Youth Violence Intervention Practitioner- University Hospital Lewisham

What does a Youth Intervention Practitioner do

Youth Intervention Practitioners use the principles and power of youth work in the setting of a busy emergency department. We meet young people who have experienced injury or trauma while they are in the hospital and work alongside our clinical colleagues to offer them support at a time when they are feeling very vulnerable. Our first contact with the young person may be to offer them a drink or to ring their parents or to check if they understand whats happening to them. When their immediate medical needs have been met we will talk to them some more and explain how we can support them. We will do a safety plan with them before they leave the hospital. 

If a young person chooses to engage with us we will then work with them for eight to twelve weeks on a plan of action thats tailored to their needs. We work closely with the hospital safeguarding team every day and frequently have to escalate concerns. We contact any other agencies who know the young person so were not duplicating their work and often arrange to meet them with the young person. We regularly have to strongly advocate for young people for example with housing agencies. We look for organisations who can work with them towards their longerterm goals and we do relational referrals transferring the trust that young people have built with us.

Youth Intervention Practitioners hold a caseload of young people supported by their team leader and need to be good at recording their work and discussing and reflecting on their practice. We provide an intensive induction at the start of the role ongoing training and CPD throughout your time at Redthread and fortnightly clinical supervision. Our Youth Intervention Practitioners have to be courageous and tenacious and because ours is a short intervention we dont always see firsthand the impact of our work. But we know from talking to the young people we work with that we make a huge difference.

Our Youth Intervention Practitioners are resilient able to work calmly in a challenging environment with young people experiencing trauma injury or exploitation. They have a good level of selfawareness the ability to reflect on how the work is impacting them and a willingness to engage in regular clinical supervision that helps them develop their practice and emotional literacy.

Youth Violence Intervention Practitioner Job Description

Post Title:                         Youth Violence Intervention Practitioner

Work area:                       Hospitalbased Violence Intervention Programme

Responsible to:             University Hospital Lewisham Team Leader

Location:                          The post will be based in an A&E department within University Hospital Lewisham with occasional travel to Redthreads central offices in East London and other projects in the UK as required.

Hours:                               37.5 hours per week. The nature of Redthreads work means that regular evening and weekend working is required. You will be required to work shifts to ensure that the team covers from 7:30am to 9pm each day between them.

Salary:                               29767.50 per annum (includes London weighting) benefits.

Contract type:                 Permanent

Purpose of the Post

• To be part of the youth work team at Redthread with a primary focus on the Youth Violence Intervention Programme.

• To assist with Redthreads other activities as required.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Hold a caseload and work with young people in a range of settings including in A&E and on the wards in the community in facetoface and group contexts and promote their personal educational health and social development through all interactions.
• Assist with the ongoing development of the service model to ensure that clients gain the maximum benefit from Redthreads interventions.
• Ensure information resources such as client forms databases and contact files are kept fully uptodate and secure in line with GDPR the Data Protection Act and our Confidentiality Policy and Consent Policy. Maintain high quality recording of interventions with young people on our database Lamplight in line with Redthreads bestpractice requirements. (Training for Lamplight will be provided.)
• Collect and record evidence of project outcomes and young peoples achievements to ensure the completion of monitoring forms and project progress reports as required.
• Maintain a good level of knowledge of the issues around youth violence and Child Sexual Exploitation.

• With guidance and support from the Team Leader and with attendance on appropriate training courses develop skills to further your work with the young people.
• Under the direction of the Team Leader develop an imaginative programme of events activities and other interventions which support Redthreads mission.
• Actively research and network with other organisations working with young people in the area served by the hospital to ensure that the organisation as a whole has a good knowledge of other services and projects that may be of interest to the young people we work with or appropriate for us to refer to.
• Help organise and take part in supervised trips and other activities.
• Contribute to the training programme that Redthread provides for hospital staff including informal microteachings and more formal presentations. 

General responsibilities of all Redthread staff

• Actively participate in staff meetings session evaluations supervision/reviews and planning sessions and in Redthreads overall development including input on the needs of young people ideas for new projects and the ongoing development of existing projects.
• Assist where possible with fundraising events and fundraising including the maintenance and growth of the regular supporter network and to assist in promoting the organisations work with young people to the wider community.
• Assist in maintaining good working relations with Redthreads stakeholders project partners and with other agencies and represent Redthread at external meetings as required.
• Encourage and enable young people to participate in all forms of decisionmaking and management of Redthreads projects with the ultimate aim of empowering them to shape the services and activities provided for them. To ensure that all young people have equality of access and that the programme promotes opportunities for all young people.
• Assist the team in ensuring that all Redthread policies and procedures are followed including Health and Safety Safeguarding Data Protection and Equal Opportunities. Report any concerns to an appropriate member of the SMT.
• Work as a member of the Redthread team and assist as required across all the organisations projects including carrying out any other duties that may be required to meet the needs of the organisation.

This job description is not exhaustive and is subject to review in consultation with the post holder and according to future changes/developments within the organisation

Please see job description and person specification

You are entitled to sign up to the Governments TaxFree Childcare (TFC) scheme at

Cycle to Work Scheme

We offer a Cycle to Work scheme which enables savings on the cost of a new bike and accessories for employees wishing to cycle to work for all or part of their journey. Employees can sign up after one months service.

Safeguarding

Redthread puts safeguarding at the forefront of all its activities. The successful applicant will demonstrate their firm commitment to effective safeguarding practices and high professional standards around all safeguarding issues.

Workbased learning and Professional Development

We aim to build a culture and environment for staff to learn develop and achieve their full potential whilst delivering services through a skilled and competent workforce. To achieve this Redthread have a comprehensive staff training programme which provides individuals with resources training and support to learn and develop their skills. We also encourage our staff to undertake workbased learning and provide support for continuous professional development whilst helping staff achieve a worklife balance.

Equal Opportunities

Redthread is committed to the fair treatment of its staff potential staff or users of its services regardless of age disability neurodiversity gender identity marriage and civil partnership status pregnancy and maternity race (which includes colour nationality and ethnic or national origins) religion or belief sex or sexual orientation or criminal record status. We actively promote equality of opportunity for all with the right mix of talent skills and potential and welcome applications from a wide range of candidates including those with criminal records.

At Redthread were currently exploring new ways in which we can improve our overall approach to equality diversity and inclusion whilst continuing to build an organisational culture where all colleagues feel valued respected and empowered to be who they are at work. 

Our Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) networking group provides opportunities for staff to contribute to the future development of Redthreads new organisational EDI strategy and initiatives. The forum also supports the organisation to coordinate and deliver actions around equity diversity and inclusion such as bias training inclusive leadership virtual workshops events accreditations and more.

Please note:

Any offer of employment will be subject to continuous eligibility to work in the UK and satisfactory preemployment screening which for frontline staff includes an Enhanced DBS Check. 

See the benefits of working for Catch22 here.

Unless otherwise stated interviews will be arranged as suitable candidates are identified so early application is strongly advised.

At Catch22 we value equality diversity and inclusion. We are wholeheartedly committed to the principle of equality of opportunity both as an employer and as a provider of services. Diversity and Inclusion is part of what we do every day working to deliver our vision to build a strong society where everyone has good people around them a purpose and a good place to live.

Catch22 is committed to rigorous safeguarding and safer recruitment practices; ensuring that every individual within the organisation has been safely and appropriately checked.