Children's Services Practitioner - Participation

Salary: £30,188 - £34,452
Hours: 36 per week, 52 weeks per year

In Edinburgh we are committed to keeping the Promise and our Corporate Parenting responsibilities to ensure every child and young person grows up feeling safe, loved, and respected. As a workforce this means we focus on what matters to children and families, listen, and follow through. We understand and act on the impacts of poverty and honour children’s rights. We are respectful to all those we work with, treating them as unique individuals using our language with care and sensitivity.

Purpose of Job

The Children's Services Practitioner - Participation supports the development and delivery of participatory work across Children's Services with children and young people with lived experience of the care system, as well as those who care for them. They support the work of Edinburgh's Champions Board and promote corporate parenting to deliver real change for children and young people.

This post is involved in a range of activities including training, awareness raising, working with partners, and mentoring. The post is based in the Corporate Parenting Hub and sits alongside a range of services which support the care experienced community. We recognise care experience as anyone who has been formally looked after by a local authority in the family home (with support from social services or a social worker); in kinship care with family, friends or relatives; in foster care, residential or secure care; or legally adopted.

• To work restoratively to build trust and form positive relationships with children, young people and their families/carers, using relationships to support changes which lead to a reduction in risk and improved outcomes - Within the Corporate Parenting Team this is via community engagement, amplification of voice and feeding into policy, procedure and practice change.
• To work in a way that is empowering and creates the conditions for children, young people and families/carers to be an integral part to problem solving and encouraging future independent living - Delivery of Champs Boards as well as other engagement activity to promote overall system change, including the improvement in wellbeing of individuals through services and supports available via the hub.
• Contribute to reports in user friendly language, ensuring information is clear and accessible to all and completed within the required timescales for the lead professional, Children’s Hearings, Child Protection Planning Meetings, Court and any other relevant meetings as agreed with the lead professional or Team Leader - The team regularly need to report into committees and boards as well as generate collated responses to consultations.
• Establish and maintain professional relationships with children, young people and families/carers to improve outcomes.
• Contribute to assessments and ensure robust information exchange and joint working with other professionals and external partner agencies, as directed by the lead professional or team leader. Post holders will not have lead responsibility for statutory cases – This includes linking in with key workers regarding individuals that attend groups and events run by the team.
• To assist children, young people and families to access other resources and mainstream services to help meet assessed need and risks – Within the Corporate Parenting Team this involves consideration of the broader needs of the community and how we can support them through new support streams, multidisciplinary working and accessing new funding streams.
• Undertake all work in line with relevant legislation, public protection and other national and departmental policy and procedures and accredited standards, as appropriate.
• Maintain awareness of services in order to respond to issues related to, for example, housing, education and health and social care – in particular making sure that this information is made clear to members of the community as well as engaging with groups around specific issues/topics to consider improvements or adaptations to practice.
• To work within the Getting It Right for Every Child Framework.
• To liaise and coordinate with children, young people, families/carers and their support network.
• Demonstrate initiative and respond appropriately to crisis and emergency situations, seeking appropriate guidance from the lead professional or Team Leader.
• Write clear, accurate and detailed case records in accordance with the practice standards, guidance and procedures which support case recording on Council data systems as directed.
• Actively participate in all team activities including team meetings and development meetings and utilise supervision and formal consultation.