Family Support Worker – Dundee

Work Pattern: 37 Hours per week contract, working flexibility of 8am-10pm, 5 days over 7

Reports to: Team Manager

Financial Accountability: Low

Salary: £22,889 per annum

Holiday entitlement: Starting at 28 days per annum and 9 public holidays

Base: Unit 2.6, Discovery House, Technology Park, Gemini Crescent, Dundee, DD2 1SW

To apply, please fill in the attached application pack and submit to hrassist@includem.co.uk by 4th July 2022 at Midnight.

Purpose of Role 

This role will offer a tiered approach to providing support and intervention for children aged 5 to 12, experiencing mental and emotional distress to promote positive wellbeing. This will be in collaboration with Longhaugh Support Group (LSG). This role will work closely with LSG, th child’s mainstream school, children and families social work, specialist supports and universal services whilst taking a whole family approach though outreach community work with families. 

The Family Support Worker role will have expertise in social, communication and neurodiverse needs and all work will be underpinned by includem’s model of practice and the . The role will require you to work flexibly between 8am-10pm, 5 days over 7 to provide support to children, parents & carers at times supportive of family needs.  

This role will provide 4 key elements of support:

• 1:1 Child Wellbeing Support
• 1:1 Parent/Carer and Whole Family Support
• Parenting Groupwork including delivery of the 10 week Solihull for parents
• Collaboration with LSG, mainstream school, Children and Families Social Work Team and other community based specialist and universal services

Main Duties and Responsibilities 

• You will travel to meet children and families within their communities in safe spaces such as home, LSG, mainstream school, community space, at times flexible to their needs
• You will listen to the needs of the children and families we work with, to agree a location to meet and listen as that need evolves over time.  We welcome the opportunity to collocate with partners in Dundee also.
• You will deliver groupwork from partner locations, face to face or virtually as needed

The Family Support Worker will be responsible for: 

• Building quality relationships which support and empower children, young people and families to develop and have ownership of interventions which improve their emotional health and wellbeing
• Enhance emotional wellbeing, improve home-school relationships, improve attendance and improve behaviour
• Providing 1:1 and whole family support based around the strengths and needs of each young person and family
• Using a strengths-based approach to empower individuals facing adversity to find solutions and make positive changes, ensuring resources are in place to sustain these changes
• Facilitating Solihull groupwork sessions for parents and carers
• Ensuring practice within 1:1 and groupwork is aligned with strengths principles is family centred and rights based.
• Providing a whole family approach to consolidate change and provide the support the whole family needs for its members wellbeing
• Understanding the different coping mechanisms that young people and their families use to deal with stress and high emotions, and to respond appropriately
• Working collaboratively with children, young people and families, LSG, mainstream school, children and families social work and other key stakeholders and external partners towards the achievement of shared goals and objectives
• Attend multi-agency meetings to support families
• Utilising a range of approaches to improve relationships with family and peers including our A Better Life toolkit, Restorative Practice and the Solihull Approach
• You will work with the child and family to co-produce a Personal Support Plan that is flexible and adaptive to meet their changing needs and the needs of the whole family. Plans will be aligned to their strengths, goals, hopes, aims, using tools such as our Wellbeing Web to measure SHANARRI indicators and progress. 
• You will work collaboratively with schools and contribute to the young person’s ABLe plan
• Assessing and responding appropriately to situations where children, young people and families may be at risk of harm
• Responding to children, young people and families. and working in collaboration with others to ensure families have the required range of support they need through universal and statutory agencies
• Identifying universal/specialist supports and support children, young people and families to access and engage, providing practical support e.g. getting to appointments/groups and barrier reduction
• Taking direction from your team manager and participate in planning to ensure time is used effectively to meet the needs of children, young people and families. 
• Develop and maintain connections with local communities and neighbourhoods to support families to sustain positive change
• Be accountable for the quality of support and be able to evidence this work effectively
• Support participation of children, young people and families in quality assurance practices, service improvement and Dundee identification of gaps and further commissioning design
• Record accurately and in line with the needs of the service, using includem’s online information system (MAPS)
• Contribute to reporting for the service

Additional Information 

You will need a full driving license and access to your own car for work purposes. The post holder will have the ability to work independently and as part of a multi-agency scaffolding of support for children and families. 

Qualifications

You will be educated to SCQF Level 8 or have relevant skills and experience in working with young people or young adults with mental health needs.

The post holder will need to be registered with the SSSC as a worker in the care at home category and qualifications to support this. Experience of delivering groupwork would be preferable.  

The deadline date for application submissions is 4th July 2022 at Midnight. 

For applicants who are successfully shortlisted a group selection event will take place shortly after. If you are successful following the group selection event, individual interviews will then take place before the successful candidate is chosen.