JOB PURPOSE To deliver a high quality service that addresses the needs of children, young people and their families and lead to improved outcomes. To be responsible for ensuring the highest standard of practice in the delivery of Child Protection Conferences and Statutory Childcare Reviews, whilst managing the reputation of the Service and the Council. To ensure the Service responds to new challenges, priorities and requirements whilst maintaining the Council’s statutory obligations and using resources in the most effective MAIN DUTIES Practice To: 1. Effectively chair multi-agency Looked After Children Reviews, Child Protection Conferences and complex strategy meetings as required. 2. Ensure a multi-agency approach to decision making and be responsible for the decision making process at conferences and reviews. Ensure that there is a framework for reviewing compliance of plans. 3. Ensure that dates for meetings fit within the statutory timescales for conferences and reviews and that they are conducted in line with procedures. Make decisions to defer when there is insufficient information on which to base a decision. 4. Ensure that minutes and records of meetings are accurate, meet statutory and legal requirements and are distributed within the required timescale. Develop, maintain and comply with efficient and effective systems to ensure compliance with procedures and recording systems. 5. Enable the child to have a voice in proceedings and care planning meetings as appropriate and ensure that the rights of children and parents are adequately addressed. Consistently promote participation and ensure advocacy services are utilised where appropriate. 6. Challenge service decisions where necessary to fulfil an agreed plan of care and ensure any drift is dealt with promptly, use statutory powers to escalate to senior management and external bodies where appropriate. 7. Liaise and negotiate with other professionals and agencies to ensure that the best possible outcomes are achieved for children and young people. 8. Advise the relevant manager of any resource shortfalls and recommend improved methods where appropriate. 9. Promote the highest levels of professional practice by building and maintain relationships with key partners including Team Managers to improve standards and outcomes for children in care, children in need of protection and children in need. 10. Undertake management reviews of individual cases as required and to audit cases on locally identified themes to ensure safety of practice. 11. Collate and analyse information data emanating from conference aand review materials, provide independent professional leadership on practice matters and share good practice and learning across the service. 12. Promote leading edge innovative best practice across all tiers of the workforce including partner organisations. Monitor and evaluate effectiveness and take action to address and alleviate emerging issues. 13. Be part of a duty system providing consultation ensuring that issues are dealt with in a timely way and that conferences can be organised within speedy timescales. 14. To co-ordinate investigations of allegations against professionals in case when the LADO is unavailable. 15. Have lead responsibility for a specific area of care planning, this may include the LSCB and its sub-groups, children in care groups and children in need. 16. Access and make critical use of relevant knowledge and research from a variety of sources, including of current legislation and ensure this knowledge is applied across the service. 17. To be actively participating in service wide quality assurance Performance Management 18. Participate in the development of the Service Business Plan, ensuring that it reflects the plan for Children’s Social Care. Ensure that management policies are in line with service, local and national policies. 19. Support learning and development through training delivery and inputting into relevant service Plans for the delivery of learning and development. 20. Model effective communication skills appropriate to role and communicate effectively in highly charged, complex or challenging circumstances. 21. Provide support and observation to Social Workers as required using the Professional Capabilities Framework /Assessed and Supported Year in Employment capabilities. Encourage critical reflection, challenge and evidence informed decision making and support others in developing these capabilities. 22. Ensure that policies and strategies concerning information sharing and privacy, are informed by current legal and professional requirements concerning safeguarding, information sharing, confidentiality and data protection. Ensure the interface between ICS system and practice, ensuring system supports positive outcomes for people who use services. 23. Ensure that all duties are carried undertaken in a way that adheres to policies, practice and strategies concerning discrimination and oppression. 24. Promote high quality service delivery and customer care and ensure that complaints are fully investigated in line with the Service’s complaints procedure. 25. Prepare for and participate in Team Meetings, Supervision, including group supervision and Performance and Development Reviews, identifying areas for improvement and carrying out agreed learning and development opportunities including using research to inform practice. 26. Maintain own Continuous Professional Development and develop a high level of professional knowledge through research, and reading, providing consultation and maintaining a confident body of knowledge that informs management practice and style. 27. Represent the Service/Council at meetings and conferences as appropriate. 28. Ensure that client information data is lawfully gathered, accurate, up to date and only divulged in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the local government common law duty of confidentiality. Failure to apply these duties can lead to the individual or the Service facing court proceedings. 29. To confidently use performance management systems to analyse to support own practice and challenge and support practice of others. GENERAL This job description is a representative document. Other reasonable similar duties may be allocated from time to time commensurate with the general character of the post and it’s grading. This job description applies to a number of jobs within Children’s Social Care, the team (and office location) that staff undertaking this job description are allocated to could change at the discretion of management following consultation with individual post holders. In addition to his/her principal duties the post holder will be expected to contribute more widely to the overall development of the Service and the Council. You may be required to be available to contribute to the Out of Hours Service. All employees are responsible for the implementation of the Health and Safety Policy so far as it affects them, their colleagues and others who may be affected by their work. The post holder is also expected to monitor the effectiveness of the health and safety arrangements and systems to promote appropriate improvements where necessary. All employees are expected to be committed to the Equality and Diversity policy and assist in removing the barriers to service delivery and employment to enhance a positive equality culture. This post is exempt from the provisions of Section 4(2) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 by virtue of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. You are therefore not entitled to withhold information about convictions which for any other purposes are ‘spent’ under the provisions of the Act and any failure to disclose such convictions could result in dismissal or disciplinary action by the Authority. Any information given will be completely confidential and will be considered only in relation to the positions to which the Order applies.