Job summary
The London Borough of Lewisham and Southeast London ICB have identified a high prevalence of emotional and mental health needs amongst local young people leaving care and have recognized a need for additional support to address these needs as these young people transition into adulthood and independence. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) entering the care of the local authority, many of which require additional support to address emotional and physical health needs related to previous traumatic experiences.
Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust (LGT) run a high quality and well-established specialist health team for Children Looked After (CLA) 0-18yrs, which works in close partnership with the London Borough of Lewisham (LBL) and other local health and care partners.
The Lewisham Corporate Parenting Strategy brings together all of these partners, and includes a shared aim to improve the health wellbeing of young people leaving care as they transition into independence, including improving access to and availability of wellbeing support, ensuring a transitioned step-down from specialist mental and physical health services at age 18, and ensuring care pathways are effective for children leaving care, including pathways into ongoing support from wider community/universal services. Care Leavers are now a protected characteristic in the borough.
This post is open to secondment opportunity.
Main duties of the job
The focus of this role is to address the physical and emotional health needs of young adults leaving care as they transition into adulthood and independence.
Though the the role is largely emotional-wellbeing support and resilience building; some support will be holistic and encompass all elements of physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Duties include:
o Work directly with care leavers in the holistic assessment of health and wellbeing needs, delivering the most appropriate intervention to best meet their needs.o Work directly with young people identified as having mild to moderate emotional or mental health needs, providing one-to-one support for the young person as required.
o Be a dedicated point of contact for information, advice and guidance .o Be a point of contact for advice and guidance for professionals working with care leavers.o Consult on a range of complex issues in relation to care leavers and former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in formal settings
- Attend meetings where required to report on the service and update the multi professional network on issues, themes and outcomes
o Attend LGT and ICB safeguarding assurance meetings and care leavers nurse forums to identify and share themes across the multi-agency network.
About us
Our people are our greatest asset. When we feel supported and happy at work, this positivity reaches those very people we are here for, the patients. Engaged employees perform at their best and our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) initiatives contribute to cultivate a culture of engagement. We have four staff networks, a corporate EDI Team and a suite of programmes and events which aim to insert the 5 aspirations:
- Improving representation at senior levels of staff with disabilities, from black, Asian, and ethnic minorities background, identify as LGBTQ+ and women, through improved recruitment and leadership development
- Widening access (anchor institution) and employability
- Improving the experience of staff with disability
- Improving the EDI literacy and confidence of trust staff through training and development
- Making equalities mainstream
Job description
Job responsibilities
Role Specific duties:
Work directly with care leavers aged 18-25yrs, in the holistic assessment of health and wellbeing needs. Identifying and prioritising needs and identifying the most appropriate intervention to best meet their needs. Work directly with those young people identified as having mild to moderate emotional or mental health needs, providing one-to-one support for the young person as required. This will include providing time-limited support using evidence-based tools and techniques to support emotional health and wellbeing. Support should be psychosocial, in that it addresses both the psychological and wider social needs of young people.
Be a dedicated point of contact for information, advice and guidance for young people leaving care in relation to their physical, emotional and mental health needs.
Support onwards referrals and signposting to services, including the transition into adult services, or to specialist services for more complex cases and/or where longer-term support is needed.
Be a point of contact for advice and guidance for professionals working with care leavers. Consult on a range of complex issues in relation to care leavers and former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in formal settings.
Effectively engage with hard-to-reach groups, offering outreach and creative methods to promote positive health outcomes for care leavers, acting as a role model and advocate.
Provide regular health and wellbeing advice via outreach in locations accessible to care leavers, This includes drop-in sessions and workshops.
Work in partnership with the Named Nurse for Children Looked After & Care Leavers, the CLA health team and Designated Professionals for Children Looked After to ensure a seamless service for young adults leaving care.
Have an up-to-date knowledge of relevant issues and legislation pertaining to Children Looked After and Care Leavers.
Have an awareness of the health inequalities and vulnerabilities experienced by care experienced individuals and understand the contextual risks to their health and wellbeing.
Develop and provide appropriate health education and health information to young people preparing to leave care for them to make informed positive health choices
Attend meetings where required to report on the service and update the multi professional network on issues, themes and outcomes
Attend LGT and ICB safeguarding assurance meetings and care leavers nurse forums to identify and share themes across the multi-agency network.
The role will be split between direct support to care leavers, and indirect support via the professional network to facilitate positive health and wellbeing outcomes for the target group.
Indirect support includes:
Advice and guidance for professionals working with care leavers, such as Personal Advisors and team managers within the Leaving Care Service, to support them in their health and wellbeing work with care leavers. Developing and providing appropriate health education and health information to support young adults to make informed positive health choices. Acting as a strategic point of contact for a range of partner agencies helping to ensure coordinated care for care leavers Providing leadership in assuring quality in the service provision, ensuring that policies, procedures and practice are of high quality and are in line with the latest national policies, evidence and best practice. This may include highlighting gaps in local provision and helping commissioners and managers understand what changes are needed and why.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Role Specific duties:
Work directly with care leavers aged 18-25yrs, in the holistic assessment of health and wellbeing needs. Identifying and prioritising needs and identifying the most appropriate intervention to best meet their needs. Work directly with those young people identified as having mild to moderate emotional or mental health needs, providing one-to-one support for the young person as required. This will include providing time-limited support using evidence-based tools and techniques to support emotional health and wellbeing. Support should be psychosocial, in that it addresses both the psychological and wider social needs of young people.
Be a dedicated point of contact for information, advice and guidance for young people leaving care in relation to their physical, emotional and mental health needs.
Support onwards referrals and signposting to services, including the transition into adult services, or to specialist services for more complex cases and/or where longer-term support is needed.
Be a point of contact for advice and guidance for professionals working with care leavers. Consult on a range of complex issues in relation to care leavers and former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in formal settings.
Effectively engage with hard-to-reach groups, offering outreach and creative methods to promote positive health outcomes for care leavers, acting as a role model and advocate.
Provide regular health and wellbeing advice via outreach in locations accessible to care leavers, This includes drop-in sessions and workshops.
Work in partnership with the Named Nurse for Children Looked After & Care Leavers, the CLA health team and Designated Professionals for Children Looked After to ensure a seamless service for young adults leaving care.
Have an up-to-date knowledge of relevant issues and legislation pertaining to Children Looked After and Care Leavers.
Have an awareness of the health inequalities and vulnerabilities experienced by care experienced individuals and understand the contextual risks to their health and wellbeing.
Develop and provide appropriate health education and health information to young people preparing to leave care for them to make informed positive health choices
Attend meetings where required to report on the service and update the multi professional network on issues, themes and outcomes
Attend LGT and ICB safeguarding assurance meetings and care leavers nurse forums to identify and share themes across the multi-agency network.
The role will be split between direct support to care leavers, and indirect support via the professional network to facilitate positive health and wellbeing outcomes for the target group.
Indirect support includes:
Advice and guidance for professionals working with care leavers, such as Personal Advisors and team managers within the Leaving Care Service, to support them in their health and wellbeing work with care leavers. Developing and providing appropriate health education and health information to support young adults to make informed positive health choices. Acting as a strategic point of contact for a range of partner agencies helping to ensure coordinated care for care leavers Providing leadership in assuring quality in the service provision, ensuring that policies, procedures and practice are of high quality and are in line with the latest national policies, evidence and best practice. This may include highlighting gaps in local provision and helping commissioners and managers understand what changes are needed and why.
Person Specification
Essential
Essential
- Registered Nurse (RN; RMN, RCN)
- Recognised training relevant to the role, including mental health support and working with vulnerable young people/young adults
- At least 1 year of relevant experience working at Band 6
- Experience of working independently in the community as an autonomous practitioner with experience of managing own caseload
- Experience of working with Looked After/vulnerable children & young people, including those with mental health and wellbeing issues
Desirable
Desirable
- Post Registration Specialist Practice Qualification in Health Visiting/ School Nursing (SCPHN) or equivalent
- Experience of working with young adults with complex needs and challenging behaviours.
- Experience of recording and monitoring impact and outcomes of interventions and using the information to produce high quality reports/audits.
- Experience of developing processes and systems to achieve outcomes, individually and as part of a team
Person Specification
Essential
Essential
- Registered Nurse (RN; RMN, RCN)
- Recognised training relevant to the role, including mental health support and working with vulnerable young people/young adults
- At least 1 year of relevant experience working at Band 6
- Experience of working independently in the community as an autonomous practitioner with experience of managing own caseload
- Experience of working with Looked After/vulnerable children & young people, including those with mental health and wellbeing issues
Desirable
Desirable
- Post Registration Specialist Practice Qualification in Health Visiting/ School Nursing (SCPHN) or equivalent
- Experience of working with young adults with complex needs and challenging behaviours.
- Experience of recording and monitoring impact and outcomes of interventions and using the information to produce high quality reports/audits.
- Experience of developing processes and systems to achieve outcomes, individually and as part of a team
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).
Additional information
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).
