Young Carer Support Practitioner

Human Resources & Development - Form 35 Version 15- Issued October 2022 JOB DESCRIPTION AND PARTICULARS OF APPOINTMENT Young Carer Support Practitioner ▪ Job Title: ▪ Post Number: P26767 ▪ Grade and SCP: Grade 7, SCP 12-17 ▪ Directorate: People 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 All Age Carer Support Team within In-House Provider services, you will support the achievement of these key priorities, making a real difference to the lives of people in Shropshire. You will contribute to creating a young carer friendly community in Shropshire, delivering support and information to carers enabling them to achieve their own outcomes and live their best lives. Achieving real and sustained change won't happen overnight, but by committing to and involving yourself wholeheartedly in this work you will create the necessary momentum needed to reap the benefits we are looking for Overview of your role The postholder will: Develop a comprehensive understanding of young carer support. Establish and maintain excellent working relationships within statutory guidelines, voluntary, schools and community groups to promote existing support for carers. Develop partnership work in local market towns to initiate new forms of support for young carers and ensure that the existing provision is accessible and open to all young carers. Support in the organising and co-ordination of Young Carers group sessions and recreational activities. Offer assessments or reassessments to young carers in line with statutory guidance. To undertake any other duties that may be considered commensurate with the level of the post. In-house training and development opportunities will be available to meet identified training needs essential for the post. Who will your manager be and what will you be responsible for? You will be: ▪ Reporting to young carers co-ordinator who is in turn responsible for your health and safety, training and development. ▪ Expected to lead and/or contribute to a range of projects and build relations with both internal and external partners in order achieve specified outcomes but will not have direct authority over those involved. ▪ To assist in maintaining the quality of the Young Carers Service, including Health and Safety issues ▪ Responsible for completing within expected timescales all mandatory corporate and role specific training. Training requirements will be detailed in your corporate induction and Personal Development Plan (PDP). Courses are accessed via the council Learning Management System via the Intranet. What will you be doing? Hold a caseload with appropriate supervision and advice. Work positively and productively with All age Carers, teams within the Council and its partners and any other relevant providers, developing a network in your designated area to build the Shropshire Carers partnership. Contribute to the development of new models of work and service under the supervision of the Young Carers Lead. Participate in meetings which will include team, peer sessions, case review meetings etc. Provide a first point of contact for young carers by being part of the ongoing support line rota. Maintain and enter records of activities in accordance with approved Policies and Procedures, including the use of a computer system database (i.e. Liquid Logic) Support in the organising and co-ordination of Young Carers group sessions and recreational activities: • Preparing a programme of support sessions and activity dates • Booking and arranging trips • Researching places of interest for trips and activities • Monitoring costs of activity trips • Maintaining appropriate correspondence with Young Carers and their families • Completing risk assessments for individuals and group activities • Collating feedback from Young carers and parents / carers • Recording relevant monitoring and evaluation information • Producing accurate and comprehensive monitoring reports Attend Young Carer Group Sessions Co-ordinate, attend and lead group sessions Group Sessions in school holidays and evenings. Referrals - receive and process referrals for young carers project, ensure information is accurate and up to date, maintain clients list and track progress of referrals. Assessment - to undertake appropriate assessments for young carers and siblings covering the geographical area of Shropshire. Review / re-assess - To undertake appropriate reviews Work allocation - work closely with the team to ensure smooth and equitable running of services To work as part of Young Carers Team providing cover for colleagues, holiday and sickness leave, or to investigate risk. To attend school assemblies and PSHE lessons and support with the delivery of presentations Comply with safe systems of work in accordance with the Directorate's Health, Safety and Welfare Policies and Procedures Respect the personal choice and lifestyles of colleagues, carers, and people with care needs, ensuring that equal opportunity principles are always applied. Have responsibility for promoting continuing personal and professional / vocational development of self through development processes Be prepared to participate in such other appropriate duties as may be allocated from time to time by the Carers Lead Ensure engagement with young carers and service users will be non-discriminatory, listen and respect their views and opinions and apply a customer focused approach when delivering the service. Act as advocate for Shropshire Carers and work collaboratively with colleagues across the whole Council to meet the needs of the young people of Shropshire 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 Shropshire Council Head Office in Shrewsbury with requirement to regularly work from home Your post is subject to the following: The post is Permanent for 15 hours per week, • Normal office hours are 7am - 7pm Monday - Friday and 8am - 1pm Saturday with a minimum lunch break of 30 minutes. • Occasional evening work will 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 as follows: In accordance with the working time directive, you will accrue an entitlement to annual leave, in direct proportion to the hours you work, with effect from appointment. On a quarterly basis we will calculate the annual leave due and advise you accordingly. 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 ...