Caring For Children Roles of different professionals

Aims and Objective  Aim- To develop your understanding of different care professionals  By the end of this session you should be able to  Name and describe the roles of different professionals  Identify the roles in relation to practice

Goup Work  In small groups identify all the professionals who work with children who may be in need  After you have identified the job titles highlight what you think their role is (15 minutes)  Be prepared to feedback your discussion

 All children deserve the opportunity to achieve their full potential. They should be enabled to:  be as physically and mentally healthy as possible;  gain the maximum benefit possible from good- quality educational opportunities;  live in a safe environment and be protected from harm;  experience emotional well-being;  feel loved and valued, and be supported by a network of reliable and affectionate relationships;

If they are denied the opportunity to achieve their potential in this way, children are at risk not only of an impoverished childhood, but they are also more likely to experience disadvantage and social exclusion in adulthood. (Working together to Safeguard children)

 All families may experience difficulties from time to time for a whole host of reasons which may have an impact on their children.  These reasons may include the death of a family member, physical or mental ill health in the family, the breakdown of marital or other significant relationships, sudden loss of employment, multiple births, or having a child with special educational needs.

Different Professionals who support families  Social Worker  Residential Social Worker  Support Worker  Foster Carer  Education Welfare Officer  Nurses/Health Visitor  Youth Offending Team Worker

Social Worker  Co-ordinates packages of care for children and families  Monitors health and well being  May be involved in child protection situations  Has statutory (legal ) responsibilities for children ‘looked after’  Work in partnership with parents

Residential Social Work/Support Worker  Manages day to day care for children who are looked after away from home  Where appropriate support children to develop independent living skills  For older young person support them to move into independent living

Support worker  Would as part of a package of care to assist children to develop  This may involve a leisure activity or may involved giving the family a break from caring  May be long term support for example with emotional issues

Foster Carer  Provides care to children and young people by accepting them into their family home  Provide day the day care and acts on behalf of social services  Forster Care could be short term, more long term or respite

Education Welfare Officer  Monitor and supports children’s attendance at school  Works in partnership with parents/family to rectify any problems which may arrise  Work with social services regarding education for children who are ‘looked after’

Health/Nursing  Responsibility to health care of children  Specific responsibilities for children looked after

Youth Offending Officer  If child/young person has committed an offence the YOT worker monitors support and any relevant sentence  This could mean that the person has to attend a young offenders institution or is remanded to local authority care

Case scenarios  In groups read the case scenario and role which highlights the social worker role.  In groups identify how each professional could assist in the situation.  Not all professionals would be appropriate

Summary  List the different professionals who work with children  Can you highlight what there role is?