Systemic Practitioner

JOB TITLE:  Systemic Practitioner

LOCATION:  Reading, Berkshire

PLACEMENT: ASAP, Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm

PAY RATE: PAYE rate from £50 per hour & Umbrella rate from £57 per hour

4Recruitment Services are seeking a Systemic Practitioner to provide services to our client based in Reading, Berkshire.  The role is designed to provide a therapeutic service for Reading’s looked after children and to deliver a therapeutic training programme for foster carers and other social work practitioners.  This role is part of IFA (independent fostering agency based within Brighter Futures for Children.   The IFA aims to support the placements of Looked After Children and to ensure that placements remain stable throughout the child and young person’s journey of being looked after.

The post holder will provide clinical supervision to other practitioners in the team using evidence informed interventions for looked after children who have experienced trauma and disruption within their lives.

This postholder will be required to:

• Take responsibility for providing clinical/ professional/ technical advice and guidance in therapeutic interventions to colleagues, managers and partner agencies.
• Take the responsibility for undertaking direct therapeutic support with systemic and trauma informed models/approaches and interventions to children and families to support positive outcomes and to help prevent children entering care wherever it is safe to do so.
• Help model and embed the systemic and trauma informed practice model within the Fostering Service.
• To help evaluate and monitor the service delivered, including a commitment to user involvement.

MAIN DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

Therapeutic interventions: 

• Provide clinical/professional/technical advice and guidance in trauma-informed therapeutic interventions to colleagues, managers and partner agencies.
• To provide consultation and advice to colleagues providing a service to children and work alongside practitioners, including social workers and key workers, to provide clinically informed assessments and interventions to children, foster families and their networks.
• To contribute to the assessment of risk and protective factors in cases
• To respond to child protection concerns that arise in the course of interventions, in line with child protection procedures and guidance, and to take responsibility for their own decision making in complex high-risk cases, within the supervisory framework. 

Clinical consultations:

• To be responsible for providing regular clinical support to the social workers and supervising social workers.
• Support the TI practitioner in providing support to operational management at BFfC to drive an operational shift in culture to a trauma-informed approach within the IFA.
• To take a clinical lead in supporting the embedding of trauma-informed responses and a systemic approach to working with foster families.
• To be responsible for developing and facilitating reflective practice groups for practitioners and managers.

Supervision and Continuing Professional Development:

• To receive supervision and consultation on a regular basis, regarding therapeutic, service and professional issues.
• To keep up to date and disseminate information on relevant developments in the field of research and policy in relation to the needs of vulnerable adolescents, Children In Need, Looked After Children. 
• To be responsible for analysing complex information and its significance for individual cases and for the development of the service, and to advise senior managers accordingly. 
• To share responsibility with the fostering managers for the team’s development of trauma informed, evidence-based practice, supporting all colleagues in understanding and developing skills in the methods used.

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS INCLUDE:

• Doctoral or Masters level degree in Systemic Family Psychotherapy; or psychotherapy; or Psychology (or equivalent for those who trained before 1996) as accredited by the BPS OR similar. 
• Experience and/ or interest in trauma informed approaches and development of trauma informed team working.
• Experience of working with vulnerable groups and individuals within diverse ethnic communities, including the ability to work with those in pressured situations
• Experience of working in multi-disciplinary and statutory with children, young people and families, within a systemic framework.
• Experience or knowledge of children’s services.
• Skilled in undertaking assessments of therapeutic need and contributing these assessments to childcare planning in a multi-disciplinary context, including the analysis of complex information.
• Skills and experience in the delivery of evidenced trauma interventions.
• Knowledge of the factors affecting the emotional wellbeing of children and young people in need and looked after children, including issues of trauma, attachment, separation and loss, and ability to respond to these.
• Ability/experience in providing consultation to those involved in the child/young person’s system of concern.
•  Understanding of the context of children’s social care including knowledge of relevant legislation and national and local guidance including the Children Act 1989.
• Enhanced DBS check.

We offer:

• 24 hour one on one specialist consultant based within your geographical area
• 4Recruitment Services Employee Benefits Programme
• Our own dedicated payroll support ensuring you get the full benefits of your payment

Recruitment is done in line with safe recruitment practices. 4Recruitment Services is an equal opportunities employer.

To discuss this vacancy in further detail or any other vacancies , please contact our Team on 0800 988 6307 or email  gpadmin@4recruitmentservices.com.