Child and Youth Care Worker (IFS)

Who are we?

Kibble is Scotland’s specialist provider of services for at risk children and young people. By providing a range of integrated services, we help build positive futures for children and young people aged 5 plus, with complex social, emotional, and educational needs.

Job Purpose:

The post involves direct working with children and young people within the community and shall include lone working. Therefore, a driver’s licence is essential for this post.

The successful candidate shall provide care and support to young people placed in a Kibble foster family. A key requirement of the role shall be the need to work closely with IFS foster carers and Family Placement Supervisors, as a team around the child, to ensure the needs of the young people are consistently met, promoting a sense of stability and safety within placement.

Main Duties:

The direct work with children and young people follows a general pattern that must be tailored to the needs and requirements for each individual. This pattern involves 3 main areas.

1. Placement of the child or young person

• Working closely with the Family Placement Supervisor and identified foster carer from the point of referral
• Reading relevant reports and records in preparation for placement and subsequent support once the child or young person is placed.
• Identifying any particular medical, social, religious or dietary requirements and working alongside the foster care to support in any of these areas as agreed.
• Supporting, alongside the foster carer, any agreed family contact for the child or young person.

Ensuring that child or young person:

• Is supported to develop positive working relationships and feel connected to the whole IFS fostering family
• Is aware of the social and educational programme he/she will be undertaking
• Is shown all the facilities of the school they shall be attending
• Understands any family contact arrangements
• Is aware of procedures to contact staff over personal concern and complaints
• Understands the roles of those involved in his/her care plan

2. The Care Programme

The Child & Youth Care Worker will:

• Have direct practice responsibility for the care and development of several children and young people in conjunction with the support they are provided by their foster carer. Work closely with the foster carer and Family Placement Supervisor to support overall growth and development towards best outcomes. Each child or young person will have a placement programme involving social and educational targets, which will be regularly reviewed and focus on ensuring best outcomes are achieved.
• Require to liaise with all relevant members of the multi-disciplinary team within the Service/Centre to ensure a mutual understanding of any targets and to monitor and facilitate their achievement.
• Require to liaise with the area team social worker to ensure that there is both a mutual understanding of the social and educational targets and a linkage between these targets and the tasks being undertaken by the social worker.
• Meet with the parent(s) or other relative(s) of the child or young person to ensure that family contact is continuing, to seek their co-operation in achieving social and educational targets, to ensure that home leave is viable and to assist the linkage between the Fostering Service’s work and the area team social worker’s tasks.
• Work alongside Foster Family Support Worker colleagues in meeting any further support needs for children and young people as required and agreed by Service/Centre management.

3. Recording and Reporting

• The Foster Family Support Worker is responsible for ensuring that the placement plan for the child or young person is recorded in the format required by the Centre.
• The Child and Youth Care Worker is responsible for ensuring that the reports required by the Reporter to the Children’s Panel or, if required, the Clerk of the Court or the Procurator Fiscal and the area team social worker are provided within the required timescales.

Worker Profile

The Child & Youth Care Worker will be able to:

• Relate to children and young people in a way that promotes their trust and involvement in meeting the requirements of the Children’s Hearing and their social and educational targets.
• Respond positively and calmly to physical and verbal aggression,
• Understand the dynamics of relationships between the young people with their foster carers and with peers within the community or any school/training or employment, ensuring that action is taken to stop bullying, prevent isolation, avoid unhelpful friendships or pressure for sexual activities or substance, drugs, and alcohol misuse.
• Establish relationships with young people within which incidents of physical, emotional or mental abuse can be revealed.
• Understand the roles and responsibilities of all individuals, groups and organisations that are involved in the care of the young people both within and out with the Fostering Service.
• Work unsupervised and on own initiative. This shall include lone working within the community.
• Communicate clearly and precisely orally and in writing both within the Service/Centre and with external agencies.
• Co-work with representatives from other agencies e.g. social work, educational psychologist, psychiatrist. The co-working will involve objective and clear representation of the needs and progress of the child or young person as well as the policies, procedures and practices of the Service/Centre.
• Display a knowledge and understanding of the relevant legislation. In addition, the Foster Family Support Worker will understand the stages of human growth and development, the causes and outcomes of offending behaviour and the dynamics of inter-personal relationships.
• Manage and motivate self in forming and sustaining relationships with children and young people, in working with internal and external colleagues and in undertaking administrative and allied duties.

What qualification and experience are we looking for?

• HNC in Social Care, SVQ Level 3 in Care or equivalent or the ability to undertake the HNC and SVQ Level 3 Social Care.
• Experience of working with young people or providing care/support to vulnerable people is essential.
• Experience of working within the social care sector is desirable.
• Experience of working within residential childcare is desirable.
• Be willing to work in any service across the Kibble Group including the Safe Centre or Community Based Services.
• Residential Child Care is regulated work and if successful you will be required to register with the SSSC, who are the workforce regulator, within their applied timeframes. Preference will be given to those candidates who are already eligible for unconditional registration.
• Possess a full driving licence and be willing and able to drive school transport.

Safe Crisis Training (SCM)

Successful candidates will require a level of fitness to be able to carry out SCM. Please see note section below (5) for further information.

Benefits:

Pension, holidays (up to 40 days per year) and employee benefits including cash4health, employee assistance programme, free parking, free meals, gym membership plus access to onsite physio.

Notes:

1. This job outline reflects the main tasks and responsibilities discharged by the post holder at the present time, however, Kibble reserves the right to alter or amend the content of this job outline to reflect changes to the job or services provided, while maintaining the overall character and level of responsibility for the post.
2. Notwithstanding any information or statement described within this job outline, all duties must be carried out in a way that promotes equality of opportunity, dignity and respect for all individuals and which is consistent with Kibble’s stated policy on equal opportunities.
3. The successful candidate will be subject to PVG Scheme Membership. Having previous convictions will not automatically disbar you from working at Kibble (with the exception of offences against children or other vulnerable groups) and every case is taken on an individual basis.
4. The successful candidate will be required to undertake Safe Crisis Management (SCM) training and will require a level of fitness to be able to carry out SCM. The successful candidate must be able to participate fully in this training and be prepared to put this training into practice. The SCM training will consist of two days theory and two days physical training. The successful candidate must complete this training in full within four weeks of an agreed start date. Should the candidate for any reason fail any aspect of the SCM training (theory, physical or both parts), an additional two weeks will be given to pass.
5. Appointments will be subject to a twelve-month probationary period.