Job summary
Are you a Social Worker, dedicated to improving outcomes for children and young people?
We're looking for someone to work across both Highfield GAU and Meadow PICU - both child and adolescent inpatient services. This is a role where you can have a real and significant impact on the lives of vulnerable children and young people.
The Highfield Unit, Oxford, is a state-of-the-art NHS facility providing specialist inpatient services for young people aged 11 to 18 with acute mental health needs. The Meadow Unit is a purpose built 8 bedded psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) for children and adolescents on the same site. This Unit will provide short term intensive treatment for acutely unwell adolescents while keeping the young people as close to home as possible.
As our inpatient social worker, you'll use your specialist skills in meeting the statutory social care duties of the health and social care organisation which promotes recovery and social inclusion with individuals and families.
We'll need you to share your social care expertise to both CAMHS wards, and to the inpatients and their families. We'll need you to be confident in working with children and young people in acute distress, and alongside parents and carers during challenging time.
Main duties of the job
- The role requires efficient liaison between both inpatient settings, and the CYP Local authorities to ensure that the needs of the young people in our care are met, collaborative multiagency working to ensure that timely discharge plans are in place from the point of admission.
- To work with children, young people and their families who receive a service from the in-patient CAMHS Team, and who have been assessed as being children and families in complex need. Some of these children will be in early stages of social care assessment, subject to a Child in Need Plan, Child Protection, in the initial stages of care proceedings, or Children we care For.
- To liaise with local authority social care to ensure a joint working approach for young people within CAMHS inpatient settings.
- To contribute a social care perspective to CAMHS service development, as required.
- To provide an experienced and level of expertise to ensure the effective management of children at risk of abuse and neglect. To be confident in the handling of safeguarding matters that may arise on the units, and to be confident in teaching safeguarding training to other staff.
- To facilitate timely care and discharge planning for children and young people with complex multi-agency support needs. To identify any barriers to discharge at the earliest possible stage of the admission and work with the service user, CAMHS mental health team and Local Authority to address these barriers and reduce delays in timely discharge.
About us
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust provides physical, mental health and social care for people of all ages across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Swindon, Wiltshire, Bath and North East Somerset.
Our services are delivered at community bases, hospitals, clinics and people's homes, delivering care as close to home as possible
Our vision is that no matter who you are or where you are, you will tell us that you receive:"Outstanding care delivered by an outstanding team"
Our values are:"Caring, safe and excellent"
At Oxford Health we offer a wide range of benefits designed to support your career and wellbeing. These include:
- Excellent opportunities for career progression
- Access to tailored individual and Trust wide learning and development
- 27 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days with continuous service
- NHS Discount across a wide range of shops, restaurants and retailers
- Competitive pension scheme
- Lease car scheme
- Cycle to work scheme
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Mental Health First Aiders
- Staff accommodation (please note waiting lists may apply)
- Staff networking and support groups hosted by our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion team
Job description
Job responsibilities
Other key duties and responsibilities include:
- To work as part of a multi-disciplinary team with specific responsibility for child protection and welfare issues, offering direct intervention to children, young people, and families. This will include provision of advice, consultation and guidance to colleagues working with complex cases to define and promote social perspectives of need, and to ensure the safeguarding of children and young people.
- To participate in and contribute to the leadership of the Ward, articulating the social care perspective and ensuring that meeting the social care needs of inpatients retains a high priority and profile within the functioning of the Ward. The role requires active involvement in the leadership group.
- For young people entering Highfield Unit/ Meadow PICU who have an allocated social worker:
- To act as the main point of contact between local authority and Highfield/ Meadow PICU
- To keep allocated social worker up to date on the young person.
- To attend and take part as appropriate CWCF/ CIN / CP / Strategy meetings / Family Group Conferences
- To ensure there is a clear discharge plan that is agreed by Highfield Unit/ Meadow PICU and social care.
- To work closely with the patients local social care teams for the purposes of information-sharing, consultation, and access to mental health services, carrying out joint assessments and intervention where appropriate to the needs of the child/young person.
- To conduct home visits to patients familys as and where appropriate, and to visit and assess social and educational provisions to support with the timely discharge of young people from hospital.
- To work in partnership with families to promote the physical and emotional well-being of children and young people.
- To be committed to developing close links between Oxford Health and CYP&F local services and to signpost families and professionals, where appropriate to these services, for example the local carers centre, citizens advice bureau, youth support services.
- To prioritise working with:
- children, young people, and families with high levels of need (particularly where health and social needs overlap)
- hard to reach families
- young people in transition
- contribute to parents/carers with parenting difficulties to assess and develop their caring skills.
- To contribute to and ensure that assessments, risk assessments and comprehensive care plans are in place for all allocated children and young people in accordance with the Care Programme Approach
- To have a working knowledge and understanding of the relevant legal frameworks: Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, Children Act, Care Act, Human Rights Act.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Other key duties and responsibilities include:
- To work as part of a multi-disciplinary team with specific responsibility for child protection and welfare issues, offering direct intervention to children, young people, and families. This will include provision of advice, consultation and guidance to colleagues working with complex cases to define and promote social perspectives of need, and to ensure the safeguarding of children and young people.
- To participate in and contribute to the leadership of the Ward, articulating the social care perspective and ensuring that meeting the social care needs of inpatients retains a high priority and profile within the functioning of the Ward. The role requires active involvement in the leadership group.
- For young people entering Highfield Unit/ Meadow PICU who have an allocated social worker:
- To act as the main point of contact between local authority and Highfield/ Meadow PICU
- To keep allocated social worker up to date on the young person.
- To attend and take part as appropriate CWCF/ CIN / CP / Strategy meetings / Family Group Conferences
- To ensure there is a clear discharge plan that is agreed by Highfield Unit/ Meadow PICU and social care.
- To work closely with the patients local social care teams for the purposes of information-sharing, consultation, and access to mental health services, carrying out joint assessments and intervention where appropriate to the needs of the child/young person.
- To conduct home visits to patients familys as and where appropriate, and to visit and assess social and educational provisions to support with the timely discharge of young people from hospital.
- To work in partnership with families to promote the physical and emotional well-being of children and young people.
- To be committed to developing close links between Oxford Health and CYP&F local services and to signpost families and professionals, where appropriate to these services, for example the local carers centre, citizens advice bureau, youth support services.
- To prioritise working with:
- children, young people, and families with high levels of need (particularly where health and social needs overlap)
- hard to reach families
- young people in transition
- contribute to parents/carers with parenting difficulties to assess and develop their caring skills.
- To contribute to and ensure that assessments, risk assessments and comprehensive care plans are in place for all allocated children and young people in accordance with the Care Programme Approach
- To have a working knowledge and understanding of the relevant legal frameworks: Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, Children Act, Care Act, Human Rights Act.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- RMN, Occupational Therapist with HCPC Registration or Social Worker with HCPC registration
Desirable
Skills
Essential
- Teaching/mentoring qualification
- To have ability to assess client need, both mental health, health and social needs
Desirable
- To be able contribute to the audit process
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working with children and young people who have serious mental illness and their families and carers in the community
- Experience of mentoring and clinical supervision of others
Desirable
- Experience of contributing to ADHD or ASD assessments
- Experience of taking developmental histories
- ADOS trained QB trained
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- RMN, Occupational Therapist with HCPC Registration or Social Worker with HCPC registration
Desirable
Skills
Essential
- Teaching/mentoring qualification
- To have ability to assess client need, both mental health, health and social needs
Desirable
- To be able contribute to the audit process
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working with children and young people who have serious mental illness and their families and carers in the community
- Experience of mentoring and clinical supervision of others
Desirable
- Experience of contributing to ADHD or ASD assessments
- Experience of taking developmental histories
- ADOS trained QB trained
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).
