Evolve South Tyneside – Parent Engagement Officer
Job Summary
Working Pattern:
Full time
Advert Start Date:
18/02/2021
Advert End Date:
Closed for applications on 12/03/2021 12:00
Job Category:
Social Care - Children Service
Employment Location:
Children and Families Social Care, South Tyneside
Further Information
Evolve South Tyneside – Parent Engagement Officer
(Children and Families Social Care, South Tyneside)
£27,041 pa
This is an exciting opportunity to be involved in the development and delivery of a brand new, yet much needed, service in South Tyneside. In South Tyneside there are a significant number of parents who experience children being removed permanently from their care and go on to have more children and repeat this cycle. This has a great cost to their emotional well being and can further compound and increase their vulnerabilities.
EVOLVE South Tyneside aims to reach out to both men and women who have had one or more children removed permanently from their care via public law proceedings. We aim to prevent a further child being removed into foster care and becoming subject to care proceedings by prioritising access to sexual health and contraceptive services, therapeutic services and other agencies to support issues parents. We aim to provide parents with a person who can support men and women to reflect on what has happened and create a ‘turning point’ in their lives where they can go on to make decisions that are in theirs best interests and allows them to reach their potential.
EVOLVE South Tyneside will work with adults whose children have been adopted or become subject to special guardianship orders, child arrangement orders and those whose children are in long-term foster care.
The services aim to:
• Support parents to understand their loss.
• Promote positive relationships and improve self-worth and self-esteem.
• Support parents to access and receive support from universal and targeted services.
• Help parents access contraceptive advice and to achieve change before. planning their next pregnancy, if they wish to have more children.
EVOLVE South Tyneside will be a small team including two full-time practitioners, with experience of engaging and working with parents involved in safeguarding service, with oversight, management and guidance from a Senior Social Work Practitioner with experience of working with families during care proceedings and beyond. We aim to develop good links with housing, the community safety partnership, domestic abuse services, mental health teams and substance misuse services, to name a few. Taking up long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) is not a requirement of our service, but we will develop a pathway for women to receive contraceptive services from sexual health services.
Direct work will range from lower-level involvement of meeting parents and helping them to access services, to more intensive and longer-term support – EVOLVE South Tyneside will be a flexible service that will support people for as long as it is needed. It will be important to be able to make the time and effort to build trust and meaningful relationships with adults who will often be at their lowest point and feel the system and services are not a positive part of their lives. This will take persistence and faith to provide a support that people believe with help them gain control of their futures when other factors and influence, such as substance misuse, mental health problems and domestic abuse, feel overwhelming and over powering.
Applications are welcome from people with a variety of experience in related fields, who have an understanding of the Child Protection system, the issues children and their families face and the impact of risk and trauma on children, young people and parents throughout their lives. Whilst formal qualifications are desirable in a related field, what is more significant is that you are able to form effective relationships with a wide range of people, that you do not judge or discriminate and are able to identify strengths and potential in people they may not see in themselves. The ability to feel and demonstrate empathy, understanding and patience is essential. In addition you will be able to work effectively and assertively with partner agencies, to ensure they are available and effective to offer the commitment and support required.
South Tyneside Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment and an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) disclosure will be sought along with other relevant pre-employment checks.
Closing date: Noon, 12 March 2021.
Please note
This job is closed for applications.