Lead Child Protection Practitioner - Childrens (G11) in Lincolnshire

Job Category: Social Care Qualified

Location: Holmeleigh, Foundry Street, Horncastle, Lincolnshire, LN96AQ Lincolnshire County Council

Hours per Week: 37.00

Start Date: Immediate Start

Salary: £264.00 per day

This is a full time office based role. We have three vacancies. One in Grantham and two in Horncastle/Louth.

Key Objective

The Lead Child Protection Practitioner role focuses on improving consistency in CP practice, leading multi-agency decision making, chairing effective conferences and ensuring families experience a transparent and supportive process.

Tasks Specific to this Role

• To improve consistency in approaches to CP practice across the county, ensuring equality of experience for families.
• To be more readily available to all partners, actively leading improvement in the quality and focus of multi-agency CP decision making and planning.
• To ensure parents have confidence in the CP process because they can see there are independent checks and balances in place, and they can develop a working relationship with a consistent LCPP.
• To collaborate with the Practice Supervisors and share the decision making in this complex domain.
• To provide opportunities for Social Workers to access practice consultations outside their supervisory relationships, therefore strengthening the Social Worker’s CP knowledge base, supporting their practice improvement and encouraging professional development.
• To be based in Localities and alongside Duty Teams so that flow between MACPT and FH Teams is easy and professional relationship building is prioritised.
• To also attend central MACPT meetings and build the identity of the MACPT on a countywide basis.
• Liaise with Social Work Practice Supervisors from the point of consideration that a Strategy Discussion /Meeting may be needed and lead the decision making to convene a strategy discussion /meeting.
• Lead the Strategy Discussion and facilitate multi-Agency decision making as to whether a Section 47 investigation is required and plan the investigation where one is needed.
• Monitor the investigation process and keep all agencies practitioners focussed on providing information within timescale to enable families to adequately prepare for meetings.
• Collaborate with PS and SW to decide if progression to Conference is warranted.
• Lead preparation for a CP conference and QA interim safety planning.
• Meet all parents and significant others from the family networks prior to conferences- improving the families experience of the child protection process.
• Offer to meet Children and Young People aged 8 and over prior to their Conference to ensure they are invited to attend and to ensure they understand the CP Conference process and support the social worker in empowering the children and young people to have their voice heard.
• Ensure that Children and their parents are offered independent advocacy support to attend CP meetings.
• Chair Child Protection conferences.

Requirements

Essential

• Qualified Social Worker with at least 5 years post qualification experience.

Desirable

• Thorough knowledge and understanding of a number of disciplines including Children and Family work, knowledge of National and Directorate policies and procedures relating to children and families, including Looked After Children, child protection and their statutory base.
• Allegations against adults who work with children.
• Ability to provide professional and expert advice to practitioners and managers within the Local Authority and to other agencies, including employers and the voluntary sector.
• Ability to manage meetings dealing with very sensitive information and attendees who may be upset/angry.
• Ability to deal with a variety of complex problems, analyse large quantities of information and develop effective solutions.
• Experience of working in partnership with service users, carers, and other agencies.
• Ability to effectively chair meetings of professionals and service users while maintaining a focus on the needs of the child.
• Ability to communicate at all levels from a child to senior officer and members and to possess the relevant interpersonal communication skill e.g. negotiation and influence.