Parenting Worker

We have a fantastic opportunity for a Parenting Worker to join our Exploitation and Youth Justice Service (EYJS)!

This is a new role to Slough Children First (SCF), and as our new Parenting Worker, you’ll offer relationship based support in the home, exploring attachment and rebuilding relationships, allowing for a sense of security and belonging. As well as equipping the parent with the skills to support siblings.

Our Parenting Worker will offer support to all children open to the EYJS, offering this approach, which is a therapeutic and trauma informed approach. And will conduct comprehensive assessments as required, producing written reports with recommendations and safety planning.

For this role, you’ll need to be educated to A level or NVQ3 in Child Development, Youth Support, Health or Social Care, and/or hold a relevant professional qualification in these areas. And have significant experience of intensive one to one work and group work with parents, children and young people from complex families, as well as acting as lead professional delivering family-focused interventions.

Main Accountabilities

• To adopt a whole family approach by offering support to parents/carers and siblings in the home. Adopting a contextual safeguarding lens with a trauma informed approach
• To conduct comprehensive assessments as required and produce appropriate written reports detailing assessment, and recommendation and safety planning
• Work in ways which are sensitive to and appropriate for the needs of families from a wide range of racial, cultural and religious backgrounds. This includes working in ways that reflect the wide range of abilities to understand the therapeutic process. It also requires the use of fine judgments that are responsive to each individual in a family and to the family as a whole, whatever their background and experience
• Deliver a flexible service and work directly to meet the needs of children and families by working in the family home, school and community settings, as well as at the work place
• To use interventions that have an evidence base to support them such as Systemic and Social Learning Theory for children and families where behavior and relationships are problematic
• To work systemically, taking into account the highly complex factors affecting the children and/or family’s situation, which may include criminal exploitation, serious youth violence, anti social behaviour, etc.
• To work with families at various times including early morning, evening and weekends, delivering services where they are required such as the family home and community setting
• To maintain effective records of family interventions to evidence the achievement of outcomes and enable evaluation recording
• To contribute to safeguarding and promoting change by working closely with Social Workers to inform progression of a Child in Need Plan or Child Protection Plan
• To contribute to safety planning in the home and in the community
• To contribute to group workshops, one to one direct sessions with parents and carers, and advocating where appropriate
• To ensure all interventions are conducted within an anti-discriminatory framework, and take into account issues such as race, gender, sexuality, disability etc, and deliver appropriate services to the diverse communities of Slough
• The post holder will be expected to take on additional duties and changes to the job description as required by your line manager, commensurate with the post

Person Specification

Education, Training and Experience

Demonstrable experience of intensive one to one work and group work with parents, children and young people from complex families (essential)
Proven experience of acting as lead professional delivering family-focused interventions. Experience of monitoring, reviewing and evaluating work (essential)
Experience of working with statutory and voluntary organisations, including co-ordination of multi-agency Interventions (desirable)
Proven track record of working with families with multiple complex needs (essential)
Experience of monitoring, reviewing and evaluating work (essential)
Educated to A level or NVQ3 in Child Development, Youth Support, Health or Social Care, and/or a relevant professional qualification in these areas (essential)
Be able to demonstrate continuous professional development in related disciplines (essential)
Qualification in a specialist area e.g. Emotional Health (desirable)

General and Specific Knowledge

Thorough understanding of how complex families with entrenched negative behaviours interact (essential)
Knowledge of Child Protection policies and procedures and Safeguarding (essential)
Experience of using the Common Assessment Framework to assess cases and show progress (essential)
Understanding of and commitment to the need for sensitivity and confidentiality (essential)
Ability to work flexibly (including early morning, evening and weekends) and communicate with a range of organisations and service providers within the Slough area, including the ability to co-ordinate a multi-agency intervention (essential)
Ability to assess complex family needs and work with families and agencies to form a comprehensive plan of action (essential)
Ability to organise and prioritise own work and self motivate in order to attain objectives (essential)
Ability to work on a one to one basis and monitor and evaluate outcomes, including having good recording skills and keeping accurate client records (essential)
Ability to work as a member of a team (essential)
Ability to develop and apply equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice (essential)
Computer literate (Microsoft Word and Excel) (essential)
Be able to travel around Slough (essential)