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Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Main Functions

To ensure that Local Safeguarding Children Board inter-agency Child Protection Procedures and internal health procedures are known, understood and followed by Trust staff.

To provide leadership, expert advice and support on safeguarding children matters to all health professionals. This includes:

The planning and implementation of safeguarding children supervision to all staff involved in child protection work.

To support and empower staff to contribute autonomously to child protection meetings and early intervention pathways of care.

The planning, delivery and evaluation of safeguarding children training for staff across the Trust in conjunction with Local Safeguarding Children Boards and the Trust Learning and Development Unit.

To provide guidance to staff when required to compile Court Reports for childcare proceedings and to liaise with the Trust Legal Advisors, County Solicitors and Data Protection Leads when required.

To provide guidance, advice and support to staff, working with vulnerable children in risk assessment and analysis of risk to enable focused plans and input to the family.

To support the Trust in its responsibilities towards safeguarding children in line with legislation and current government policy. This includes participation in multi-agency learning and improvement frameworks through the provision of Individual Management reporting and participation in Serious Incident reporting.

The provision of reports to the Trust Corporate Governance team and Trust Safeguarding Children Operational Group as required.

To work effectively within an adult and children’s safeguarding team to promote the Think Family model across the Trust.

To implement local recommendations on practice arising from Safeguarding Practice Reviews and other learning frameworks in accordance with Working Together to Safeguard Children (HM Government 2018) or raised through Clinical Governance and Serious Incident reporting. Also by working collaboratively with service leads to address these issues.

To build effective key relationships with the Designated and Named Health professionals across the health economy and to work in partnership with other agencies involved with protecting children.

To work collaboratively with partner agencies, including the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), in safeguarding children and their carers who may be subject to domestic abuse by attendance and participation in Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference processes (MARAC). Also to liaise effectively with partner agencies and staff where there are lower and medium risk domestic abuse concerns involving families.

To adhere at all times to the principles of Information Sharing to safeguard children and adults.

To lead and participate in clinical audit as required both nationally and via trust audit programmes and through the Local Safeguarding Children Partnerships.

To liaise and manage the timely and effective transfer of information and records to external geographical areas when children who are at risk or subject to child protection plans transfer out. Equally, to liaise with professional counterparts as required when vulnerable, at risk children transfer in to area. The transfer of information and health records is to be completed in conjunction with the Trust Child Health Department.

To provide safeguarding children supervision to health professionals involved in child protection practice by a variety of means.

Line Management Responsibilities

To provide leadership to colleagues within the Safeguarding Team administrative and secretarial staff, and guide on specific areas of work, as required.

Provision of Professional Advice

To provide leadership, specialist advice and support on safeguarding children matters to all health professionals working within the Trust, to minimise and act upon risk factors that could compromise children’s safety, including guidance and support to staff in escalation of cases where required. To offer guidance accordingly to national and local safeguarding children procedures, legislation, professional guidelines, Trust policy and procedures.

To plan and implement a regular programme of safeguarding children supervision across the organisation for all staff directly involved with child protection and vulnerable children as per Trust guidelines.

To provide guidance to newly appointed staff around Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards and Trust child protection policies and procedures, record keeping systems, training and safeguarding children supervision, as part of their induction programmes.

To plan, deliver and evaluate safeguarding children training, ensuring that findings from national research and local inquiries are effectively disseminated and to identify unmet training needs within service areas.

Communication / Key Relationships

Internal

To liaise with Service Leads to integrate safeguarding children practices into staff roles.

To work directly with staff to support their safeguarding children practice, especially through supervision and training.

To work in conjunction with the Named Doctor and Lead Nurse in supporting and implementing safeguarding children practices.

External

To work in conjunction with Local Safeguarding Children Boards.

To work in conjunction with the Designated Doctor and Designated Nurse in supporting and implementing safeguarding children practices.

To work in partnership with statutory and voluntary agencies involved in safeguarding children, in accordance with multi-agency information sharing agreements.

To engage in discussion and contribute to risk assessments around safeguarding children matters with partner agencies.

To liaise effectively with partner agencies, including Children’s Social Care, as appropriate in cases where escalation of professional concerns may be required.

Judgement and Decision Making / Freedom to Act

To be able to demonstrate reasoning and decision making for clinical risk issues relating to children. This is achieved through adherence to current legislation and in line with child protection policies, escalation of cases guidance, and professional standards of practice.

To form specialist reasoned judgement around areas of risk and safety of a child’s situation with staff so they can contribute to inter-agency discussions or meetings and fully participate in plans to safeguard children.

To be able to prioritise and manage own workload pressures and meet the frequent demands made by large numbers of staff from a variety of clinical service areas for child protection advice, guidance and support.

To work autonomously and to identify and seek guidance from the designated professionals for child protection around more complex practice issues, when necessary.

To engage in the Trust Annual Appraisal Process and the formation of a Personal Development Plan.

To access training and regular Safeguarding Children Supervision.

To identify and collaborate with Managers and designated professionals in high-risk incidents involving children and contribute to investigations and their outcomes as directed.

To guide and supervise staff in preparation of witness statements for care proceedings/police statements as requested, ensuring information shared is compatible with data protection guidance, record keeping standards, and complies with the agreed formats.

Responsibilities for Research and Development

To participate or initiate local and national audits, make reports and action plans when required.

To participate in research as required both nationally and locally.

To maintain own professional responsibility in keeping up to date with current national developments in safeguarding children and to maintain own professional development in Safeguarding Children practice.

Working Conditions

To have access to independent transport for work purposes.

To work in a flexible manner according to the needs of the service.

To travel to meetings, training and other trust bases when required.

To provide cover for other members of the Safeguarding Children Team when required.