Candidate Pack Children Services Practitioner Blackpool NSPCC Service Delivery Team Blackpool Better Start
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Candidate Pack
Children Services Practitioner
Blackpool NSPCC Service Delivery Team
Blackpool Better Start
1|Page
The overall aim of Blackpool Better Start is simple – to give every new baby in Blackpool a better
start in life.
Dear Applicant
I would like to thank you for your interest in the post of Children Services Practitioner for the NSPCC
Service delivery team in Blackpool.
Blackpool has been chosen as one of only five locations in the UK to receive Big Lottery Funding of
£45million to help give the town’s babies a better start in life. This initiative will have a significant
impact on investment in services for babies, up to the age of three, and will enhance support for
parents and young families across Blackpool.
The NPSCC Service delivery team in Blackpool offers services to those families in Blackpool who need
additional support, the programmes delivered are specialised for families with young children and
include Parents Under Pressure, Video Interactive Guidance, SafeCare, Baby Steps and Survivor
Mums.
These programmes are evidence based and have been researched, tested and are proven to make a
difference to children’s wellbeing. The NSPCC Service Centre works to the vision of Better Start
across Blackpool.
We believe this job offers a unique opportunity to work to improve outcomes for the most
vulnerable families and babies in Blackpool.
We think this is a fantastic opportunity and hope you feel the same.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Merle Davies, Director
NPSCC, Blackpool Centre for Early Child Development
2|Page
Blackpool Better Start is an exciting new partnership between the NSPCC, Blackpool Council, Police,
CCG and Hospital Trust in Blackpool, local parents and community organisations. We have been
chosen as one of only five organisations in the UK to receive funding from the Big Lottery Fund of
£45million over 10 years to realise our aim - to give every new baby in Blackpool a better start in life
and break the intergenerational cycle of poor outcomes.
Children Services Practitioner, Blackpool Service Delivery Team
Salary: £29,500 – £34,130
35 Hours per week
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic and experienced social worker to join our
innovative service delivering evidence based programmes to parents of children pre birth – 3years
old.
The NSPCC Service Delivery team in Blackpool is a partner in the Big Lottery funded A Better Start
initiative in the town which is looking to improve the life chances of our youngest children by
building resilient and supportive parents and communities in the town. We have the vision,
determination and resources to bring about significant change in Blackpool.
The programmes currently being delivered by the team are:
Parents under pressure
Safecare
Video interaction Guidance
In addition we are working with the University of Michigan to pilot and develop ‘Survivor mums
companion’ to bring it to a UK audience.
We are looking for an enthusiastic and dynamic practitioner with the ability to plan and deliver
appropriate programme of work with individuals, families and groups, the ability to identify risk and
have experience of child protection intervention as well a up to date knowledge of legislation,
research and best practice and be able to evaluate the effectiveness of their own practice.
The candidate will have excellent interpersonal and analytical skills combined with excellent oral and
written communication skills, above all the successful candidate will be passionate about improving
outcomes for the most vulnerable families and babies in Blackpool now and for future generations.
For more information about this exciting opportunity please visit www.nspcc.org.uk/careers or
contact Helen Connaughton – Tel no: 07710 145683 for an informal conversation.
Closing Date: End of July Interviews: TBC
3|PageNSPCC Job Description
Job Title: Children Services Practitioner (Children’s Services)
Directorate: Children’s Services Development & Delivery (CSDD)
Date: June 2018
Context:
Blackpool has been chosen as one of only five locations in the UK to receive Big Lottery
Funding of £45million to help give the towns babies a better start in life. This initiative will
have a significant impact on investment in services for babies, up to the age of three, and
will enhance support for parents and young families across Blackpool.
The initiative is run by the Blackpool Better Start partnership, led by the NSPCC working with
Blackpool Council, NHS health organisations in Blackpool, and a number of local parents and
community organisations.
The funds will support systems change and a new way of key agencies working together to
make sure babies born in Blackpool receive the early care and nurture they need for healthy
development. Specific attention will be given to diet and nutrition, social and emotional
development, and communication and language – with an overall outcome being that
children are happy, healthy and ready for school.
The money provides the ability to design and implement effective and culturally relevant
public health interventions and programmes that promote early child development, and
provide more specialist evidence-based interventions and services to support the most
vulnerable families with babies across seven key wards in Blackpool1.
With 1,600 babies born in Blackpool each year the Better Start vision is for Blackpool to be a
place in which families raise happy, healthy children who take pride in belonging to the
community.
Our blue print for change has four parts - applying a public health approach, implementing
targeted evidence-based interventions, systems transformation and developing the
Blackpool Centre for Early Child Development to develop and sharing learning.
Throughout the Better Start programme, we are focusing on what we know about the
particular challenges in Blackpool, and what research tells us about the most important risk
and protective factors for us to address:
Tackling key risks: alcohol and drugs, mental ill-health, relationship conflict and intimate
partner violence, and social isolation
1 The seven key wards are Bloomfield, Brunswick, Claremont, Clifton, Park, Talbot and Victoria
4|Page Empowering families and communities: positive parenting practices, healthy parent-
child relationships, parental self-efficacy and social cohesion.
As part of the NSPCC partnership in Better Start the NSPCC Service Centre in Blackpool, has
from the 1st January 2016 has a focus on the pre birth to three age group, delivering a range
of evidence based interventions as one of the partner delivery arms for Better Start. The
NSPCC service delivery team practitioners are based within local authority Children Centres,
delivering services integrated with colleagues from the partnership.
Job Purpose:
Provide direct services to children, families, carers or adults working in an inter-agency
context where activities will be complex and where there is a requirement to take
considerable responsibility and work autonomously.
Responsibilities:
Provide direct services (on an individual or group work basis) for children, their families,
carers and adults maintaining professional practice standards as outlined in legislation,
guidance and consistent with NSPCC standards and guidance.
Hold case accountability for a number of cases some of which may be complex, ensuring all
safeguarding practice and case recording conforms to NSPCC practice standards and
guidance. Provide professional advice to internal and external enquiries.
Liaise and work positively with partner agencies and respectfully challenge where necessary
in order to promote the best interest of children.
Involve service users in planning, decision making and evaluation and promote the
participation of Children and Young People.
Plan and deliver services and contribute to their evaluation and ensure that issues of
diversity are identified and addressed in accordance with equal opportunity practices.
Develop and maintain professional relationships and work in partnership with other
agencies in order to deliver effective services and attend a range of internal and external
meetings as required.
Actively prepare for and participate in supervision, team meetings, briefings and training
events and contribute to the development of learning materials or other resources.
Take responsibility for developing and improving your own professional knowledge and
skills and contribute to policy development within the organisation.
Work with fundraising staff to promote the work of the team and the organisation to
various audiences including supporters, fundraisers and volunteers.
5|PageSupport colleagues through co working, mentoring or critical appraisal and supervise
students and volunteers as appropriate in line with agency policy.
Key Relationships:
Internal
Reporting to team manager (CS)
Service centre practitioners and support staff
Development managers
Consultant social workers
External
Professionals from the Better Start partnership and other agencies
NSPCC colleagues from other Directorates
Key supporters
Responsibilities of all Children's Services Staff:
Maintain an awareness of own and other’s health and safety and comply with NSPCC’s
Health and Safety procedures
Comply with NSPCC Diversity and Equality policies and practices.
Comply with all relevant NSPCC Safeguarding policies.
Maintain and develop competence in the use of IT systems.
Any other job related duties as assigned:
Although core duties of the post are set out above, a flexible approach to work is essential.
The post holder may be required to adapt the above duties to take account of changes in
work practices. The post holder will be required to undertake business travel.
6|PagePerson Specification
Children's Services Practitioner Level 3
1. A recognised social work qualification and registration with the relevant social care
council within the UK.2
2. Experience of direct work with children and their families and proven ability in
identifying risk and initiating child protection interventions.
3. Good knowledge of up to date child protection best practice, research and
legislation.
4. Experience and proven ability of working in a way that reflects a child centered
approach and an understanding of children’s rights, participation, needs and best
interests.
5. Ability to plan appropriate direct work and evaluate their effectiveness.
6. Experience and proven ability to engage with service users, involving them in
planning, decision making and evaluation whilst adhering to effective safeguarding
practice.
7. Evidence of an ability to develop and maintain professional relationships and
experience of effective multi-agency working.
8. Experience and proven ability to work in an equal opportunity and anti-oppressive
framework.
9. Experience and proven ability to work on own initiative and as part of a team, often
in a multi disciplinary setting.
10.Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including report writing.
11. Ability to represent the NSPCC effectively to other child protection agencies and to
supporters.
12.Ability to promote the development of colleagues, including training and supervising
volunteers.
13.Ability to effectively prioritise workload, manage time, and resources
14.Experience and ability to work in a computer literate environment.
22 Applications will be considered from social work students who will be qualified and registered within
three months of the closing date for the vacancy.
7|Page8|Page
Appendix A
Together we are Building a Better Future for Blackpool’s Children.
In Blackpool, we all have a role to play in ensuring that our children grow up healthy and happy
and reach their potential. The impact of poor early life experiences impacts on all of us and we
now know more than ever the importance of early experiences on children’s future
development and outcomes and how best to support healthy pregnancies and birth and our
children’s readiness for school.
By ensuring children have the best possible start in life and are supported by strong resilient
communities we will build a stronger Blackpool for us all.
This is why the work of Blackpool Better Start, a partnership led by the NSPCC, made up of the
Blackpool community including parents, Police, Local Authority, the Hospital Trust, Clinical
Commissioning Group, Public Health and the Voluntary Sector, is so important to our town.
Better Start is funded by The Big Lottery and partners to deliver sustainable change to make
Blackpool a place where parenting and child development is prioritised and communities are
empowered to reduce risk and raise happy, healthy children. These children will then grow up to
take pride in belonging to, and giving back to, their community.
Blackpool Better Start delivers services for children from pregnancy to 4 years old and their
families, ensuring every new baby in Blackpool enjoys the early care and nurture they need for
healthy development and are ready to engage in the next stage of development when they start
school.
Healthy brain development is an on-going process which begins before birth and continues
through the early years and into adulthood. Much like the construction of a house, early
experiences shape the foundations of development and resulting brain architecture. Brains
development is supported by an interactive process called “serve and return”. This is like an
imaginary tennis match between a parent/caregiver and their child. Instead of hitting a ball back
and forth, communications are shared between the two. A child may “serve” with a smile or a
gurgle, and a good caregiver will respond by “returning” and joining in with the conversation by
laughing, playing peak-a-boo or sharing a toy. This building process helps develop key life skills
and strengthens firm brain foundations.
There are however obstacles to healthy development which can interrupt the foundations of the
developing child. Exposure to toxic stress such as neglect can have long-term effects on child
health and wellbeing and children can, if left without supportive relationships and experiences,
have poorer outcomes.
The role of Blackpool Better Start is to ensure that our communities are supported. Just as an
overloaded lorry can break down from carrying too much weight, when parents are
overburdened by stresses they can become unable to take care of their children’s needs.
If we support those who are at risk for negative outcomes by building skills and abilities through
the delivery of appropriate services and evidence based interventions, we will improve
outcomes for our youngest children which will in turn lead to a stronger resilient community
from which we all benefit.
9|PageOur developmental approach focuses on two
Our Developmental Approach
key milestones for families: Healthy Gestation
and Birth, and School Readiness. This staged
approach will achieve long lasting positive
Social &
outcomes for all our babies and children and
Communication Diet & form strong foundations for when they
Emotional
& Language Nutrition
Development become parents themselves.
Running though these two outcomes are the
overarching focused areas of diet and
Key Developmental Outcome 1: nutrition, language and communication, and
Healthy gestation and birth social and emotional development.
We know that families need services in all
these focused areas to support healthy brain
development and improve health and
Key Developmental Outcome 2: wellbeing for our youngest children and their
Readiness for school families. The Better Start Partnership is
committed to delivering services within
Blackpool which support and enable families
and communities to thrive.
We have “effectiveness factors” that we know will work and deliver services which have
evidence of supporting change. For example, Universal Baby Steps, an evidence based ante natal
programme is delivered across the town by Midwives, Health Visitors and Family Engagement
Workers. Our enhanced Health Visiting programme, co designed with Health Visitors and
parents, incorporates eight contact visits and continues until the child is 3.5 years old,
concluding with an integrated school readiness assessment. This innovative high quality service
has been developed with global experts to implement new ways of working, bringing
Behavioural Activation, and awareness of the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences into
universal delivery.
For parents requiring additional support during this period, our adapted Family Nurse
Partnership provides support from specially trained nurses to all mums where it’s been
identified that they would benefit from intensive additional support through pregnancy and until
their child is 2.5 years old.
Pathways into new services have been developed to give additional support in parenting skills to
our communities. Video Interaction Guidance is providing professionals and parents with tools
to promote positive attunement and improve the parent/child relationship. The Safecare
programme delivers support where neglect has been identified and helps to stop risks becoming
overwhelming by concentrating on developing protective parenting. Parents Under Pressure
aims to improve parenting in families where there are parental drug or alcohol problems and the
Survivor Mums’ Companion is a programme designed to support pregnant women who have a
history of childhood trauma.
All of these exciting and innovative services provide supportive experiences for our families and
reinforce our common understanding of the importance of building firm foundations. Our
services will address the balance of exposure to positive and negative experiences and the
parenting skills development will support resilience.
10 | P a g eTo ensure this happens in all levels of the community, we are actively engaged in monitoring
how ‘things are done’ and how they could be done better in Blackpool. The parents’ group
Community Voice ensures representations at all levels of the decision-making process. Part of
the long term goal of Better Start is to transfer power from the statutory services to the
community to ensure sustainability and to build capacity within Blackpool communities. A
systems leadership approach is being developed, starting with middle managers as well as
members of the Executive, to ensure a dynamic change programme is supported throughout
organisations.
As part of the overall regeneration of the town, Better Start is linked into some of the other key
initiatives which will help communities to reinstate pride within the town and regenerate the
town back to a stable, healthy and vibrant community. All of the initiatives and work undertaken
to transform services from pregnancy to four will be aligned within the wider vision of the
transformation of Blackpool.
As part of this vision Better Start will invest in the town ensuring, wherever possible, that local
suppliers and services are used. We are invested in growing our own workforce, including the
wealth of volunteers and apprentices who are ready and able to support the work with families
in the town. Better Start is everyone’s responsibility within a community and everyone will have
an awareness of the best way to raise children.
Our strategic programme of action is based around four cornerstones.
1. Public Health Approach
The Better Start partnership is grounded in a public health approach, we know that what affects
one of us affects all of us, so by changing the ‘norms’ across the population and ensuing parents
have access to a suite of universal health promotion resource, we make sure that we are doing
everything we can to support and promote health and wellbeing across our communities.
11 | P a g eThe Blackpool Centre for Early Child Development will work with national and international
experts to help Better Start identify how local expertise can be built upon and enhanced to
reduce harmful behaviour.
We will use our framework for focused action to reduce barriers and critical pressures impacting
on families and empower parents and communities to reach their full potential. Our community
connectors are advocates for our work, values and principles and guide families to access
services, promoting community resilience and capacity around Early Child Development.
We will deliver universal campaigns around key risk factors and develop targeted interventions
such as specialist programmes to support dads, early literacy, parenting and diet and nutrition.
Framework for Focused Action
Reducing critical pressures and Empowering parents and
barriers (tackling risk) communities (building capabilities)
Parenting (knowledge
Drugs and Alcohol
and skills)
Toxic Stress
Parent-child
Mental ill-health
relationship
(attachment)
Relationships and
Self-efficacy
Domestic Abuse
lsolation Social Cohesion
Underpinned by intervention on physical space,
housing, jobs, poverty and transport
12 | P a g e2. Evidence Based Interventions
We will work within a tiered provision model of evidence and science based interventions
spanning all levels of need for children on their journey through the Enhanced Healthy Child
Programme giving parenting support at the earliest opportunity.
These programmes all fit with our framework for focused action and developmental approach
they are tailored according to our local needs and are regularly reviewed by communities and
professionals for impact and outcomes.
We have a staged approach to implementation, beginning with the expansion of our existing
evidence based services. Underpinning this is the Baby Steps universal antenatal programme
delivered across the town and the enhanced Health Visiting offer from April 2018.
We provide Blackpool families with interventions successfully developed and implemented
elsewhere, supporting parenting and providing pathways to the right services at the right time.
Finally we have considered the latest global innovation and research in developing our new
services which are designed to address critical gaps in current support, such as our work on
domestic abuse in pregnancy and infancy, mental health support and alcohol abuse in
pregnancy.
3. Reframing and System Transformation
A key cornerstone of Better Start is systems reform, we champion change at all levels and ensure
there is a shared vision of Better Start. We recognise the importance of early intervention and
investment in the early years. We are passionate about the need to change systems to impact on
the outcomes for some of our most vulnerable children and families, and we challenge where
and when necessary to ensure this change happens.
The partnership has been working to introduce a shared language for the community and
professionals to talk about early child development, our Core Story and the Brain Game to help
our communities understand brain development and how critical early experiences are.
System Transformation
Investme
nt, We are ensuring that all the early
leadershi years workforce communicate this
p and vision to parents and the wider
accounta
bility community, ensuring that everyone in
Workforc Blackpool has a shared understanding
e of Better Start and early child
Develop development.
ment
Our Quality Mark for Early Years
settings builds on exemplary early
Engaging years work and supports setting to
families embed this standard.
and
communit
ies
Reframing
13 | P a g eAs a collective we aim to break down professional boundaries and build a culture of trust and
confidence. We identify what communities need over the next 10-20 years and work with
partners to ensure the Early Years workforce have the skills and training to meet the need within
our community.
As part of changing the ways we do things we are committed to taking a Trauma Informed
Approach to our work in Blackpool. This new culture will be fostered through an increased
understanding of the impact of early adversity and that mental ill health and maladaptive coping
strategies, for example, are symptoms of deep-rooted trauma. Through changing our thinking
from asking families and individuals “‘what’s wrong with you” instead wondering “what’s
happened to you”, our community will feel both recognised and affirmed and that there is
ultimately a reduction in stigma around early trauma and abuse. Through supporting and
enabling parents to understand the potential impact of early adversity on their own children,
and the importance of resilience factors, we will aim to interrupt the intergenerational
transmission of abuse and adversity and reduce the amount of Adverse Childhood Experiences in
our future generations.
4. Centre for Early Child Development
The Blackpool Centre for Early Child Development has a critical role in driving the Better Start
vision; it provides leadership and strategic direction and ensures that all partners are actively
engaged in the delivery and co production of services.
The Centre keeps the aspiration of Better Start and community at the heart of its work and
ensures the pace of change is consistent in order to meet the change required.
The Centre is building local capacity and expertise by creating a virtual network of national and
international experts and keeping research and evaluation at the heart of what it does. Using
our data linkage project the centre is empowered to evaluate change and impact from Better
Start interventions, services and policies.
The Centre is becoming internationally recognised and a renowned source of expertise and
innovation in services and systems from pregnancy to four. We are committed to ensuring that
Blackpool families have the best support to drive change and that this learning is then cascaded
nationally and internationally.
14 | P a g eAppendix B
Terms and Conditions and Employment
This information has been prepared to give you an overview of the terms and conditions of
employment that are relevant to this particular post. Every care has been taken to ensure that the
details are correct, but they are not to be regarded as part of any contract of employment.
Contract – The post is permanent.
Salary - Salaries are paid by the BACS system, directly into a bank or building society account of
your choice, usually on the 26th of each month. In the event that you commence employment with
the Charity after the 10th day of the month your first payment will be made in the following calendar
month.
The NSPCC’s pay system is designed to attract and retain talented and committed employees who
help us realise our objective of ending cruelty to children in the UK. Salaries in the pay system
reflect market rates of pay for similar jobs in each of our relevant job markets and are reviewed
annually to ensure we continue to reward our staff appropriately. An employee who demonstrates
all the required skills, knowledge and competencies to perform their role in full, will be rewarded in
line with their performance.
Location - The post will be based in Blackpool.
Working Hours –The post is full-time, 35 hours per week worked from Monday to Friday from 9.00
am to 5.00 pm with an hour for lunch. Due to the nature of this role a flexible approach to working
hours is essential for the proper performance of your work. The Society operates a time of in lieu
(TOIL) policy.
Annual leave –The post holder will be entitled to 29 days annual leave per annum. The annual leave
year runs from 1 April to 31 March. After five years’ continuous service, the entitlement increases to
32 days per annum. Service with all employers except the NSPCC is not regarded as continuous
service.
References - All appointments are subject to the receipt of at least two satisfactory written
references, covering the last five years of your employment.
Safeguarding Checks – Appointment will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service
(DBS) check and the satisfactory completion of the NSPCC’s internal safeguarding checks of its child
protection records.
Medical clearance - Appointment to this post will require a health assessment.
Fairness, equality and diversity - The NSPCC is committed to fairness, equality and diversity in the
workplace. By being diverse, we have a wide range of talents and experience, helping us to meet
different people's needs and to end cruelty to all children.
Further information - For more information about the range of benefits offered please refer to our
careers pages on www.nspcc.org.uk/careers. For any queries relating to the above terms and
15 | P a g econditions, or further information on applying for this position online then please email
recruitmentenquiry@nspcc.org.uk
16 | P a g eAppendix C – Terms and Conditions of Employment
This information has been prepared to give you an overview of the terms and conditions of
employment that are relevant to this particular post. Every care has been taken to ensure that the
details are correct, but they are not to be regarded as part of any contract of employment.
Contract – The post is permanent. Secondments to the NSPCC will be considered.
Salary - Salaries are paid by the BACS system, directly into a bank or building society account of
your choice, usually on the 26th of each month. In the event that you commence employment with
the Charity after the 10th day of the month your first payment will be made in the following calendar
month.
The NSPCC’s pay system is designed to attract and retain talented and committed employees who
help us realise our objective of ending cruelty to children in the UK. Salaries in the pay system
reflect market rates of pay for similar jobs in each of our relevant job markets and are reviewed
annually to ensure we continue to reward our staff appropriately. An employee who demonstrates
all the required skills, knowledge and competencies to perform their role in full, will be rewarded in
line with their performance.
Location - The post will be based in Blackpool at one of the local authority Children Centres.
Driving at Work - It is a condition of your employment that you retain a current driving licence. If
you are disqualified from driving for any period the Society reserves the right to terminate your
employment.
Working Hours - The post is full-time, 35 hours per week worked from Monday to Friday working
pattern to be agreed on appointment. Due to the nature of this role a flexible approach to working
hours is essential for the proper performance of your work. You will not be entitled to extra
remuneration for any additional hours worked in excess of 35 hours. The Society operates a time of
in lieu (TOIL) policy.
Annual leave - The post holder will be entitled to 29 days annual leave per annum. The annual leave
year runs from 1 April to 31 March. After five years’ continuous service, the entitlement increases to
32 days per annum. Service with all employers except the NSPCC is not regarded as continuous
service.
References - All appointments are subject to the receipt of at least two satisfactory written
references, covering the last five years of your employment.
Safeguarding Checks – Appointment will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service
(DBS) check and the satisfactory completion of the NSPCC’s internal safeguarding checks of its child
protection records.
Medical clearance - Appointment to this post will require a health assessment.
Fairness, equality and diversity - The NSPCC is committed to fairness, equality and diversity in the
workplace. By being diverse, we have a wide range of talents and experience, helping us to meet
different people's needs and to end cruelty to all children.
Further information - For more information about the range of benefits offered please refer to our
careers pages on www.nspcc.org.uk/careers. For any queries relating to the above terms and
17 | P a g econditions, or further information on applying for this position online then please email
recruitmentenquiry@nspcc.org.uk
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