Named Professional for Safeguarding Children

Job overview

This role supports to the Head of Safeguarding Adults and Children

The role entails working across the local health and social care economies to prevent harm, fostering and facilitating multi-professional interagency working in respect of Safeguarding Children.

Ensuring statutory responsibilities of the Children Act (1989 & 2004) are met. These obligations are fulfilled by providing clinical guidance across the field of safeguarding and protecting children.

The scope of the post includes cooperation across agencies in the contribution and development of child protection practice, supervision, education, accountability, governance and provision of expert advice based upon mandatory and statutory frameworks and guidelines. Working collaboratively in providing high quality evidence based services to support the development of effective inter-disciplinary and inter-agency relationships with other NHS Trusts, Local Authority, Police, Education and other Statutory and Voluntary agencies in order to minimise the risks to children and their families. The post holder is required to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive and/or contentious information where significant barriers to acceptance need to be overcome using the highest levels of interpersonal and communication skills.

Main duties of the job

This role supports to the Head of Safeguarding Adults and Children The role entails working across the local health and social care economies to prevent harm, fostering and facilitating multi-professional interagency working in respect of Safeguarding Children. Ensuring statutory responsibilities of the Children Act (1989 & 2004) are met. These obligations are fulfilled by providing clinical guidance across the field of safeguarding and protecting children. The scope of the post includes cooperation across agencies in the contribution and development of child protection practice, supervision, education, accountability, governance and provision of expert advice based upon mandatory and statutory frameworks and guidelines. Working collaboratively in providing high quality evidence based services to support the development of effective inter-disciplinary and inter-agency relationships with other NHS Trusts, Local Authority, Police, Education and other Statutory and Voluntary agencies in order to minimise the risks to children and their families. The post holder is required to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive and/or contentious information where significant barriers to acceptance need to be overcome using the highest levels of interpersonal and communication skills.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To support and provide guidance to Trust staff on a day to day basis, dealing with cases of actual or suspected child abuse and to provide practice support for staff delivering services to safeguard children. • Clinical leadership, advice and support, proactive and reactive to Trust staff and their managers in relation to safeguarding children. • Promote best practice within the Trust and with other agencies. • Contribute to the development of the Trust training programme, participating in the delivery to meet the safeguarding children training needs of Trust staff. • Ensure newly qualified/appointed Trust staff are introduced to the LSCB’s and Trust policy and procedures, including awareness of the requirements placed upon them by the Trust, Child Protection training strategy. • Monitor professional practice, within the identified locality through a variety of methods, including child protection supervision, to ascertain whether child protection policies, procedures and standards are adhered to. • Provide and maintain a framework for child protection supervision to Trust staff and act as a supervisor analysing sensitive and complex information and the range of actions necessary, ensuring compliance with NMC and Trust policies, including record keeping, are adhered to. • During child protection supervision facilitate the sharing of professional information, knowledge and experience to challenge assumptions and attitudes that may influence practice. • Maintain and improve the quality of services to children in need/need of protection, through audit and evaluation and monitor quality of provision.

Please also see Job Description