Senior Early Help Practitioner

23 months contract with a Local Authority

Job Summary:

As a Senior Early Help Practitioner you will be expected to organise your work independently working to agreed standards to ensure that families and children receive an excellent service. This will include an ability to prioritise work produce clear accessible reports that are transparent and family minded.

The Family Help and Support Team provides information advice guidance access to multi agency family help and support services as an internal partner. This involves working with families who may come to the attention of Children s Social Care where a statutory social work response may be less effective or is assessed to be disproportionate to reduce the risk of significant harm.

This role will involve progressing contacts in collaboration with MASH social workers offering immediate help visits and making recommendations where families need an early help assessment. You will need to be able to facilitate helping conversations that involve families in accessing the most appropriate support services.

This will include providing short term family support plans with families in crisis situations. You will contribute to a system of help and support that is responsive respectful and effective is crucial to securing the involvement of the most disadvantaged to individuals families as early as possible.

Key Duties/Accountabilities

To engage families in recognising the need for change in order to improve outcomes for their children and work with them to achieve sustainable changes

To conduct whole family assessments that consider risk factors such as poor school attendance physical and mental health issues substance misuse worklessness offending exploitation financial difficulties safeguarding domestic violence and parental conflict

To create a whole family plan with families that includes the voice of children and has SMART objectives to address risk factors and improve outcomes for children

To review progress of family plans regularly and plan exit strategies to sustain progress

To use evidence based tools that engage families and can show progress against identified needs

To deliver evidence based direct work to children parents and families to address risk factors in a 1:1 family or group setting using a variety of professional skills

To work purposefully with schools health professionals voluntary sector police social workers and other professionals to achieve best outcomes for children

To act as lead professional and coordinate Team Around the Family meetings holding others to account for the delivery of agreed actions

To manage a complex caseload of families and balance competing demands as needs arise; ensuring timescales for casework are adhered to demonstrating best practice to other less experienced staff

To provide written and verbal reports that demonstrate appropriate analysis of issues and support others in developing these skills.

Essential Experience Required:

Significant experience of complex whole family direct work with children and their families within an early help context in addition to formulating and implementing effective intervention plans with families is essential.

Experience of guidance and best practice in work with 0 19 year olds and their families in respect of early intervention youth justice relevant childcare and education legislation and the London Child Protection Procedures is essential.

Experience of child development parenting capacity environmental factors and risk and protective factors for poor outcomes for children is essential.

Experience of working with statutory frameworks for education youth justice and relevant children s social work is essential.

Essential Qualification Required:

A recognised and relevant academic and/or professional qualification at level 5/Degree level or higher in direct work with families or have significant experience in complex whole family work qualification is essential.

Additional information to note:

Working hours: 36 hours per week.

A satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check at an enhanced level is required for the role.

The role closes soon please apply ASAP.