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Caseworker & Young Person Lead
| Posting date: | 22 March 2024 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £13,364.32 to £14,720 per year |
| Hours: | Part time |
| Closing date: | 12 April 2024 |
| Location: | Solihull, West Midlands |
| Company: | Solihull SENDIAS |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 114 |
Summary
Summary of job: To provide impartial & confidential information, advice and support. You will ensure that users of Solihull SENDIAS Service are aware of their entitlements & are empowered to contribution to any decisions made, & to resolve disagreements about their/their child’s education, health & social care.
Key tasks & responsibilities:
1. To provide a high quality point of contact for parents/carers/children/young people, statutory & voluntary organisations.
2. To provide an enabling & empowering service to callers, keeping up to date with information regarding the services/interventions & support provided by other agencies to children with SEND; signposting to local & national services as appropriate.
3.To provide families with accurate, confidential & impartial information & advice on a range of matters relating to SEND procedures, with particular regard to the SEND Code of Practice 2014.
4. To hold a caseload & provide tailored support through email, phone & face-to-face contact to parents/carers of children with SEND & directly to young people with SEND, including on their own, if requested.
5. To keep accurate records of all enquiries, actions & follow up activities; keep Solihull SENDIAS' database up to date.
6. To assist in ensuring that effective working relationships are established & maintained with organisations & agencies which are relevant to the work of Solihull SENDIAS team, liaising as necessary with school management personnel (such as head teachers, governors, SENCOs, advisors, educational psychologists, education welfare officers & education officers), health & social care professionals & voluntary organisations.
7. To attend multi-agency meetings as required.
8. To provide drop-in sessions enabling families to access support for SEND issues.
9. To assist in the development, facilitation and delivery of workshops/training on topics relevant to SEND for parents/carers/children/young people, voluntary and statutory agencies, education services & schools in Solihull.
10. To act as lead within the team for engaging & developing engagement with Young People; assist in the production of ‘young person’ friendly information on SEND procedures in a variety of formats, including leaflets, bulletins & other suitable means.
11. To actively initiate networking with a wide range of young person groups, professionals & services to ensure understanding of SEND & the roles & responsibilities of local services, to ensure they are up to date with current support mechanisms, the law & any other SEND issues that may arise.
12. To attend conferences & other events (as necessary) to raise the profile of Solihull SENDIAS.
13. To share knowledge & learning, & keep Solihull SENDIAS colleagues informed of issues surrounding SEND through regular updates & team meetings.
14. To work flexibly to meet the needs of the service, including some evenings & weekends; to undertake any other duties that are commensurate with your role, to support & contribute to the success of the IASSN standards.
16. To ensure the implementation of Family Action’s Equality & Diversity Policy & Ethical Policy in every aspect of your work; positively promote the principles of these policies amongst colleagues, service users & other members of the community.
17. To comply with Family Action’s Health and Safety Policy, & to protect your own & others’ health, safety & welfare.
18. To comply with Family Action’s Confidentiality and Data Protection Policies.
19. To have an understanding (appropriate to your role) of, & comply with, Family Action’s policies and procedures for safeguarding the welfare of children and vulnerable adults.
Person Specification
Skills, Abilities & Qualities:
1. Excellent interpersonal & communication skills both written & verbal, & an excellent telephone manner.
2. Resilience & sensitivity in dealing with challenging issues; the ability to empathise with the parents/carers, & children /young people with SEND, to advocate for, & empower, them.
3. Strong negotiation & problem solving skills.
4. Strong record keeping/case recording skills.
5. A good level of IT skills including Word, Outlook, Power Point & Excel.
6. Good organisational skills.
7. Ability to work on your own initiative & as part of a team, prioritise your own workload, & work to tight & often conflicting deadlines.
8. Ability to mediate & facilitate positive working relationships between families & professionals.
9. Ability to build & maintain positive & effective working relationships with service users, colleagues & external professionals.
10. Ability to maintain confidentiality, impartiality & professionalism at all times, & to stay calm in the face of disagreement.
Qualifications:
11. Level 3 qualification in one or more areas of multi-agency provision i.e. Education, Health or Social care, or Graduate level qualification in relevant area. You will be expected to successfully complete all online IPSEA legal training (Levels 1-3) within 12 months.
Knowledge:
12. Awareness & understanding of current SEND principles, local & national procedures, & the IASSN standards.
13. Awareness & understanding of the legislation relating to SEND, the SEND Code of Practice & Disability Discrimination.
14. Awareness & understanding of the difficulties faced by children with SEND.
15. Knowledge of Health & Safety.
Experience:
16. minimum of 1 years’ experience of supporting families, preferably working with families with, children/young people with SEND
17. Experience of multi-agency working.
Key tasks & responsibilities:
1. To provide a high quality point of contact for parents/carers/children/young people, statutory & voluntary organisations.
2. To provide an enabling & empowering service to callers, keeping up to date with information regarding the services/interventions & support provided by other agencies to children with SEND; signposting to local & national services as appropriate.
3.To provide families with accurate, confidential & impartial information & advice on a range of matters relating to SEND procedures, with particular regard to the SEND Code of Practice 2014.
4. To hold a caseload & provide tailored support through email, phone & face-to-face contact to parents/carers of children with SEND & directly to young people with SEND, including on their own, if requested.
5. To keep accurate records of all enquiries, actions & follow up activities; keep Solihull SENDIAS' database up to date.
6. To assist in ensuring that effective working relationships are established & maintained with organisations & agencies which are relevant to the work of Solihull SENDIAS team, liaising as necessary with school management personnel (such as head teachers, governors, SENCOs, advisors, educational psychologists, education welfare officers & education officers), health & social care professionals & voluntary organisations.
7. To attend multi-agency meetings as required.
8. To provide drop-in sessions enabling families to access support for SEND issues.
9. To assist in the development, facilitation and delivery of workshops/training on topics relevant to SEND for parents/carers/children/young people, voluntary and statutory agencies, education services & schools in Solihull.
10. To act as lead within the team for engaging & developing engagement with Young People; assist in the production of ‘young person’ friendly information on SEND procedures in a variety of formats, including leaflets, bulletins & other suitable means.
11. To actively initiate networking with a wide range of young person groups, professionals & services to ensure understanding of SEND & the roles & responsibilities of local services, to ensure they are up to date with current support mechanisms, the law & any other SEND issues that may arise.
12. To attend conferences & other events (as necessary) to raise the profile of Solihull SENDIAS.
13. To share knowledge & learning, & keep Solihull SENDIAS colleagues informed of issues surrounding SEND through regular updates & team meetings.
14. To work flexibly to meet the needs of the service, including some evenings & weekends; to undertake any other duties that are commensurate with your role, to support & contribute to the success of the IASSN standards.
16. To ensure the implementation of Family Action’s Equality & Diversity Policy & Ethical Policy in every aspect of your work; positively promote the principles of these policies amongst colleagues, service users & other members of the community.
17. To comply with Family Action’s Health and Safety Policy, & to protect your own & others’ health, safety & welfare.
18. To comply with Family Action’s Confidentiality and Data Protection Policies.
19. To have an understanding (appropriate to your role) of, & comply with, Family Action’s policies and procedures for safeguarding the welfare of children and vulnerable adults.
Person Specification
Skills, Abilities & Qualities:
1. Excellent interpersonal & communication skills both written & verbal, & an excellent telephone manner.
2. Resilience & sensitivity in dealing with challenging issues; the ability to empathise with the parents/carers, & children /young people with SEND, to advocate for, & empower, them.
3. Strong negotiation & problem solving skills.
4. Strong record keeping/case recording skills.
5. A good level of IT skills including Word, Outlook, Power Point & Excel.
6. Good organisational skills.
7. Ability to work on your own initiative & as part of a team, prioritise your own workload, & work to tight & often conflicting deadlines.
8. Ability to mediate & facilitate positive working relationships between families & professionals.
9. Ability to build & maintain positive & effective working relationships with service users, colleagues & external professionals.
10. Ability to maintain confidentiality, impartiality & professionalism at all times, & to stay calm in the face of disagreement.
Qualifications:
11. Level 3 qualification in one or more areas of multi-agency provision i.e. Education, Health or Social care, or Graduate level qualification in relevant area. You will be expected to successfully complete all online IPSEA legal training (Levels 1-3) within 12 months.
Knowledge:
12. Awareness & understanding of current SEND principles, local & national procedures, & the IASSN standards.
13. Awareness & understanding of the legislation relating to SEND, the SEND Code of Practice & Disability Discrimination.
14. Awareness & understanding of the difficulties faced by children with SEND.
15. Knowledge of Health & Safety.
Experience:
16. minimum of 1 years’ experience of supporting families, preferably working with families with, children/young people with SEND
17. Experience of multi-agency working.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
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About Disability Confident
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