday - Thursday and 8.45 to 4pm on a Friday. Occasional evening work may be required. • The post is subject to the Council's annualised 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 rota 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 rota) can be carried over into your next leave year but must be used by the end of March The appointment is subject to three 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. Once appointed, the successful applicant(s) will also be required to apply for an Enhanced Disclosure at pre-determined intervals during the course of their employment whilst in this post. Supplying false information or failing to disclose relevant information could be grounds for refusal and could amount to a criminal offence.