SW Locums are recruiting for a UK experienced, Qualified Social Worker with Social Work England Registration and an Enhanced DBS Check. The role is for the worker to be an Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) in Children’s Services in Westminster.
The Independent Reviewing officer role has two clear and distinct functions around completing high quality statutory reviews for Westminster’s Looked After population of children & young people as well as monitoring the child’s case on an ongoing basis.
The post-holder will provide an effective care planning and review service through the independent monitoring of the Local Authority’s care plans for all individual LAC children and young people.
The role of the IRO is a specialist post that stands alone within the Local Authority.
It is a role that involves challenging senior managers and seeking legal remedies for any failure of the local authority in their responsibility towards looked after children.
The post-holder will provide an effective care planning and review service through the independent monitoring of the Local Authority’s care plans for all individual LAC children and young people.
Key duties and responsibilities of current role
• To chair statutory looked after review meetings on behalf of the Child Care Review Unit in order to meet all statutory requirements and effectively complete each child’s review process within statutory timescales.
• To promote full and active participation of children, young people, their birth families and carers in review meetings.
• To work across all the social work teams to ensure that individual care plans are based on a detailed and informed assessment, are up to date, effective and provide a genuine response to each child’s needs.
• To ensure that young people’s participation in reviews is assessed on a yearly basis, and an agreement is reached with the young person as to how they will participate in their reviews.
• To effectively and swiftly address any concerns identified within care planning about potential drift or social work practice concerns through firstly informal discussions with the social worker and their manager. If this is not successful then to use the IRO Problem Resolution Protocol to achieve resolution with the responsible senior manager. All such concerns to be fully recorded on ICS system.
• To monitor the child’s case on an ongoing basis to ensure there is no drift or delay in securing permanency for the child.
• To ascertain the wishes and feelings of the child are given due consideration to care planning and decision making.
• To produce decisions of the review meeting within 5 days of the review taking place.
• To complete a monitoring form immediately following the review meeting.
• To monitor the case between reviews and record on ICS system the details of that monitoring in full.
• To produce a report of the review within 15 days of the review taking place.
• To ensure that all reviews are held within timescales
• To have a pre meeting with the social worker at least 15 days before the review.
• To meet with the young person before the review and understand their views regarding their care plan. • To ensure that parents are encouraged by the local authority to participate in care planning for their children if appropriate to do so.
• To provide expert advice and professional training / consultation on care planning and Looked After review matters for both senior management and social work staff across Children and Young People Delivery Unit, and to maintain a regular liaison role with specific frontline teams’ Service Managers.
• To monitor and promote the safeguarding needs of Looked After children & young people. To ensure that up to date risk assessments are in place.
• To monitor the quality of Westminster’s services to Looked After children & young people, and compliance with statutory requirements and guidance as well as departmental policies & procedures.
• To chair and/or be a member of the Secure Accommodation Review Panel (under Section 25, Children Act)
• To promote access to an independent advocacy service (Children’s Rights) and Independent Visitors for Looked After children and young people as appropriate
• To participate in the provision of relevant training to both social work staff and managers, including providing regular induction sessions and the programme of core LAC training courses.
• Fully compliant with the IRO Handbook duties.
• To undertake project work, quality assurance audits and research as required by the Principal Reviewing Officer or Head of Commissioning for Specialist Services and Child Protection
• To participate in performance review and appraisal process. To attend professional forums, training courses and conferences.
• This post will specialise in Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children and the successful candidate will be expected to contribute to the learning and development in relation to this group of young people.
At SW Locums you will benefit from:
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