Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Specialist Health Visiting Team at the Child Development Centre in Bury St. Edmunds to become part of the multi-disciplinary team supporting children under 5 years with additional needs, and their families.
The role will involve observation and assessment of children in a variety of settings including Early Years, clinic and home, feeding back to the multidisciplinary team with verbal and written reports to support the diagnostic process. You will also work closely with families in their own home offering advice and strategies and participate in workshops and parenting programmes with other members of the multi-disciplinary team.
Experience of working with children who have additional needs would be beneficial.
You will be required to travel independently throughout the West of the county .
Main duties of the job
The successful candidate will be part of the Specialist Health Visiting Team and work as part of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) which includes Community Paediatricians, Therapy and Psychology colleagues.
They will need to be confident in feeding back verbally to the MDT and be able to contribute to written reports.
A large proportion of the role is working directly with families, supporting with behaviour, offering advice and support with strategies. This includes face to face sessions in the home and group workshops either in person or virtually.
Experience of working with children who have additional needs and safeguarding knowledge will be beneficial.
The candidate will be supported in their role by a Specialist Health Visitor.
About us
#BeKnown at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. By us. By our patients. By our community
We are a busy, friendly, rural NHS Trust providing high-quality care and compassion to more than a quarter of a million people across west Suffolk. We care for, treat and support people in hospital, at home and in various community settings.
The West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds provides acute and secondary care services (emergency department, maternity and neonatal services, day surgery unit, eye treatment centre, Macmillan unit and children's ward). It has 500+ beds and is a partner teaching hospital of the University of Cambridge.
Adult and paediatric community services, provided in collaboration with West Suffolk Alliance partners, include a range of nursing, therapy, specialist, and ongoing temporary care and rehabilitation, some at our Newmarket Community Hospital.
We do our utmost to achieve outstanding clinical outcomes for patients and our values of fairness, inclusivity, respect, safety and team work guide how we work and behave as a team.
With nearly 5,000 staff, from all over the world, we strive to make our organisation a great place to work. Whatever your role or ambition, we want to help you be the best you can be.
We promote a diverse and inclusive community where everyones voice counts and you can #BeKnown for whoever you are.
Join us. What will you #BeKnown for?
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see the full job description for more information
- Key Tasks & Responsibilities:
- Under direction of the Specialist Health Visitor, to support pre-school children with additional needs and to ensure a high standard of care for the children and their families.
- To undertake specialist play skill assessments of pre-school children, including those with a complex presentation and to inform the Multi-Disciplinary Team to assist in the diagnosis process.
- To plan specialised individual programmes with the families to develop play and social interaction.
- To ensure accurate clinical records are maintained.
- Undertake home/nursery visits at the request of the paediatricians/Specialist Health Visitor to assess play and interactions of children in their home environment. This may include children with very subtle or confusing presentations.
- To participate in workshops and group sessions virtually and face to face.
- Be responsible for all aspects of own work with regular supervision from the Specialist Health Visitor.
- Maintain a safe environment including the availability, use and storage of equipment/toys in the nursery setting.
- Communication:
- Understand and maintain confidentiality at all times.
- All employees are subject to the Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts and must maintain strict confidentiality of information in accordance with WSH policy.The post holder may access information only on a need to know basis in the direct discharge of duties.
- To be aware of barriers to effective communication, including sensory/learning difficulties, autistic features, dysphasia, denial, altered perception or unrealistic expectations.
- To communicate effectively with all members of the multi-disciplinary team as required.
- To give verbal feedback to multi-disciplinary meetings and produce written reports this will contribute to and form part of the wider multi-disciplinary assessment.
- To communicate effectively with children and their carers to ensure they have an understanding of their childs particular condition, which is likely to be a highly sensitive and emotional time for family members.
- Planning and organisational Skills:
- Able to use own initiative.
- Act as a resource for nursery nurse colleagues in the community.
- Actively participate as part of the multi-disciplinary team within the CDC, and wider integrated teams.
- Make changes in own practice and offer suggestions for improving services.
- To demonstrate a clear understanding of own role and roles of other services and how they interact to provide effective family-centred care.
- To lead and assist where appropriate in the maintenance and organisation of resources within the Child Development Centre.
- Clinical Duties:
- Taking responsibility for organising and prioritising workload to include ensuring clinical notes are completed in a timely manner.
- To support and participate in evaluation, audit and research activity within the services.
- To ensure mandatory training is up to date.
- Ensure that care plans and programmes of care recognise child/young person and parent/carers expressed beliefs, preferences and choices.
- To respect the individuality, values, cultural and religious diversity of children/young people and parent/carers and contribute to the provision of the service sensitive to these needs.
- To be aware of the effects of complex health needs and/or disability and provide advice to parent/carers on lifestyle changes and adaptations to the child/young persons social and physical environment, working alongside other appropriate professionals and agencies when indicated.
- Governance:
- Recognise the need to access other professional skills and utilise appropriately.
- Maintain competencies as required under the Care Certificate and ensure all training is completed to achieve certificate.
- To risk assess the nursery environment, ensuring it is maintained in good order and that policies are followed eg incident reporting, infection control, emergency procedures.
- Maintain clear, concise, contemporary records under the supervision of the relevant clinician.
- To comply with risk management procedures within the Trust. Be fully aware of Health and Safety and Welfare at Work Act 1974 and Lone Working Policy, and ones own responsibilities within it.
- To practice in accordance with the NMC Code of Conduct (Voluntary Code of Conduct).
- Comply with WSH policies and procedures.
- To undertake safeguarding training and supervision and adhere to local and national safeguarding procedures.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see the full job description for more information
- Key Tasks & Responsibilities:
- Under direction of the Specialist Health Visitor, to support pre-school children with additional needs and to ensure a high standard of care for the children and their families.
- To undertake specialist play skill assessments of pre-school children, including those with a complex presentation and to inform the Multi-Disciplinary Team to assist in the diagnosis process.
- To plan specialised individual programmes with the families to develop play and social interaction.
- To ensure accurate clinical records are maintained.
- Undertake home/nursery visits at the request of the paediatricians/Specialist Health Visitor to assess play and interactions of children in their home environment. This may include children with very subtle or confusing presentations.
- To participate in workshops and group sessions virtually and face to face.
- Be responsible for all aspects of own work with regular supervision from the Specialist Health Visitor.
- Maintain a safe environment including the availability, use and storage of equipment/toys in the nursery setting.
- Communication:
- Understand and maintain confidentiality at all times.
- All employees are subject to the Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts and must maintain strict confidentiality of information in accordance with WSH policy.The post holder may access information only on a need to know basis in the direct discharge of duties.
- To be aware of barriers to effective communication, including sensory/learning difficulties, autistic features, dysphasia, denial, altered perception or unrealistic expectations.
- To communicate effectively with all members of the multi-disciplinary team as required.
- To give verbal feedback to multi-disciplinary meetings and produce written reports this will contribute to and form part of the wider multi-disciplinary assessment.
- To communicate effectively with children and their carers to ensure they have an understanding of their childs particular condition, which is likely to be a highly sensitive and emotional time for family members.
- Planning and organisational Skills:
- Able to use own initiative.
- Act as a resource for nursery nurse colleagues in the community.
- Actively participate as part of the multi-disciplinary team within the CDC, and wider integrated teams.
- Make changes in own practice and offer suggestions for improving services.
- To demonstrate a clear understanding of own role and roles of other services and how they interact to provide effective family-centred care.
- To lead and assist where appropriate in the maintenance and organisation of resources within the Child Development Centre.
- Clinical Duties:
- Taking responsibility for organising and prioritising workload to include ensuring clinical notes are completed in a timely manner.
- To support and participate in evaluation, audit and research activity within the services.
- To ensure mandatory training is up to date.
- Ensure that care plans and programmes of care recognise child/young person and parent/carers expressed beliefs, preferences and choices.
- To respect the individuality, values, cultural and religious diversity of children/young people and parent/carers and contribute to the provision of the service sensitive to these needs.
- To be aware of the effects of complex health needs and/or disability and provide advice to parent/carers on lifestyle changes and adaptations to the child/young persons social and physical environment, working alongside other appropriate professionals and agencies when indicated.
- Governance:
- Recognise the need to access other professional skills and utilise appropriately.
- Maintain competencies as required under the Care Certificate and ensure all training is completed to achieve certificate.
- To risk assess the nursery environment, ensuring it is maintained in good order and that policies are followed eg incident reporting, infection control, emergency procedures.
- Maintain clear, concise, contemporary records under the supervision of the relevant clinician.
- To comply with risk management procedures within the Trust. Be fully aware of Health and Safety and Welfare at Work Act 1974 and Lone Working Policy, and ones own responsibilities within it.
- To practice in accordance with the NMC Code of Conduct (Voluntary Code of Conduct).
- Comply with WSH policies and procedures.
- To undertake safeguarding training and supervision and adhere to local and national safeguarding procedures.
Person Specification
Education and qualifications
Essential
- GCSE- Maths and English as minimum. Cache Level 3 Diploma in Childcare & Education (formerly NNEB/Cache Diploma in Nursery Nursing) Or BSc Degree in Early Childhood studies Or Equivalent Qualification
Desirable
- oCare Certificate
- oEvidence of other post qualification education, training and experience eg: play specialist, behaviour modification therapy, group facilitation
Experience and knowledge
Essential
- oExperience working with children and families
- oAbility to set objectives and achieve goals
- oAble to evaluate intervention strategies
- oAble to use own initiative
Desirable
- oRecent attendance at mandatory training
- oAwareness Raising and Introduction to Safeguarding Children and Young People. Suffolk Safeguarding Board (or equivalent)
Skills and abilities
Essential
- oExperience of working with pre-school children and their parents/carers
- oSafeguarding Policies and Procedures
- oUnderstanding of the main determinants of health
- oKnowledge of effective evidenced based parenting interventions
- oAbility to work in a multi professional context and maintain professional boundaries
- oEmpathy with children and their parents
Personal qualities
Essential
- oTo take responsibility for the development and maintenance of own professional standards, in order to maintain good practice, by attending training courses, study days, conferences etc and through individual study and reading
- oAbility to independently travel across the county.
- oMotivated and innovated
- oTeam player
Person Specification
Education and qualifications
Essential
- GCSE- Maths and English as minimum. Cache Level 3 Diploma in Childcare & Education (formerly NNEB/Cache Diploma in Nursery Nursing) Or BSc Degree in Early Childhood studies Or Equivalent Qualification
Desirable
- oCare Certificate
- oEvidence of other post qualification education, training and experience eg: play specialist, behaviour modification therapy, group facilitation
Experience and knowledge
Essential
- oExperience working with children and families
- oAbility to set objectives and achieve goals
- oAble to evaluate intervention strategies
- oAble to use own initiative
Desirable
- oRecent attendance at mandatory training
- oAwareness Raising and Introduction to Safeguarding Children and Young People. Suffolk Safeguarding Board (or equivalent)
Skills and abilities
Essential
- oExperience of working with pre-school children and their parents/carers
- oSafeguarding Policies and Procedures
- oUnderstanding of the main determinants of health
- oKnowledge of effective evidenced based parenting interventions
- oAbility to work in a multi professional context and maintain professional boundaries
- oEmpathy with children and their parents
Personal qualities
Essential
- oTo take responsibility for the development and maintenance of own professional standards, in order to maintain good practice, by attending training courses, study days, conferences etc and through individual study and reading
- oAbility to independently travel across the county.
- oMotivated and innovated
- oTeam player
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 (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
