Social Worker - maternity cover

Job summary

Social Worker

Band 6, 37.5hours per week

12m FTC Maternity cover role

The role is to provide social work expertise to the multidisciplinary assessment of families and parents referred to the service. Rapid initial and then ongoing assessment of parents, their willingness and capacity to engage in therapeutic work, alongside assessment of parenting capacity - the safety of the children being paramount. The post holder will contribute to the multidisciplinary formulation of an intervention plan and work with team members to mobilise and co-ordinate existing local authority, NHS and independent sector resources to meet the needs of the care plan and provide where appropriate evidence based nursing interventions in community based settings. The social worker role will take a lead on issues of safeguarding children and risk assessment of parenting capacity.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will take a lead on providing professional advice and development in relation to substance misuse within the FDAC team, develop clear pathways of care and support for families referred to the service in order to promote and improve the well-being of parents, children and young people. The post holder will be required to present reports in an authoritative manner in Court on a very regular basis, and other Multidisciplinary and Multi-agency settings work with autonomy but equally closely with FDAC colleagues. The post holder will be expected to contribute to and take part in of the evaluation of the service.

About us

THE FAMILY DRUG AND ALCOHOL COURT TEAM

A Family Drug and Alcohol Court is an innovative approach to the problem of parental substance misuse (drugs or alcohol) which is having a negative impact on parenting capacity.

The FDAC is based on a model now being widely used across the USA, which is an exciting way of trying to break the destructive cycle of substance misuse through generations. The London FDAC has been running since 2008 and now serves 14 Local Authorities across 4 Family Courts. Independent research suggest that this model is successful in getting parents to engage with and stay in substance misuse services leading to more children being able to return home. Where parents do not engage and children cannot return home, quicker decisions are made about permanent placements for them.

The model is of a specialist court operating within the framework of care proceedings. The specialist FDAC team (which includes substance misuse practitioners, children and family social workers and child and adult mental health expertise) will be attached to the 4 courts we serve in Central, South, West and East London. It will advise the court and link the parents into relevant local services. The emphasis is on working with the parent and child, not just assessing them.

Job responsibilities

Please JD & PS document for further details.

Note: The role will likely be based at South London Family Court every Friday. There will be travel required across London.

Person specification

Qualifications/Training/Education

Essential

• UK recognised qualification in social work
• Registered with Social Work England
• Wide experience of working with children and young people (including those aged 16 and above) and their families/carers
• Experience of working in the role of social worker with young children and families, including the ability to work autonomously
• Experience with Looked After Children or difficult, disturbed or challenging patient populations requiring skilled and complex interventions
• Experience of work in a multi-professional network and awareness of issues for such networks and teams
• Experience of the application of social work within a multi-cultural framework

Desirable

• Experience of working with children and families within a community multi-professional team
• Experience of facilitating case review, peer support or other group work with staff

Skills & Knowledge

Essential

• An ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing to convey highly complex and clinically sensitive information to family members of all ages, students and to a wide range of professional people within and outside the NHS
• An awareness of relevant legislation and its implications for clinical practice
• Knowledge and understanding of issues relating to safeguarding children
• Knowledge of social work theory and practice

Desirable

• An awareness of qualitative and quantitative research methodology and clinical audit
• Skills in providing consultation and support regarding social work issues including safeguarding concerns to other professionals
• Awareness of appropriate clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of high-quality clinical practice

Other Requirements

Essential

• Evidence of personal resilience and aptitude for dealing with potentially distressing and highly emotional clinical work
• Ability to be a constructive, collaborative and flexible team worker with an ability to work in different roles and contexts
• Keenness to continue to develop therapeutic skills alongside core social work skills