Job Category : Social & Healthcare Qualified
Location :Plymouth City Council
Hours Per Week : 37.00
Start Date : Immediate Start
Start Time : 09:00
End Time : 17:30
Salary: £39.00
In Plymouth, the Independent Chairs undertake a dual role of Child Protection
Officer (CPO) and Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO). Individual independent
chairs will hold caseloads weighted 70-80% towards either role, dependent on
the needs of the service.
As CPO, chairing child protection case conferences; ensuring correct thresholds
and that the plans address risk, and quality assuring practice.
As IRO, fulfilling statutory duties towards looked after children as defined in the
IRO handbook
Ensuring that child protection case conferences are timely, quorate and
compliant with Working Together, with appropriate and consistent
thresholds. Providing leadership to ensure safe-decision making and planning
Ensuring children and young people participate in child protection
conferences where possible, and that their views influence planning
Ensuring statutory reviews for children in care are timely, quorate and
compliant with the IRO handbook
Ensuring children participate in their statutory reviews, including facilitating
children to chair their own meetings where appropriate
Visiting children in placement to build relationships with children in care, and
ensuring their views are heard and influence planning
Quality assuring casework with individual children in care or at risk in the
community, providing challenge to ensure best practice and avoid drift
Being accountable for escalation and problem resolution processes including
chairing problem resolution meetings
Ensuring advocacy for individual children (70%)
Chairing complex strategy meetings, ensuring safe practice and leading
decision-making ensuring accurate and timely records of meetings and quality
assurance interventions
Acting as a point of expertise for complex CP investigations
Providing cover for the LADO (5%)
Ensuring the production of timely and accurate minutes of child protection
meetings, including abridged versions when appropriate
Degree level or equivalent in Social Work e.g. CQSW, DipSW
Registration with Social Work England
Sound understanding of the safeguarding agenda and of the statutory role of
the IRO, the LADO and Adoption and Fostering Panels
Understanding of how changes in the economic, political, social and
organisational climate can impact on the organisation
Sound understanding of best practice, including up to date knowledge of
new/emerging initiatives and practice themes
Understanding of permanence and adoption issues
Desired:
Masters level qualification in Social Work/Management and Leadership
Practice Educator Award
Expertise in a specific practice area, e.g. domestic abuse, CSE
essential experience
Significant experience of working as a statutory social work practitioner,
including working in more than one service area
Experience in raising practice standards and using quality assurance to secure
service improvement
Experience of multi-agency working
Significant experience of safeguarding, including analysis and providing advice
to others
Proven leadership ability
Highly developed analytical skills
Ability to chair complex meetings
Excellent verbal communication skills, including ability to influence and ability
to present
Ability to write cogent and structured analytical reports and evaluations in
response to casework, HR issues or practice themes
Ability to think strategically and to work across organisational boundaries
and silos
Keyboard skills required to create and respond to letters and emails and
compile reports
Forward planning required for up to a year in advance required to devise
and review child protection plans and evaluate effectiveness of care plans and
CP plans against outcomes
Excellent interpersonal skills to challenge decisions made by the team
managers and others through to the agreed conflict resolution channels and
to be accountable for those decisions
Ability to develop and deliver multi-agency safeguarding training
Skills in direct work with children and young people in order to build
relationships and ascertain views