Job title: Early Help Practitioner
Salary: SO2 £37,280 - £39,152
Hours: 37 hours per week
Contract: Full-time permanent
Location: Merrion House, Leeds, LS2 8NG
Are you passionate about ensuring Early Help Support arrives at the correct time and is delivered in the right way? Are you passionate about workforce development and supporting services to develop and improve their offer of Early Help? Are you passionate about making a difference in the lives of children, young people, and families? IF SO, Leeds Early Help Services is looking for a dedicated and compassionate Early Help Practitioner like you.
What you will bring to the role:
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Significant experience of early intervention, working with professionals, children and families to provide support and challenge using a restorative and relational approach.
- Experience developing effective partnerships with families and with professionals to achieve positive outcomes for children.
- Experience using management information systems e.g., Mosaic, SCMS, Core Plus.
- Effective liaising with staff at different levels across agencies and influence practice.
- Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of safeguarding, information sharing and other key legislation relating to children and their parents/carers.
About the Role
As an Early Help Practitioner you will be based at Merrion House working closely with the Social Work Duty and Advice team to provide guidance and support at an Early Help level, workforce development and training. In this vital role, formulation is a key to informing next steps, providing timely and targeted support that help prevent issues from escalating. Your work will be directly aligned to our Leeds practice principles as you form part of a dynamic team focused on improving outcomes and directly contributing towards building resilience within communities.
What we offer you
We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:
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a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
- membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
- flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements
- a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities · a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further
How to apply
Please complete an online application form.
Read our guidance for further advice on completing your application.
If you have any queries/would like an informal chat about the role contact Jonathan Roberts (Early Help Front Door Manager) 0113 378 1823 /
[email protected] or Elliott Stubbs (Early Help Locality Lead)
[email protected]
A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check against the Children or Adults* barred list as applicable will be carried out on preferred candidates. Read our recruitment of ex-offenders policy.
We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.
This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.
If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visa route before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Ensure you are eligible before applying
Job Description
Job purpose
To work in partnership with families and services to lead an assessment of need in order that a comprehensive plan is formulated that will ensure positive outcomes for children and their families are achieved.
To provide support, advice and guidance to Early Help colleagues and partners to assist them in the delivery of appropriate family help support and outcomes are accurately recorded.
To provide a high quality and comprehensive service in one of the following areas: Front Door or Family Hubs in accordance with the organisational needs, policy, and practices of the Directorate and within statutory guidelines.
Responsibilities
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Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team to develop the early help graduated approach within the city by modelling exemplary partnership working.
- Use a restorative approach of high support and high challenge in work with families, colleagues and partners.
- Empower families to manage their own needs by working with parents to develop the network of support they will need to ensure positive outcomes for their children.
- Be a source of access to information and give advice about services for early help and advocate on behalf of families in order to ensure they are able to access the right service, at the right time.
- Work with families in crisis where there are no identified significant safeguarding concerns and link them to other services in order for Early help services to be provided. This could be via telephone contact or face to face contact.
- Provide advice and consultancy to professionals and other agencies about early help approaches and advise on appropriate referrals to services.
- Ensure that safeguarding procedures are adhered to by recognising and acting in relation to the safety of children where concerns of risk are identified.
- Engage with the Front Door duty system to triage referrals to best identify which service is appropriate to support the family.
- Support the continuous development of early help practice and the embedding of the Leeds Practice Model.
- Engage in short-term direct work to assess/formulate need, undertake intervention and clarify next steps.
- Facilitate restorative family meetings where this has been identified as an appropriate course of action.
- Champion Early Help registration, assessment, plan and review process across the wider partnership.
- Lead on the delivery of evidence-based parenting programmes across the partnership.
- Lead on quality assurance practices across the early help partnership.
- Lead on the delivery of training to the wider partnership, consultation about specific cases and provide support and guidance to other workers within early help.
- Innovatively lead on the consultation of children and families, with a focus on family voice and influence on shape and inform service provision including asset- based community developments by engaging with voluntary, faith and community organisations.
- Work as part of a multi-agency team, maintaining effective relationships with a wide range of people including colleagues within the service and across the Directorate, families, agencies and the general public dealing with all contact in a professional manner.
- Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
- Participate in appraisal, training and development activities as necessary to ensure up to date knowledge and skills.
- Improve own practice through observation, evaluation, discussion with colleagues and development programmes.
- To work collaboratively with colleagues, knowing when to seek help and advice.
- Contribute to the overall ethos, work, and aims of the service by attending relevant meetings, training days/events as requested.
- Be aware of and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures e.g., child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person.
- Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding and promoting the values, standards and equal opportunities of Leeds City Council. Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment or victimisation and any form of abuse of equal opportunities, ensuring compliance with relevant policies and procedures.
- The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and this role will be expected to work within these parameters.
The duties outlined are not meant as an exhaustive list and will also comprise any other duties within the spirit of the post commensurate with the job evaluation outcome for this post.
Qualifications
A relevant Level 3 qualification in family help or a related field, or professional qualifications aligned to this work.
Essential requirements It is essential that the candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post. Candidates will only be shortlisted for interview if they can demonstrate that they meet all the essential requirements.
Essential Behavioural & other Characteristics
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Significant experience of working with children and families to provide support and challenge.
- Able to work flexibly across different work locations and areas and travel throughout Leeds City Council boundaries, moving location within the service working at different sites /areas depending on need.
- Proven ability to develop personal and professional credibility with families, partners, and stakeholders.
- Proven ability to utilise the Leeds Practice Model.
- Able to respect sensitive and confidential information.
- Able to use IT systems including Microsoft packages, e.g., word, excel and databases. " Able to use management information systems e.g., Mosaic, SCMS, Core Plus.
- Able to communicate effectively with children, parents/carers, and other professionals.
- Able to motivate, promote positive attitudes to change, open communications and identify support and challenge opportunities to successfully achieve agreed outcomes.
- Able to work with families strengths and needs and appropriately support/challenge individuals using a restorative and relational approach.
- Able to negotiate with all stakeholders and improve outcomes for children and families.
- Able to work autonomously taking responsibility for outcomes and work as part of a small team.
- Able to liaise effectively with staff at different levels across agencies and influence practice.
- Ability to prioritise work and meet deadlines.
- Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of safeguarding, information sharing and other key legislation relating to children and their parents/carers.
- Understanding of the issues faced by children and their families and knowledge of appropriate service responses they require to achieve positive outcomes.
- Thorough understanding of child development issues facing families with specific issues and the types of resources available to them.
- Undergone foundation and level 2 multi-agency training in the area of child protection. " Developing effective partnerships with families and with professionals to achieve positive outcomes for children.
- Experience of working in a culturally diverse environment with parents from minority ethnic communities and vulnerable groups.
- Experience of speaking to large audiences, delivering, and leading training.
- Experience of delivering evidence- based parenting programmes.
- Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behavioursand codes of conduct.
- Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Best City Ambitionof Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth and Zero Carbon
- Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council equality and diversity policies.
- Carry out all duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health and Safety Policies.
- Willingness to actively participate in training and development activities.
- Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
- Participate in appraisal, training, and development activities.
- Be aware of and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures.
- Be aware of and support difference ensuring equality for all, working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, equality & diversity.
- Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, reporting any concerns to the appropriate person.
- The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters.
