Senior Safeguarding Advisor (Band 7)

The Children's Trust; Tadworth; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 31,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading children's charity in Tadworth is looking for a Senior Safeguarding Advisor to provide expert consultation and support in safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. This role entails ensuring compliance with statutory responsibilities, delivering high-quality training, and leading safeguarding investigations. Candidates should have relevant healthcare or social work qualifications and at least 3 years of experience in safeguarding practices. The role promises a rewarding environment with competitive benefits.

Benefits

Attractive salary

Generous leave entitlements

Free on-site parking

Supportive training environment

Opportunity for career development

Qualifications

• A minimum of 3 years practice experience in safeguarding.
• Experience of completing relevant post-registration training.
• Experience working with children, young people and families.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-quality support to the Safeguarding Strategy and Assurance Lead.
• Ensure the organisation meets statutory duties for Looked After Children.
• Lead delivery of mandatory safeguarding training.

Skills

Strong understanding of safeguarding regulations

Excellent interpersonal skills

Ability to challenge practice

Confident in delivering training

Education

Relevant professional Health Care or Social Work qualification

Registration with NMC, HCPC or Social Work England

Job description

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Senior Safeguarding Advisor (Band 7) to join our Nursing and Care team. This role is to provide high quality support to the Safeguarding Strategy and Assurance Lead and the wider organisation, to ensure the organisation meets its regulatory responsibilities to safeguard children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Main duties of the job

The role of Senior Safeguarding Advisor is to provide high quality support to the Safeguarding Strategy and Assurance Lead and the wider organisation, to ensure the organisation meets its regulatory responsibilities to safeguard children, young people and vulnerable adults. You will provide specialist advice and consultation across the multi-disciplinary team to support children who are looked after, liaising with external professionals to support liberty protections safeguards and mental capacity.

The post holder will apply social work values, theory, knowledge and skills required to support safety and wellbeing for children and young adults with complex neurodisability and acquired brain injuries. You will play a key role in promoting excellent professional practice within the organisation, providing advice, support, training, supervision and expertise for fellow professionals, and ensure safeguarding training and supervision is in place from board to floor.

About us

The Childrens Trust is the UKs leading charity for children with acquired brain injury, providing expert rehabilitation, education, therapy, and care at our national specialist centre in Tadworth, and to children and their families across the UK, via our Brain Injury Community Service.

Boasting a beautiful 24-acre site in Surrey, we are located just outside of London, close to the M25 and accessible via National Rail, by way of Clapham Junction, Sutton, and Epsom.

The work we do is highly rewarding, and in addition to an attractive salary, we offer a valuable range of benefits, including adoption pay, time off for fertility treatment, enhanced paternity leave, paid carers leave, time out days for those experiencing menopause symptoms, and time off for gender reassignment.

We also offer additional annual leave days for those with long service, with entitlements ranging from 35 to 41 days (including bank holidays) depending on your length of service.

Other benefits include free on-site parking; a staff shuttle service from Epsom and Sutton train stations to Tadworth Court, subsidised cafeteria, on-site staff accommodation (subject to availability), the ability to retain your NHS pension (where applicable) or the opportunity to join an alternative scheme, and the opportunity to develop your career in a supportive and collaborative environment.

Job responsibilities

Safeguarding

You will work closely with our teams to ensure The Childrens Trust meets its statutory responsibilities to protect the welfare of children and vulnerable adults.

Support the organisation to meet statutory duties for Looked After Children, including oversight of care planning standards and close liaison with external professionals.

Provide specialist advice and consultation to the wider MDT for CLA, LPS, DOLS and MCA, keeping abreast of policy and national changes.

• Ensure any CYP in the assessment stage have their social care status and safeguarding concerns identified and managed, working closely with external partners
• Provide advice underpinned by specialist knowledge to the organisation on Looked After Children, safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, incorporating local and national guidance and statutory regulations.
• Lead the high-quality delivery of the organisations mandatory safeguarding training programme.
• Create and/or utilise opportunities for recordable Safeguarding Supervision.
• Provide Safeguarding Supervision to individuals or groups, ensuring appropriate reflective practice is embedded.
• Support analysis of regulatory compliance data, against safeguarding training and supervision.
• Effectively communicate local safeguarding knowledge, research and findings from audits, challenge poor practice and address areas where there is an identified training/development opportunity.
• Lead on assigned safeguarding investigations and ensure subsequent learning is embedded and practice developed as a result.
• Support overview of incident management and trend reporting, providing information into Clinical Governance meetings.
• Facilitate and contribute to safeguarding audits, demonstrating and sharing knowledge of how to implement and audit the effectiveness of safeguarding/child protection services on an organisational level against current national guidelines and quality standards.
• Facilitate and contribute to the development of safeguarding and other relevant policies, demonstrating and sharing knowledge of how to implement effective safeguarding/child protection services on an organisational level against current national guidelines and quality standards.
• Cover for the absence of the safeguarding Strategy and Assurance Lead as required.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Safeguarding

You will work closely with our teams to ensure The Childrens Trust meets its statutory responsibilities to protect the welfare of children and vulnerable adults.

Support the organisation to meet statutory duties for Looked After Children, including oversight of care planning standards and close liaison with external professionals.

Provide specialist advice and consultation to the wider MDT for CLA, LPS, DOLS and MCA, keeping abreast of policy and national changes.

• Ensure any CYP in the assessment stage have their social care status and safeguarding concerns identified and managed, working closely with external partners
• Provide advice underpinned by specialist knowledge to the organisation on Looked After Children, safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, incorporating local and national guidance and statutory regulations.
• Lead the high-quality delivery of the organisations mandatory safeguarding training programme.
• Create and/or utilise opportunities for recordable Safeguarding Supervision.
• Provide Safeguarding Supervision to individuals or groups, ensuring appropriate reflective practice is embedded.
• Support analysis of regulatory compliance data, against safeguarding training and supervision.
• Effectively communicate local safeguarding knowledge, research and findings from audits, challenge poor practice and address areas where there is an identified training/development opportunity.
• Lead on assigned safeguarding investigations and ensure subsequent learning is embedded and practice developed as a result.
• Support overview of incident management and trend reporting, providing information into Clinical Governance meetings.
• Facilitate and contribute to safeguarding audits, demonstrating and sharing knowledge of how to implement and audit the effectiveness of safeguarding/child protection services on an organisational level against current national guidelines and quality standards.
• Facilitate and contribute to the development of safeguarding and other relevant policies, demonstrating and sharing knowledge of how to implement effective safeguarding/child protection services on an organisational level against current national guidelines and quality standards.
• Cover for the absence of the safeguarding Strategy and Assurance Lead as required.

To undertake other or additional duties that are within your skills and abilities, as the organisation may reasonably require from time to time.

Skills and Responsibilities

• Maintain knowledge and expertise on national and local policy and guidance in relation to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

Receive regular safeguarding supervision and undertake reflective practice.

Management of self and others

• Maintain a positive approach and outlook when dealing with change and overcoming challenges and problems.
• Recognise own limitations, develop realistic goals, and use support network resources when or if necessary.
• Treat challenges and problems as a learning experience.
• Remain organised and focused when under pressure.
• Respond appropriately and effectively to all constructive feedback.
• Motivate self and others

Communication

• Handle sensitive information professionally.
• Impart professional knowledge and provide constructive feedback to foster learning.
• Maintains clear and concise documents and records, in accordance with The Childrens Trust Policy.
• Ensures documents are managed confidentially at all times.
• Liaise professionally with our partners in external agencies and provide information as required and as appropriate.

Governance

• Report identified risks, maintain accurate records, and participate in audits and other activities for clinical governance.
• Produce and contribute to internal reports, and external reporting such as the Section 11 audit.
• Ensure any appropriate concerns are accurately reported in the incident reporting system.
• Demonstrate working knowledge of regulatory compliance e.g. The CQC, Ofsted Care and Ofsted Education frameworks, childrens home regulations and Keeping Children Safe in Ofsted Education, Keeping Children Safe in Education, supporting necessary regulatory assessments/reviews/visits.
• Meet with parents as part of the complaints process where relevant and take overview and management of complaints as required

Professionalism:

• Meet the current Social Work England professional body standards with respect to professionalism and to keep up to date with any changes.
• Participate and maintain evidence for re-validation.
• Be responsible for maintaining registration with Social Work England.
• Adhere to the policies and procedures of The Childrens Trust. Maintain professional boundaries and professionalism at all times.
• Keep abreast of sector developments.
• Maintain own supervision and reflection.

Health and Safety

• Adheres to all Health and Safety guidelines, principles, and regulations to perform your role and comply with The Childrens Trust policies and procedures.
• Provide evidence of all vaccinations (or medical exemption) required for the post.
• Adhere to manual handling procedures and complete mandatory manual handling training.
• Promotes the health and safety of others.
• Uses the incident reporting and risk assessment system (IRAR), to identify and report risks and incidents/actions if directed.
• Responsible for identifying and mitigating risk within the work environment.
• Wellbeing and Emotional Resilience: Maintains a positive approach and outlook when dealing with change and overcoming challenges and problems.
• Recognises own limitations, develops realistic goals, and uses support network resources when or if necessary.
• Treats challenges and problems as a learning experience.
• Remains organised and focused when under pressure.
• Responds appropriately and effectively to all constructive feedback.
• Motivates self and others

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Relevant professional Health Care or Social Work qualification.
• Registration with NMC, HCPC or Social Work England.
• Experience of completion of relevant post-registration training in policy and practice at Level 2 or PGDip) or equivalent.

Experience

• A minimum of 3 years practice experience in the relevant field.
• Currently practising in the field of safeguarding, or experience of delivering training and supervision.
• Experience of effective partnership working with internal and external stakeholders.
• Working with children, young people and families.

Skills & Knowledge

• Strong, up to date knowledge base around safeguarding and how this applies to the children and young people, including those over 18 years old, under the care of The Children\'s Trust.
• Strong understanding of the social care framework and the regulatory framework around safeguarding and how it relates to our responsibilities as a Childrens Home.
• Knowledge of CLA, LPS and MCA.
• Ability to prepare reports and to problem solve and make decisions.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to challenge practice.
• Confident in the delivery of training and able to adapt to ensure learning is achieved.

Personal Qualities

• Commitment to the vision and values of The Children\'s Trust.
• Flexible and can do attitude to competing priorities.
• Highly motivated and reliable.
• Ability to cope working in a demanding environment.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Salary: £26,875 to £30,325 a year dependent upon experience (£53,751 - £60,651 FTE)