Recruitment policy - End of Assessed and Supported Year in Employment Social Worker

Level 2 - Grade 10

Professionalism 

• you maintain your professional registration by complying with the requirements of HCPC
• you have a detailed awareness of the professional code of conduct and can demonstrate how this is embedded in your practice
• you demonstrate a strong commitment to values such as honesty, respect and integrity in your practice and in your communication with children and families, communities, colleagues and other stakeholders
• you consistently provide a high quality service
• you model behaviour that positively promotes best practice and you are confident to raise issues of professional challenge
• you present information competently in informal and formal meetings including giving evidence in court
• you always positively represent the council
• you have on going motivation and commitment to practice as a social worker
• you demonstrate the importance of personal resilience and adaptability in social work
• you demonstrate your understanding of psychological, social, cultural, spiritual and physical influences on people; human development throughout the life span and the legal framework for practice. You apply this knowledge to your work with individuals, families and communities. You know and use theories and methods of social work practice
• you are clearly working as a member of a team and an organisation
• you demonstrate how your own learning, behaviour and ideas can influence and benefit others and you recognise the impact your own values and attitudes can have on relationships with others
• you demonstrate the importance of seeking the perspectives and views of service users and carers
• you demonstrate that you will need to deal with conflict and use the authority invested in their role
• you demonstrate knowledge of difference and diversity within society and the implications of this for social work practice
• you demonstrate the contribution of social work to promoting social justice, inclusion and equality  

Child centred and outcome focussed approach

• you have child-centred approaches clearly embedded in your practice, and can evidence how you practice in a child-centred way
• you have a detailed knowledge and understanding of outcome focussed approaches to your intervention. You apply these consistently in your practice. You demonstrate the ability to use SMART outcomes in your planned interventions

Knowledge, critical, reflection, assessment and analysis

• you demonstrate detailed knowledge and practice skills in an evidence based approach to assessment and planning across a range of complex and challenging situations
• you are strongly committed to provide and promote the need to provide early action
• you recognise behaviours which may indicate disguised compliance, resistance to change, ambivalent or selective cooperation with service
• you carry out in-depth and on going family assessment of social need and risk to children with particular emphasis on parental capacity and capability to change; effectively carrying out high level of analysis using child observation skills, genograms, ecomaps, chronologies and utilising a wide range of evidence based tools; whilst ensuring active child and family participation
• you have a clear understanding of the recommendations from serious case reviews
• you will have evidence that you learn from your own experience (educational, personal, formal and informal)
• you demonstrate your experience of explaining how the family justice system works in England and the role of the child and family social worker within that

Workload management 

• you carry a caseload of complex and challenging cases
• you have strong workload management skills and can adapt to the changing demands of the service and accommodate the fluctuations of day-to-day practice ensuring that deadlines are met
• you take responsibility for prioritising your work with reference to service and organisational demands

Policy and procedure

• you have a detailed knowledge of the policy and procedures that govern practice within your service area by using the council practice standards, Tri.X policies, interagency DSCB policies and procedures
• you have the professional responsibility to comply with these guidelines and clearly demonstrate your practical application of these

Decision making

• you have a detailed understanding about the role and responsibilities within a statutory organisation
• you demonstrate collaborative working as well as offering appropriate professional challenge in meeting child outcomes effectively
• you are fully aware of your level of delegated authority and that of others in your decision-making
• you use professional judgement in situations that require your action based on risk and jeopardy to children
• you demonstrate ability to be autonomous in decision-making within your delegated responsibility
• you take responsibility for taking decisions based on your knowledge, skills and practice experience

Supervision

• you demonstrate your commitment to the directorate supervision policy, your responsibilities within it, and its role in helping develop your knowledge and skills
• you use formal and informal methods of receiving supervision
• you are increasingly called upon to work jointly with colleagues and commissioned partners to achieve outcomes and will give support to staff in practice areas where you have understanding and knowledge 
• you actively prepare for supervision

Record keeping

• you are fully competent in and understand the role of recording (e.g. evidence of involvement and decision-making, case audits, legal proceedings and use in complaints) and your professional responsibilities to keep up-to-date records of your work towards children understanding of their own history
• you have a detailed knowledge of the law that relates to data protection and confidentiality and adhere to this within practice
• your recording is in line with Directorate policy and will impact on children and young people’s understanding of their own family history

Performance management 

• you have a detailed knowledge and practice awareness of the performance measures applicable to your service area
• you fully understand your role and responsibility in meeting targets and expectations that are set for you, and can clearly articulate these if asked
• you are open to receiving feedback on performance and positively reflect on and inform your future behaviour
• you understand your responsibility for ensuring that managers are aware of any areas that could potentially impact on the service of children and families
• you are aware of the performance measures and you contribute to finding solutions

Risk management 

• you have a detailed understanding of your role in the assessment and management of risk to children within practice
• you have knowledge and skills relating to the abuse and neglect of children and be able to fully recognise: the risk indicators of different forms of harm to children including sexual, physical and emotional abuse and neglect; the impact of cumulative harm
• you fully understand harmful practices in specific communities such as female genital mutilation and enforced marriage; and the full range of adult behaviours which pose a risk to children, also recognising the potential for children to be perpetrators of abuse
• you are able to critically evaluate theory and research findings and demonstrate informed use in practice of: typical age related physical, cognitive, social, emotional and behavioural development, and the influence of cultural and social factors on child development; the impact of different parenting styles on development; and the impact of loss, change and uncertainty in the development of normative resilience
• you are fully able to explain the impact that: mental ill-health, substance misuse, domestic violence, physical ill-health and disability can have on family functioning and social circumstances
• you demonstrate a detailed understanding of policy and procedures in risk management and are conversant with interventions in managing risk to children and can demonstrate how this is evidenced in your practice. Through informal and formal supervision you will share issues of risk and jeopardy appropriately with your line manager and seek support and guidance in managing this

Interventions and models of care

• you have detailed knowledge and skills models of intervention appropriate to your work role and responsibility
• you will be able to build purposeful, effective relationships with children and families
• you demonstrate a appropriate level of skill in evidence based, effective social work approaches
• your interventions are child-centred and outcome focussed
• you have a detailed practice ability to use collaborative approaches to intervention
• you are able to demonstrate that you are able to communicate clearly, sensitively and effectively using best evidence methods with children of all ages and abilities, their families and other professionals in ways which are engaging, motivating and respectfully challenging
• you have the skills to engage with people even when they are perceived to be angry, distressed, hostile or resistant to change