Safety Net and Preston and Patcham School JOB DESCRIPTION JOB TITLE:
Early Help Coordinator – Preston and Patcham School cluster
REPORTS TO:
Safety Net Families Team Manager and Lead school SENCO 30 hours
HOURS PAY SCALE
NJC pay scale SO1 point 29 ÂŁ24,892 pro rata
_______________________________________________________________ PURPOSE OF JOB To increase provision and coordination of Early Help across the cluster of schools and to develop and undertake key early help functions to; increase positive outcomes for children and their families, and improve attendance, reduce school absences and exclusions, and increase parental engagement and confidence. To provide a range of interventions with a focus on early intervention to vulnerable children and their families and those with more complex needs. To provide a range of support, training, and mentoring to up-skill key school staff around early help for families, and to act as a link person and a source of information and advice.
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES 1. To support co-ordination of multi-agency work for vulnerable families (Including CAF, and TAF approach) within Schools Cluster, assisting in the development of a cluster approach to identifying vulnerable children and families, thresholds, criteria and referral systems. 2. To work in partnership with the cluster of schools, providing early help and targeted support to identified families who have needs below the statutory threshold for interventions. 3. In partnership with schools and other agencies, through positive and assertive engagement the post holder will offer a range of interventions and strategies, providing targeted support, identifying issues that impede progress, and raising these directly with the family and partner services with a view to improving outcomes for these families and their children. 4. To support the development of a multi-professional model/approach ( Family CAF/TAF) for delivering early help for vulnerable families and embedding this model/ approach across the clusters schools. 5. To offer support and mentoring to school staff in key working families who are facing multiple challenges and managing a caseload. This will include supporting family assessments, team around the family meetings, developing action plans and agreed outcomes, identifying and enlisting support of other services and reviewing plans regularly. 6. To take a significant role with a small case load of families where no school staff are available and/or help identify other agencies across the city to do so. 7. To design and deliver effective evidenced based interventions that bring about significant positive change and enable personal development through a mixture of direct support (individual, family and group work), as well as enabling engagement/referrals to other agencies or community and voluntary sector organisations.
8. To deliver drop-in sessions and workshops for parents/carers offering low-level parenting advice and support and identifying any need for early intervention. 9. To set up and maintain accurate electronic records and case files with properly documented correspondence and evidence of decision making processes. 10. To work closely with the cluster sub-groups, particularly the SENCO, to ensure work is prioritised appropriately and each school is receiving the support they need. 11. To offer training,/guidance /mentoring/supervision/opportunities for peer support and sharing of best practice on evidenced based early help interventions to key school staff across the cluster , including engaging with parents/carers, parenting strategies, universal approaches to support emotional well being, solution focussed working, etc 12. To act as a source of advice to school staff, offer school staff surgeries providing access to information, resources, advice and support. 13. To produce termly reports and updates to the School cluster and to ensure excellent monitoring and evaluation of the service. General Accountabilities
To maintain awareness of current Health & Safety legislation and visibly demonstrate commitment to, co-operation with, and active promotion of high quality integrated Health and Safety management systems and practice.
To ensure risks are identified, assessed and managed
To uphold and carry out the duties of the post with due regard to Safety Net’s policies and procedures and the City Council’s Inclusive Council Policy. To participate in Safety Net team meetings, supervision and other relevant service meetings as agreed by the line manager. To work in accordance with the Children’s Act and any relevant statutory legislation.
To support, promote and work in accordance with the Safety Net’s aims and purposes
The list of duties in the job description should not be regarded as exclusive or exhaustive. There will be other duties and requirements associated with your job and, in addition, as a term of your employment you may be required to undertake various other duties as may reasonably be required.
PERSON SPECIFICATION JOB TITLE:
Early Help Coordinator, Patcham and Preston Schools cluster
REPORTS TO:
Families Team manager at Safety Net Lead SENCO, Patcham and Preston School cluster
CRITERIA Job Related Education, Qualifications and Knowledge
A recognised professional qualification e.g. Social Work, Education, Housing, Education, Youth work Practice certificates, or a degree level qualification, or the proven ability and experience to clearly demonstrate the skills and knowledge equivalent to such a standard. Working knowledge of child protection and education legislation and procedures. Local knowledge of support & development agencies within Brighton and Hove is desirable Trained in evidenced based parenting programme – desirable Knowledge of Common assessment framework and processes Competent in IT A good understanding and knowledge of child emotional, social and behavioural development
Experience At least 3 years’ experience of working with parents, vulnerable families, children and young people. An in depth understanding of the range of issues affecting vulnerable families and children, the impact on mental health and well-being and the and the ability to work with them to achieve sustainable and positive change Experience and knowledge and skills in the delivery of evidenced based interventions, in one to one work and small group work, including solution focussed working and parenting programmes Case management experience preferably using CAF/TAF process and ability to broker support with external agencies Experience of managing effective relationships with a range of partners with differing agendas and objectives and ensuring positive relations and positive outcomes for families. Ability to engage positively with parents as well as support engagement/referrals to other agencies or community and voluntary sector organisations Experience in facilitating learning/mentoring/ supervision skills
Solution focussed working Skills and Abilities
Personal Attributes
Equalities
Other Requirements
Ability to engage and motivate families to work with you on a one to one and whole family basis to improve the quality of their lives and the safety and well-being of their children Ability to make decisions that balance the needs of individuals with the Partnership schools’ priorities Proven ability in using negotiation and problem-solving skills in a multi-agency and multi-disciplinary setting. Ability to coordinate, develop and maintain effective networks across the Partnership schools. Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to communicate clearly and confidently and to give constructive feedback Ability to organise a complex and pressurised workload flexibly and to manage time and targets effectively, prioritise tasks and to work both independently and as part of a team. Good administration and IT skills e.g. effective use of email, internet, database knowledge to collect and analyse information for effective forward planning and report writing. Enthusiastic and motivating attitude A commitment to achieving the best outcomes for families Professional integrity and confidentiality Flexible approach and committed team member Ability to demonstrate a commitment to the principles of Equalities and to be able to carry out duties in accordance with Safety net and the Council’s Equalities Policy To ensure compliance with City Council’s Health & Safety policy through day to day working practices and duties. To ensure compliance with Data Protection and Confidentiality legislation and protocols Ability to travel across the cluster of schools