Victory Primary School & Children s Centre JOB DESCRIPTION

Transcription

1 Victory Primary School & Children s Centre JOB DESCRIPTION Job Title: Family Support Officer Grade: 7 Reporting to: Head of Centre and Children s Centre Manager Purpose of the job To provide an effective and targeted service using an integrated approach in the context of the Children s Centre strategy set by the Southwark Local Authority. To ensure at all times that maximum attention and effort is given to promoting the Children s Centre services and equally the well-being, social and emotional development, achievement, good behaviour and safety of the children and their families in the Children s Centre reach area. Establish and maintain communication with parents/carers of children under 5, through outreach and information resources, in order to promote the Children's Centre services to them and the local community. To help provide a service to families with children where support is likely to help the family stay together and become more effective. In particular, to provide a service to families where there are concerns about a child s learning and development or behaviour. Principal accountabilities The post holder will be required to carry out the following functions: 1. To maintain and progress a caseload of families in accordance with Children s Centre procedures, with the aim of addressing the targeted needs identified and assessed with a minimum of delay. 2. To use a variety of professional skills, including consultation, identification, assessment, intervention planning / delivery, review, etc. to (a) promote effective partnerships between children and young people, their parents /carers and practitioners who work with them and (b) achieve positive outcomes for vulnerable children, young people and families. 3. To develop, implement and review a range of innovative strategies to promote and improve parental capacity, demonstrating the effectiveness of evidenceinformed practice and outcomes for children, young people and families. 4. To conduct all work related to children and families in the framework of the integrated tools and processes (common assessment, Team Around the Child and Lead Professional) outlined in the Children s Centre Strategy.

2 5. To identify, refer and support children and young people who are suffering (or thought likely to suffer) significant harm as described in statutory guidance; to include advising on child protection matters to other practitioners in the team. 6. To deploy a range of strategies, including casework and parenting programmes, to empower parents to parent independently. 7. To provide information to families about how to access local and national support services and to advocate on behalf of the family when dealing with these services and about the child s condition to the family and other relevant individuals. 8. Where necessary, and particularly for families with very young children where the child(ren) has a disability, to coordinate care and support families with care planning and review and to provide emotional support to the family particularly by providing help and support in a crisis. 9. To maintain accurate records, compile professional reports to agreed service standards for a variety of fora and to undertake administrative duties relating to the family support function (including use of e-filing and recording systems, regular returns of workload activity for data / statistical purposes, etc.) 10. Keep appropriate records for the purpose of monitoring and evaluation. Produce verbal and written reports for the Children's Centre Advisory Board, on activities with parents, feedback on parents' views and advice on involving parents/carers effectively in the centre. 11. Ensure that comprehensive and accessible information about the Children's Centre is available to all families in the area, including those with English as an additional language, young parents and fathers. This may involve home-visiting those who find it hard to access mainstream services. 12. Develop and maintain a good working knowledge of the locality and the community profile, the range of children's and family services available and the informal/formal networks of contact and support available throughout the community. 13. Undertake any other duties commensurate with the level and grade of the post as may be requested from time to time. Financial responsibilities The post holder will be required to follow Council financial procedures and report to senior managers on any aspects of expenditure that do not accord with expectations. However, the post holder will not hold any specific financial accountability.

3 Management and supervision Line management responsibility The post holder has no line management responsibility. Line management received The post holder is accountable to the Children s centre Manager who has oversight of performance, development, conduct and discipline. The post holder is expected to work using their own initiative and timetables will need to be given, within the parameters laid out in service policies and procedures. Supervision The post-holder will receive professional supervision from a suitably trained practitioner within the Children s Centre. Health and Safety at Work The post holder is required to carry out their duties and responsibilities of the job in accordance with the Council s Health and Safety Policy and relevant Health and Safety legislation, whilst taking reasonable care for the safety and health of themselves and others who may be affected by their acts. Equality The post holder must demonstrate commitment and enthusiasm to promote the principle of equality in employment and service delivery. The post holder must be familiar with and promote the Equality and Diversity Policy. The post holder must promote equality in the workplace and set the tone for the behaviour between colleagues. Data protection The post holder must carry out their duties and responsibilities of the job in accordance with the Council s Data Protection and Sharing of Information policy and relevant Data Protection legislation. The post holder has a responsibility to familiarise themselves in sufficient detail with this policy to ensure they understand their obligations. Special Conditions Contractual hours of duty are in accordance with the needs of the service with a minimum of 37 ½ hours per week. The post holder may be required to work outside of normal working hours (e.g. attending occasional evening or weekend meetings / training) in accordance with service needs. This work will be planned and overtime arrangements will apply.

4 Person Specification Essential criteria Qualifications A relevant qualification in childcare / education / related discipline (including but not limited to NNEB, BTEC, QTS, BA / Foundation Degree, Dip SW, NVQ3,etc.) literacy and numeracy grade C and above or equivalent. Desirable criteria Experience Knowledge Experience of analysing data Experience of report writing A minimum of two years experience in Outreach work Experience of working with vulnerable children, young people and their families Significant and successful experience of working in community development, family learning, family support and with young children; Sound knowledge and up to date working experience of Word, Excel and Publisher Experience of working with culturally diverse children aged 0-5 Experience of working with and engaging with parents and families from diverse economic backgrounds A good knowledge and understanding of the Children's Centre agenda A good knowledge and understanding of the educational, developmental and health needs of children and their families Knowledge of integrated working methods, including the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and Team Around the Child (TAC) A good knowledge of the range of services in Education, Health, Social Care and the voluntary sector which contribute to the achievement and positive outcomes for children and families A good working knowledge of Southwark s geographical area

5 Skills and abilities An understanding of health and safety legislation A good understanding of Equal Opportunities and Inclusion and how they would apply to the post Knowledge of relevant procedures and legal frameworks and a demonstrable ability to apply this to practice, including: safeguarding and child protection, equalities and diversity, special educational needs and disabilities, etc. Competency in the core skills of consultation, identification, assessment, intervention planning /delivery and monitoring / review Excellent interpersonal skills and especially the ability to:- o Engage people from a wide range of social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds o Instil confidence in people o Motivate and enthuse others Strong and effective communication skills, both verbal and written, with the ability to adapt appropriately for different audiences Ability and willingness to follow policies, procedures and instruction from senior staff and to work as a team Ability to work with a minimum of supervision A good standard of organisational skills and the ability to prioritise and manage time effectively Be able to initiate and maintain positive and productive relationships with children, parents, services and colleagues Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends

6 Because this post allows substantial access to children and / or vulnerable adults, candidates are required to comply with our procedures in relation to Police Checks which have been instituted pursuant to DHSS Circular LA (86) 10. If your application is successful, prior to taking up post, you will be required to give written permission to the Council to ascertain details from the Police regarding any convictions against you, and as appropriate, the nature of such convictions. Due to the nature of the post candidates are not entitled to withhold information regarding convictions by virtue of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, 1974 (Exceptions) Order, 1975 as amended, pursuant to Section 4 of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act Candidates are required to give details of any convictions, which would be considered spent for other purposes, on their application form and are expected to disclose such information at interview.