Leaving Care Worker (G7)

Job Description

Job title: Leaving Care Worker (G7)
Job Category: Childrens Services
Location: The Crescent, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 4DY, Somerset Council
Hours per week: 37
Salary: £27.33 per hour
Social Work England Registration and DBS Required
2 days in office, 3 days remote
To be a key pivotal point of contact and coordination of support for young people who are leaving care. The worker will be responsible for providing a flexible and reliable connection to our young people. The leaving care worker is key in coordinating the plans we make, and will lead on bringing together the resources available from other agencies to ensure that young people transition to adulthood in a safe and healthy manner. This role will involve direct work with young people, as well as working with their network of peers and family, to ensure they achieve outcomes in line with their individual plans, and the Councils Children in Care and Care Leavers Strategy
To support and challenge agencies, families, and young people’s wider relationships to bring about lasting change to help drive improved outcomes for care leavers. If young people choose not to work with the service, and are considered harder to reach, then it is the role of the worker to utilise their skills to foster a connection to the young person and bring together the right agencies and opportunities to enhance the life chances and outcomes for care leavers.
To support young people 16 to 25, to move successfully through life, secure education, training, employment, access stable accommodation, and to progress into adulthood as a happy and healthy adult.
The leaving care offer spans children and adult services from 16 to 25 years old, so this job will require staff to have a knowledge of both arenas. Staff will need to be able to help people access support and services to aid social development and deliver direct targeted interventions and support to young people who may be at elevated levels of risk. For example, they may be at risk of engaging in anti-social behaviour, risk of losing employment, accommodation, or experiencing poor mental health.
The role will also be required to work as a team to provide a duty service to support young people who may be in crisis and to ensure support is available via the duty service to meet needs and offer information advice and guidance.
MAIN DUTIES: The specific accountabilities of this role will be flexible and will change to
meet the needs of the organisation as required but will include (or be equivalent in
nature to) those listed below:

o 1 To work within policies, practices and procedures of Children’s Services
Directorate. To manage a caseload of young people and their families/network
within the appropriate level of responsibility including direct work with Children and
Young People. The Postholder will work in a multi-agency team in conjunction with
the Practice Supervisor/Team Manager and access support systems such as
supervision, appraisal and team meetings.

o 2 Encourage and empower young people to participate in all decision making and
processes affecting their lives, and involve the peers and family with workers in this
process when appropriate.

o 3 To work in partnership with young people and agencies ensuring professional
boundaries are set and maintained. To work alongside young people in devising
strategies and plans that will enable them to achieve and sustain positive
outcomes and live happy lives.

o 4 To work within the young person network and home to help them grow their own
strategies and abilities to live healthy lives. This may include practical household
tasks, ensuring access to education, training and employment and addressing any
risk or behavior that could lead to negative outcomes. This will be done in
conjunction with appropriate partner agencies.

o 5 To offer a support and challenge approach with young people and their networks to
bring about change and grow positive opportunities in life.
To work across a broad age range within the network of people and professionals
which may include other adults and children.

May be required to work evenings and weekends as required.
o 6 In partnership with young people and other agencies carry out whole network
assessment and plan to deliver interventions which minimise duplication but
coordinate/supplement the plans completed by partner agencies.

o 7 To establish and maintain effective working relationships with statutory and
voluntary agencies to ensure a high standard of service and support to young
people.

8 To participate in Case Conferences and other similar meetings as deemed
appropriate by the Practice Supervisor and/or Team Manager. To act as Lead
Professional for the young person wherever appropriate to do so.

o 9 To be part of a duty system acting as the first point of contact for young people
over 21 presenting to urgent support.
10 To prepare reports dealing with young people abilities and needs and review such
plans. Within the leaving care service, the statutory plan is a Pathway Plan.
Workers should ensure that the plans are within time scales and that activities and
goals are against measurable outcomes, and within the framework of policies and
procedures.
To keep records and documentation pertaining to meetings and contact with
children and families in line with Lincolnshire standards and
procedures.

11 To effectively manage the workload, demonstrate good time
management and a requirement to work evenings and weekends
and some public holidays as per a rota to provide a flexible and responsive service,
including on-call arrangements.
To ensure information on the electronic case management system is maintained
accurately and up to date.
To consistently prepare for and attend supervision.

o 12 Participate in learning and development as required by the Team
Manager.
Understand the usefulness of performance information and to ensure
the completion of the appropriate paperwork to capture such
information accurately.

o 13 As an employee, create a positive image of the County Council.

o 14 Deliver excellent customer service, incorporating the Council’s equality and
diversity objectives and supporting the council to achieve best practice in all it
delivers.

o 15 Remain up to date and compliant with all relevant legislation, organisational
procedures, policies and professional codes of conduct in order to uphold
standards of best practice

16 Take personal responsibility for contributing to organisational transformation and
changes in ways of working, maximising the benefits and efficiencies for both
internal and external customers, including the promotion and use of self -service to
achieve maximum cost effectiveness.
There is no requirement to be social work qualified for this role.