Job info |
Job info details |
Job title |
Participation Officer |
Strategic team/Directorate |
Children’s Services |
Service |
Safeguarding |
Business unit |
Learning Academy |
Responsible to (day to day issues) |
Restorative Practice Lead |
Accountable to (line manager) |
Restorative Practice Lead |
Salary grade |
G |
JE ref |
CSERV001 |
1. Key purpose of job
- To assist with the delivery of Torbay Council’s Corporate Parenting and Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Strategy; helping to promote the participation of children and young people across Torbay.
- To work restoratively and relationally alongside children including our cared for and care experienced young people and children with a special educational need and/or disability.
- To design participation groups and surveys and schemes of direct work which maximise the potential for children and families to engage with Children’s Services.
- To ensure the voice of the child is gathered and considered across Children Services.
- Support the Council’s Corporate Parenting and SEND Strategy by delivering a high-quality offer to promote and enable children and young people’s engagement and participation.
- Work collaboratively with colleagues across the Council to embed participation and engagement principles, raise the profile of the work and extend opportunities for colleagues to support participation.
- Demonstrate an inclusive approach, ensuring that our participation offer engages children and young people from a range of backgrounds, and with a range of experience and needs.
2. Anticipated outcomes of post
- To provide a high standard of support to children and young people in order to support them to achieve their aspirations.
- Work collaboratively with children and young people and stakeholders to develop innovative and creative solutions in relation to service improvement and design.
- Effective partnership working to improve outcomes for children and young people receiving support from Children Services.
- Recognise the value and involvement of vulnerable and protected groups, and ensure the service engages with these groups to inform service delivery.
- Improve services by contributing to a schedule of participation work and projects, which aid to seek feedback from children and young people, and their families and care providers.
3. List key duties and accountabilities of the post
- Responsible for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children at all times.
- To ensure that children and young people are placed at the heart of the service, are treated courteously and fairly, and are consulted on all aspects of their service provision.
- To work in partnership with children, young people and their families ensuring professional boundaries are set and maintained.
- Be responsible for planning events and activities offering positive opportunities and which are safe (including risk assessment).
- To lead participation groups with children, families, parents and carers in relation to current policy and procedure. To feed back to senior management in respect of ongoing service development.
- To work with senior management to identify key service improvement priorities and contribute to the design of schedules of participation which gather feedback in respect of those priorities.
- To visit and meet with children, parents and carers on an individual and group basis and undertake direct work in respect of their participation.
- To execute a level of autonomy in the implementation of participation work whilst also working collaboratively across Children’s Services to share this learning.
- To provide dedicated support, advice and guidance for care experienced young people to assist or sustain them in employment.
- Work flexibly to support all areas of participation activity, this may include helping to facilitate Participation Champions sessions or staff training, and supporting participation youth groups i.e. Young person panel, Cared for Children Council, SEND youth forum (events and activities etc.).
- Liaise closely with a range of external organisations to actively extend the participation and engagement of children and young people.
- To assist in the creation of a sensitive, caring but structured working relationship engaging 1-1 or groupwork sessions enabling young people to explore their difficulties and express their wishes and feelings.
- To supervise family time arrangements as necessary.
- To offer both support and challenge to children, young people and their families as part of any agreed change process.
- To establish effective working relationships with statutory and voluntary agencies to ensure high standards of service and support to young people and their families.
- To prepare internal and external reports and maintain accurate case records.
- To participate in Children in Need Reviews and Statutory review meetings as deemed appropriate by the Senior Practitioner or Practice Manager.
- To undertake task centred work with cared for and care experienced children and Young People under the direction of a Qualified Social Worker.
- To undertake training as required.
- As an Employee of Torbay Council all roles are expected to work in a way that ensures vulnerable children and adults are safeguarded and report any safeguarding concerns in accordance with established policies and procedures. The Designated Senior Lead for Safeguarding is the Chief Executive and Director of Children’s Services.
4. Budgetary/Financial Responsibilities of the post
5. Supervision/Line Management Responsibilities of the post
6. Working environment and conditions of the post
- Work independently within the Community undertaking home visits and lone working.
7. Physical demands of the post
8. Specific resources used by the post
- Computer and other IT equipment.
- General office equipment.
- Mobile phone.
9. Key contacts and relationships
- External:
- Schools;
- Local employers;
- Voluntary and statutory Agencies.
- Internal:
- Care-experienced Group;
- Cared for Children Team;
- Care Experienced Team;
- Fostering;
- Education;
- Recruitment and HR;
- Youth Service.
10. Other duties
Other Information
- All staff must commit to Equal Opportunities and Anti-Discriminatory Practice.
- The Council operates a Smoke-Free Policy and the post-holder is prohibited from smoking in any of the Council's buildings (including Council owned and Council leased buildings, but excluding designated areas in residential schemes), enclosed spaces within the curtilage of buildings, and Council vehicles. The Council does not permit smoking breaks within work time, however, in services where the flexi-scheme is in operation, employees may take reasonable break times outside of core hours, in accordance with flexi-time arrangements. Employees should follow the flexi-scheme procedure for agreeing time away from their duties in the normal manner with their immediate colleagues and line manager, with break start and finish times being recorded, as with any other break-time arrangement.
- The post-holder is expected to familiarise themselves with and adhere to all relevant Council Policies and Procedures.
- The post-holder must comply with the Council’s Health and Safety requirements as outlined in the H&S policy appropriate to the role.
- The post is eligible for both hybrid and permanent home working.
- The post-holder must be committed to the Council’s Core Values for employees – “Torbay Council employees are committed to being forward thinking, people orientated and adaptable - always with integrity”. Evidence will be sought during the probation and appraisal processes.
- If you are required to use your own vehicle on Council business or drive a council vehicle you will be asked to provide information on any driving endorsements by accessing gov.uk/view-driving-licence and providing a code to your Line Manager in order to share your driving licence information with the Council.
- As this post meets the requirements in respect of exempted questions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, all applicants who are offered employment will be subject to a criminal record check (Disclosure) from the Disclosure & Barring Service before the appointment is confirmed. This will include details of ALL cautions, reprimands or final warnings as well as convictions, whether “spent” or “unspent”. Criminal convictions will only be taken into account when they are relevant to the post.
- Torbay Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo the checks appropriate to the post applied for.
- The post holder is expected to work in a way that ensures vulnerable children and adults are safeguarded and report any safeguarding concerns in accordance with established policies and procedures.
- If this post is customer facing, it will require the ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence and fluency in English.
Person Specification
Note for Candidate
All Candidates
The supporting statement on your application form will be used to assess ability to meet the essential requirements of the role, so you should explain how you meet each of the numbered essential requirements within your supporting statement.
In a competitive situation, the desirable criteria may be taken into consideration, so you are encouraged to show how you also meet each of the desirable criteria.
Candidates who consider that they have a disability
Reasonable adjustments will be made to the job, job requirements or recruitment process for candidates with a disability.
If you consider yourself to have a disability you should indicate this on your application form, providing any information you would like us to take into account with regard to your disability in order to offer a fair selection interview.
Where ever possible and reasonable we will make adjustments and offer alternatives to help you through the application and selection process.
If you have indicated that you have a disability on your application form you will be guaranteed an interview if you clearly demonstrate in your supporting evidence how you broadly meet the essential requirements of the role.
Job info |
Job info details |
Job Title |
Participation Officer |
Strategic team/Directorate |
Children’s Services |
Service |
Safeguarding |
Business unit |
Learning Academy |
Skills and effectiveness
Essential skills and effectiveness
- Ability to produce and maintain accurate records and reports.
- Ability to engage positively with children, young people and their parents.
- Ability to build effective relationships with a wide range of organisations and individuals.
- Ability to engage and communicate effectively with children and young people and form positive working relationships with them, their families and carers, specialist services and colleagues.
- Understanding the needs of local young people including the more complex issues that the most vulnerable young people face in society.
- Effective communication/interpersonal skills.
- Ability to confidently and competently facilitate training sessions and workshops.
- Aptitude for using IT.
- Ability to make decisions and take responsibility for them.
- Ability to work effectively in a team and with other agencies.
- Ability to work effectively on own initiative, prioritise workload and manage time to meet deadlines.
- Ability and willingness to acquire new knowledge to ensure knowledge base is up to date.
- Evidence of consistent pattern of learning from education, training and experience.
- This role requires the ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence and fluency in English.
Desirable skills and effectiveness
- Experience of multi-agency working and Service development.
- Advocacy skills.
Knowledge
Essential knowledge
- Detailed knowledge and understanding of the issues that impact on children and young people who are cared for or care experienced and / or have a special educational need and disability.
- Understanding of basic human needs, physical, emotional, cultural and social.
- Knowledge of participation and engagement principles.
- Detailed knowledge and understanding of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.
- Knowledge of Children’s Act 1989 and 2004, Adoption legislation, Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Parenting Orders and Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003.
- Self awareness of own strengths and weaknesses.
- Detailed knowledge of the functions of a Children Services department and its service users.
- Detailed knowledge of models on inclusion when working with families with children with special educational needs and / or disability.
- Detailed knowledge of the principals of advocacy for cared for children.
- Detailed knowledge of the 7 corporate parenting principals as laid out in the Children and Social Work Act 2017.
- Detailed knowledge of the Children Act 1989 guidance and regulations in particular the statutory obligations in relation to cared for and care experienced children.
Desirable knowledge
N/A
Experience and achievements
Essential experience and achievements
- Work in a health, education or social care environment (paid or unpaid) with children and young people.
- Good communication skills and the confidence and ability to deliver training and presentations.
- Experience of working with children, young people and families experiencing high vulnerabilities and levels of needs.
- Experience of health/education/social care needs and services.
- Experience working to performance indicators, including monitoring and reporting on service outputs/outcomes, tracking of participation activities, analysing performance information, and identifying correction action.
- Teamwork.
Desirable experience and achievements
- Experience of group work.
Qualifications/professional memberships
Essential qualifications/professional memberships
- Educated to GCSE O Level standard at Grade C or above or equivalent.
- Evidence of a consistent pattern of learning from education, training and experience.
Desirable qualifications/professional memberships
- Qualification within the field of youth work (or similar) and/or have extensive experience of working successfully in this area.
Other requirements
Other requirements of the job role
- Demonstrates a commitment to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people.
- Ability to travel efficiently around the Bay/South West/UK in order to carry out duties.
- Ability to accommodate unsociable.
- Ability to accommodate occasional/permanent home-working.