Senior Clinical Social Worker

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen to work as a Senior Clinical Social Worker within our CAMHS East multidisciplinary team, delivering a high quality service provision that promotes and improves the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people and their families in the East of Hertfordshire, covering Welwyn Garden City, Hoddesdon and Bishops Stortford areas.

CAMHS East is a caring, supportive and hard working team which prides itself on working creatively, innovatively and inclusively.  We have a number of ongoing projects including, working to better meet the needs of  young people with neurodiversity who are accessing our service, and the development of the intervention offer for families of our young people.

We welcome all new staff to the team with an induction process to equip them for the work they will take forwards and promote leadership at all levels within the team.

CAMHS East is a part of HPFT CAMHS, who have been at the forefront of national developments in CAMHS, including CAPA and CYP-IAPT.  The service is rapidly expanding in line the with evolving needs of young people in Hertfordshire.

Main duties of the job

• All social workers must be registered with the Social Work England
• To work within a multi-disciplinary team, and to provide a highly specialist social work service, requiring a very high level of professional skill, to children and adolescents who present with mental health difficulties and are known to Children’s Services
• The post holder will be responsible for assessing, formulating and providing treatment plans for children adolescents and their carers within the multi-disciplinary team framework
• As a Senior Clinical Social Worker you will act as a champion and leader of social care. You will be expected to give robust, consistent expert social care practice advice in partnership with other specialist senior social care colleagues
• All staff should comply with the Trust’s Anti-Discriminatory Statement, Employee Charter, Trust Policies and Procedures, Code of Conduct and Equality and Diversity.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To be a champion of social care with a comprehensive understanding of legislation and statutory guidance
• To manage a defined caseload of complex cases requiring a high level of skill, providing assessment and treatment services to children, adolescents and their families, utilising a range of therapeutic approaches within the post-holder’s knowledge and competence.
• To assess, plan, implement and evaluate treatment plans for all clients on the caseload using an evidence based approach
• To advocate the rights of young persons, carers and families as detailed in current legislation
• To actively participate in direct clinical initiatives offered to those services provided by the Children’s Services to children and families both within the community and residential care
• To provide assessments of the mental health needs of Children Looked After and children on the edge of care, and to formulate treatment plans, taking into account their current and past care context
• To offer consultations to the professional network around the child, such as social workers, foster carers and care staff and to be able to offer specialist advice about the mental health needs of Children Looked After
• To undertake regular risk assessments in particular in matters relating to safeguarding children and to provide expert advice to other team members in this regard
• To also undertake risk assessments pertaining to child and adolescent mental health including assessments of young people who have deliberately self-harmed, and to supervise clinical social workers in this regard
• To communicate complex and sensitive information to referrers and other involved professionals, both verbally and in writing
• To provide consultation, advice and training to professionals working within the community
• To provide and seek consultation to/from professionals within the multi-disciplinary CAMHS team
• To contribute to the development of CAMHS through professional meetings
• Prepare and present reports for a variety of meetings
• To contribute towards training activities within Children’s Services, Health and Voluntary sector agencies in matters relating to Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health.
• To maintain knowledge of available resources, and of the roles of other agencies and to liaise on behalf of service users
• To maintain excellent up to date knowledge of relevant legislation and Safeguarding policies and procedures
• To maintain highly developed, up to date clinical and theoretical knowledge pertaining to child and adolescent mental health
• To maintain knowledge of available resources, and of the roles of other agencies and to liaise on behalf of service users
• To participate in regular supervision
• To contribute to multi-disciplinary working and, as part of that, to be an excellent advocate for social care
• To adhere to Trust policies and procedures
• To carry out any other duties identified by your line manager

To supervise more junior colleagues and student social workers