About The Role Are you interested in professional development opportunities and the ability to practice to the best of your ability within a supportive, innovative Outstanding Local Authority? If so, Islington is looking to recruit an enthusiastic and talented Practice Manager to the Children’s Services Contact Team (MASH). Islington CSC is rated Outstanding by Ofsted, during the last inspection in March 2020 the inspectors noted the following in relation to CSCT: “Experienced and knowledgeable social workers screen contacts without delay. The ‘no names’ telephone consultation service is well used and valued by professionals and provides an effective service. Thresholds between early help and social care are well understood and applied appropriately. Escalating risk or need is recognised and results in timely referrals to children’s social care, followed by a swift response. Since the last inspection, the local authority has introduced the co-location of highly experienced and dedicated early help and mental health practitioners in the children’s services contact team. This is a significant strength and results in early signposting to specialist services to meet children’s needs”. As a Practice Manager, you will be responsible for promoting excellent practice by supporting the delivery of services that aligns with the service-wide vision and objectives which includes: Equity, diversity and inclusion - You will have, and demonstrate a clear understanding of inequities, how they affect different sections of our community, and the role that strategy and improvement can play in supporting better equality, diversity, and inclusion outcomes. - You can influence the development of services, support and/or practice by: - Effectively interacting, working with, and developing meaningful relationships with people of various cultural backgrounds - Interpreting issues and concerns from a cultural perspective and addressing situations or challenges from the points-of-view of multiple cultures recognising and advancing equity, diversity and inclusion in your team through your actions Supporting children achieving their best through access and education attainment - You will have and demonstrate a clear understanding about how children’s education impacts on all areas of children and young people’s development. - You will be instrumental in developing practice within your team that promotes children’s attendance at school and promotes children’s learning opportunities outside of school. - You will be able to identify and support families in being able to prioritise children’s relationship with learning. What is Motivational Practice? Motivational Practice is Islington’s Practice Model. There are core elements that underpin the practice framework that provide a set of skills around how to communicate in a helpful way with workers that you supervise, the professional network as a whole and families we work with, supporting a process of change. Motivational interviewing skills with a Trauma Informed lens are the cornerstone of social work practice in CSCT. In order to help us select the best candidates, Islington have developed a two-stage interview process with the first stage being an opportunity to test out applicants Motivational Interviewing (MI) compatibility. Candidates are not required to have advanced MI skills, rather we are seeking to identify those who have the capacity to develop these skills with the advanced training and coaching. Further details will be provided to all candidates who are shortlisted and offered an interview. Those candidates who are successful following Motivation Interview will have a written test and panel interview. Main duties of the job - Working with the Team Manager and the other Practice Manager, to provide operational management of CSCT. Managing day to day activity to ensure it delivers high quality responses to contacts, within the required timescales. Ensuring that the business process within CSCT and the MASH is effective and efficient. - Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with key partners in CSCT, which are supportive and appropriately challenging. Ensuring information sharing in the MASH is a collaborative process. - Reviewing, filtering and making transparent, evidence based threshold decisions on all incoming contacts, within specified timeframes and avoiding delay. Taking a lead role in co-ordinating and/ or directly gathering relevant and proportionate information, via screening and MASH processes in order to analyse, make an assessment of risk/need and to decide the appropriate service to offer children and families within the specified time frames of the MASH. - You will work to create conditions for excellent practice in a safe, calm and well-ordered environment for all staff and utilise reflective spaces such as coaching and supervision where the welfare and the safety of children and young people are paramount. What Islington Offers: - Availability of numerous resources to ensure families are supported to the right service the first time. - Social workers and managers receive regular reflective supervision and practice development opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of their interventions and develop their skills. - Zone 1-2 Annual Travelcard Payment - Retention bonus scheme - Comprehensive Employee Benefits Scheme - Modern office facilities located on Islington’s Upper Street N1. - Generous annual leave and flexible working opportunities For further information or for an informal conversation about the post, please contact: Maggie Kalitowski, Team Manager [email protected] Working for our organisation Islington is a place rich with diversity and culture. As a council our sense of purpose couldn’t be clearer: we serve. It’s in the logo. We are committed to challenging inequality in the borough and as one of the largest employers we know that to look after the place and the planet, we have to look after our people. Together we can change the future. We are determined to create a more equal Islington, where everyone who lives here has an equal chance to thrive. To do this, everyone who works at Islington Council lives by a set of values which guide us in everything that we do: collaborative, ambitious, resourceful, and empowering. They spell out ‘CARE’, which is what we think public service is all about. Watch our video to hear more about our mission and how you can help us achieve it from the Leader of the Council, Cllr Kaya Comer-Schwartz. Recruitment information It is the policy of Islington Council that no user of service, present or future employee or job applicant receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of their sex, perceived or actual sexual orientation, marital status, race, religion or belief, age, creed, colour, nationality, national origin, ethnic origin, or disability, or on the grounds of their association with someone in one of these groups; nor is disadvantaged by any conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justified. We welcome applications from Black and Minority Ethnic candidates and acknowledge our responsibility to mitigate against racial discrimination. Islington Council operates a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria and we are committed to providing support to applicants who request reasonable adjustments to be made during the recruitment process and throughout their career with us. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expects all staff, and volunteers to share this commitment. Some posts are subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service. The post is subject to an enhanced DBS check with children barred list, Social Work England registration, qualifications check and 5 years referencing. Please note: Priority will be given to those at risk of redundancy within Islington Council. Current employees who are part of the redeployment pool must meet the essential criteria for shortlisting to be prioritised.