Child and Family Practitioner Social Worker
Division: Paediatrics and Adolescents
Board/corporate function: Specialist Hospitals Board
Salary band: Band 6
Responsible to: Practice Development Manager (Lighthouse)
Accountable to: Operational Manager (Lighthouse)
Hours per week: Fulltime, 37.5 hours
Location: The Lighthouse
Job Purpose
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Social Worker to join the unique multiagency service at the Lighthouse in our Case Management team supporting our diverse community of children and young people from North Central London.
The purpose of this role is to act as primary case holders; taking responsibility for the coordination of the child or young person’s journey in the Lighthouse, assessing and providing direct support to them and their family along with convening of their support networks, and working closely with social work colleagues in children's social care.
Child and Family Practitioners are the first point of contact for all queries and referrals to the Lighthouse; are responsible for the triage process, safeguarding oversight, supporting the intake process and signposting. They will provide advocacy and social work support to children and families, in an inter-agency context where activities will be complex and where there is a requirement to take considerable responsibility and work autonomously.
Child and Family Practitioners will be part of the Case Management team some of whom are social workers and some are ChISVA's ( Children's Independent Sexual Violence advisors). Our work is integrated into the Multidisciplinary team which consists of the Lighthouse CAMHS team, Lighthouse Health team and in partnership with NSPCC practitioners; supporting children in North Central London that have experienced child sexual abuse.
Lighthouse model
The Lighthouse is the first UK Child House, a multi-professional service for CYP who have experienced child sexual abuse and a national leader in the field. The Lighthouse provides a holistic health assessment and medical support, emotional support and therapeutic interventions, advocacy and police interviews led by clinical psychologists.This child-centred concept has had proven success abroad, in particular Iceland, where there is evidence of increased convictions and improved health and well-being of the child/young person.
After a successful pilot, funded by the Home Office, NHS England, Mayor’s office for Police and crime (MOPAC) and Department for Education from 2018 - 2022, the Lighthouse secured recurrent statutory funding from April 2022. NHS England commission the service which is provided by University College London Hospitals (UCLH) in partnership with NSPCC and Metropolitan Police Service.CYP who live in the five boroughs in North Central London: Camden, Islington, Enfield, Haringey and Barnet can be referred or can self-refer to the service.
The Lighthouse team
The service is jointly managed by the Lighthouse Operational Manager and the Clinical Lead. The Lighthouse team includes paediatricians, clinical nurse specialist for sexual health, case workers, social workers, a team of therapists (including clinical psychologists, psychiatrist, CAMHS practitioners), as well as police liaison officers and access to ‘Letting the Future In’ practitioners (NSPCC) based in Lighthouse.
JOB SUMMARY
The role will be within the Case Management team which is a busy, fast paced and responsive team made up of child and family practitioners who are social workers and/or ChISVA's. The team is the first point of contact for professionals, children and their carers and is responsible for ensuring the seamless journey through the lighthouse services whilst working closely with professional colleagues in the community.
The role involves supporting our duty system; offering advice to children, carers and professionals around referrals, ensuring safeguarding oversight and risk management at the referral stage and ensuring that safeguarding concerns have been escalated.
For further details or to arrange an informal visit, please contact Eimear Timmons, Practice Development Manager on: Email address: Eimear.Timmons@nhs.net
Person specification: Please see job description attached for full person specification.