Named Nurse Looked After Children's Services (Greenwich & Bexley)
Band 8a
Main area Children & Young People Grade Band 8a Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 277-8020786-CYP
Site Highpoint House & Acorns Queen Mary's Hospital Town Shooters Hill London Salary £63,665 - £70,887 pa inc Salary period Yearly Closing 03/06/2026 23:59
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Children Looked After and Young People (CLA) Nurse to take on the role of Named Nurse for Looked After Children’s Services across the London boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley.
The post holder will work closely with the Associate Director, Service Manager, Operational Manager, Clinical Lead, external agencies and key stakeholders to support the planning and development of services. The aim of the role is to ensure that all children, young people and families can access a local, responsive and high-quality CLA service that is informed by evidence-based practice.
The successful candidate will work collaboratively with Children’s Social Care, education and health services, carers, key workers, young people and voluntary sector organisations, with a particular focus on delivering local CLA development plans.
The post holder will also work closely with the Designated Nurses and Designated or Named Doctors across both boroughs to promote effective partnership working and ensure statutory requirements are met.
Main duties of the job
* Responsible for and to lead the provision of the Greenwich and Bexley Children Looked After services at Oxleas NHS Trust
* Maintain continuity of service provision by staff recruitment, managing sickness and absence and appropriate skill mix and through forward planning formulate mitigation plans and actions
* Create an environment in which staff accepts responsibility, authority and accountability for their actions and service developments
* Ensure that safeguarding practice is informed by current guidance and that all staff attend mandatory training and Safeguarding and Management supervision
* Manage performance issues with staff
Working for our organisation
Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children’s centres, schools and people’s homes.
We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.
Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:
* We Listen
* We Care
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Works with Associate Director, Service Manager, Operational Managers, Clinical Leads and others to identify and to achieve service improvements using appropriate evidence bases, audit and evaluation strategies
Works with the Heads of Service to review and update current applicable guidelines, SOPs and standards according to requirements or updated national policies, National screening committee and NICE guidance
Motivates others to engage in service development and leads change management processes in the service
Actively lead the continual service development and interaction with external agencies
To ensure cohesive collaborative working with other CYP managers and specialist services managers
To ensure the services are provided to a high quality, commissionable and which improve outcomes for children and families
Demonstrate continuous service improvement leading to achievement of area improvement targets
Facilitate and actively lead on the local implementation of national initiatives
Facilitate and actively lead the development of workforce planning and reform and ensuring clinical and professional leadership is in place
Facilitate and actively support the integrated frontline delivery of the CLA service.
To facilitate the development of children and young people centred care and user involvement in service redesign.
Contribute to the strategic development of the Directorate and Trust
Build effective networks and working alliances internally and externally to develop public health initiatives in Greenwich.
Able to identify own limitations within the role and to ensure appropriate professional advice and expertise is sought and received to support overall strategic management and development
Lead investigations, related to incidents, complaints, and service delivery
Ensures processes are followed for investigations, complaints, and incidentreporting. Ensure the trust systems e.g. Datix are utilised by the service.
Lead and support service QI initiatives
To undertake QI projects in collaboration with the Service Manager, Operational and Clinical Leads
Coordinate and develop service provision to meet the changing client and service needs
Demonstrate the ability to interpret and present service data including activity reports and KPI’s
Lead service for the preparation, compliance and actions relating to inspections eg CQC
Establish and maintain processes within service remit to meet Directorate and Sub-directorate clinical effectiveness, patient experience, patient safety and safeguarding
Promote and embed Oxleas values in work practices for all colleagues
Responsible for and facilitate auditing of the service area ensuring action plans are documented and learning is considered as a continuum of change by the workforce
Demonstrates knowledge of the broad public health remit with specific expertise in CLA.
Maintain own specialist professional knowledge through continued updating and identifies learning needs and opportunities for development in the team
Encourage staff to take responsibility for their own learning and development and to contribute to the knowledge base of the service
Create an environment in which staff accept responsibility, authority and accountability for their actions and service developments
Support continual professional development for self and others, through implementing effective PDR for all staff in area of responsibility.
Participate in clinical supervision.
Ensure Trust requirements for supervision is met within the service and takes action to ensure standards are maintained
Experience in leading and supporting service development
Able to maintain and develop appropriate professional skills and competencies
To actively seek out and review new developments, initiatives, service information, policy direction and national perspectives
Knowledge of changes in legislative and policy CLA developments impacting on looked after children and young people.
To be proactive in bringing such developments to line manager and others at appropriate meetings, committees and working areas.
Person specification
Education
* RN or RSCN or PK2000 Child Branch, Health Visitor
* BSc Community Nursing or Public Health degree or equivalent. School Nursing/Health Visiting
* ENB 998 or Mentorship training / Practice Supervisor
Experience
* Experience of working in, and leading a LAC service
* At least 3 years’ experience of leadership within a Public Health or Community Nursing Service
* Evidence of leading improvement in LAC services
Skills
* Be a car driver with use of a car for work purposes.
Skills/Abilities/Knowledge
* To demonstrate advanced communication skills with ability to motivate influence and communicate complex matters in complex situations with a variety of individuals
We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that welcomes and supports individuals of all abilities. Remember, if you meet the minimum criteria for this role and you have a disability, you can be guaranteed an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme - Please ensure you select this on your application form. We would encourage you to be open about your needs so we can work with you to design a comfortable and accessible interview experience. Any information you provide regarding a disability or a need for adjustments will be treated in confidence and will only be shared with colleagues who are supporting this request.
If you require any adjustments to participate fully in the interview process, please let us know by adding the relevant details when scheduling your preferred interview date and time. Please feel free to contact the appointing manager to discuss your needs.
We encourage applicants to contact the hiring manager before their interview, if they have any questions about the role or the process. This is a great way to get clarity and prepare effectively for the interview.
If you have declared you are part of the armed forces community, you may be asked to provide evidence during the recruitment process. If you misrepresent this information, your offer may be withdrawn. For Armed Forces specific support, see our webpage: https://oxleas.nhs.uk/armed-forces-community/
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
If you choose to use AI or other tools to assist in writing your application, it's essential to personalise this information, particularly your supporting information section. While AI can help streamline the writing process, these tools cannot fully grasp the context or requirements of the job you’re applying for. There is also a risk that it can generate false or misleading information. AI-generated job applications can often be generic, impersonal and may not accurately reflect your qualifications, knowledge, skills, and experiences. It is crucial that you personalise your supporting statement by articulating these in your unique voice. Relying solely on AI to write your application or supporting information section is not advocated by Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust and could negatively impact your chances of success in the application process.
We monitor applications for any behaviour that could create an unfair advantage, and we check all references carefully. You are likely to be tested on your experience at interview, so be honest and make sure all the information in your application is correct. Please note that the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is prohibited during the interview process.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
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