Children and Young Persons Support Services Worker

Job responsibilities

The development and delivery of high quality pre and post bereavement care for children and young people affected by life threatening illness of patients of St David's Hospice Care, and those referred to the service for this support by external agencies.

Contributing to and supporting the multi-disciplinary team on issues related to child development and welfare through working closely with other members of St David's Hospice Care to ensure consistency of bereavement care and intervention.

To develop a framework for referral and assessment of need for children and young people in the families of people being supported by St David's Hospice Care. A framework which will aim to ensure that children and young persons emotional social and practical needs are met that they are adequately prepared for anticipated death of a parent and carer that healthy grieving is promoted and that risk factors are minimised and future problems prevented.

To assess the needs of children and young people pre and post bereavement.

To hold a caseload that supports children and young people identified as being most at risk.

To provide support for parents and carers to facilitate their understanding and ability to help children through bereavement.

To research and write policies which ensure best practice is upheld and the well being and safety of children and young people are actively promoted.

To work closely with others involved in the care of the family and provide support and guidance for those working with complex or high risk situations e.g. Social Worker Clinical Nurse Specialist.

To liaise with the multi-professional team on matters related to child development emotional social practical and bereavement care.

To facilitate and further develop services and information for children, young people and their parents/carers.

To maintain up-to-date knowledge of the legislation covering the range of duties and services provided by statutory departments and legal frameworks around Safeguarding Children and Young People in order to give appropriate advice to other members of the team as well as patients and their families.

To ensure that satisfactory records are maintained, in accordance with SDF policies and procedures which will facilitate internal and external professional communication and maintain relevant statistics.

To participate in the multi-professional audit programme and audit the Children and Young Persons service.

To participate in in-house staff support meetings and systems.

To participate in Light Up A Life and Remembrance events.

To accept and participate in regular clinical supervision sessions and training to facilitate on-going professional development.

To provide reports, as requested, to the FST Manager and Director of Nursing.

To contribute to the further development of the Family Support Team.

To promote the work of the service and the Organisation at all times.

Additional Knowledge

Essential

• Ability to ensure that children, young people and their families are at the centre of service delivery and planning
• Ability to plan, develop and evaluate a service in line with requirements of need and policy
• Ability to provide guidance and consultation to other key team members
• Good organisational and time management skills and capabilities to carry the post with confidence and credibility
• Excellent verbal and written communication and representational skills, with the ability to communicate effectively at all levels.
• Able to work closely with colleagues whilst also being able to function independently
• Commitment and ability to practice in a way that is non-discriminatory and non-judgemental
• Ability to reflect on practice

Desirable

• An understanding of, and commitment to, the holistic aims and principles underpinning palliative care
• An understanding of the ethnic, cultural and religious influences on patients and their families, and how these affect (or are affected by) life-threatening illness or bereavement
• A capacity to be flexible and to innovate
• Able to carry a high level of stress
• Experience of working in a medical/palliative care setting
• A committed, creative and enthusiastic approach to the post

Qualities & Attributes

Essential

• Flexible
• Highly motivated

Qualifications

Essential

• Qualification in Social Work /Counselling/Post graduate qualification in Childhood Bereavement or other relevant Health and Social Care discipline

Desirable

• Additional relevant qualification, e.g. Counselling, Family Therapy, Psychology, Childhood Bereavement, Play/Art Therapy
• Registration with the Care Council of Wales or other appropriate professional body

Experience

Essential

• At least three years post-qualifying experience in a child and family setting.
• Experience of working directly with children and families.
• Knowledge of relevant legislation (including Childrens Act 1989)
• Knowledge and experience of conducting assessments.
• Experience of working as part of a multi-professional team.

Desirable

• Experience of working with bereavement, loss and change
• Experience of working as part of a multi-professional team
• Experience/involvement in providing professional education/training courses, with the ability to design and develop training programmes for professionals with social care and/or healthcare backgrounds

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).