Practice Development Facilitator - Req24691

Job title: Rethink Practice Development Facilitator

Salary: PO4 £43,421

Hours: 37

Contract: Temporary – maternity cover

Location: Citywide (based at Technorth but role involves citywide travel)

Internal vacancy. Applications will only be considered from existing Leeds City Council employees.

As a Rethink Practice Development Facilitator you will have the opportunity to not only contribute to supporting the implementation of evidence based ways of working across children’s services but also to develop your own skills and practice.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.

As a Rethink Practice Development Facilitator, you will bring to the role:

• Practice experience from health or social care 

• An analytical mind

• Strong interpersonal skills

• A working knowledge of complex case work, child and adolescent development, family work and safeguarding

• Skills and abilities in engaging a wide group of people  

As a Rethink Practice Development Facilitator you will contribute to supporting the delivery and development of Rethink and the Leeds Practice Model across and within services for Children and Families in Leeds. 

The Rethink team aims to support all children’s agencies in the city to connect and bring their knowledge and skills and experience together. The team promotes the use of a single formulation methodology to create a shared and collaborative language and understanding of the families that we work with. The methodology is underpinned by restorative practice which is the bedrock of Leeds Children and Families Services ambition to universally recognise the utility of families themselves and the intrinsic value of highly collaborative approaches. 

What we offer you

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

• a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays

• membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions

• flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements

• a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities

• a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further

How to apply

Please complete the online application form.

If you have any queries or would like an informal chat about the role please contact Beth Liddle, Rethink Manager, beth.liddle@leeds.gov.uk. 

The closing date for applications is Tuesday 30th April. 

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be carried out on preferred candidates. Read our recruitment of ex-offenders policy.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

We promote diversity and want a workforce that reflects the population of Leeds. Leeds City Council is ranked 70 on the Stonewall Equality Index 2023. We are also an age-friendly employer, a Mindful Employer and a Disability Confident Leader.

All new Leeds City Council appointments are made subject to the satisfactory completion of a six-month probationary period.

This role is based in the UK. Employment is conditional on confirmation of the right to work in the UK - either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa. If you do not have the right to work in the UK and the role does not meet eligibility for sponsorship, please consider carefully whether you meet the eligibility to apply.

Job Description 

Job Purpose

• To work as a part of a team in assuring high quality practice within and across Leeds Childrens Services.

• To work alongside colleagues in the development, delivery and implementation of an innovative restorative Multiagency Formulation and Networking Forum to support an integrated adolescent network across Leeds children’s services. This innovation model centres on the development of a series of regular and shared collaborative formulation and training events delivered in local areas.

• The post holder will be part of small team of practice facilitators who will actively deliver the model, using restorative principles and techniques and promoting evidence based approaches and the children’s service ambition of ‘One family, One worker, One plan’.

• Work alongside colleagues to deliver training, supervision and Practice Development within the Restorative Early Support teams.

• This innovation model uses the same formulation approach as identified above, within a multiagency team, alongside a rigorous analytical approach to active service delivery.

• The post holder will actively support the implementation of the team supervision aspect of the model.   

• Post holder will continuously uphold and promote the Leeds Practice Principles.

Responsibilities:

Programme Development

• In Collaboration with associate Practitioners – Rethink:

• Contribute to the development, coordination and continual evaluation of local structures and systems that can sustain effective delivery of a series of weekly formulation forums across the city.

• Contribute to the development and maintenance of effective working relationships with partner agencies liaising on a regular basis to ensure effective partner agency engagement in the shared forums and the implementation of the innovation model.

• Contribute to the continual evaluation of the programme and work collaboratively alongside area colleagues and stakeholders to adapt and adjust and scale the programme to meet need.

• Support the Lead Practice Facilitator in providing evidence of the models impact (especially for targeted and vulnerable groups e.g. CLA) through use of effective quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis.

• In collaboration with associate area teams present at local, regional and national events, as required by the Programme Board.

Programme delivery:

• Multiagency Formulation and Networking Forums

• Support the Lead Practice Facilitator in the organisation, set up and facilitation of a number of city wide forums across the city each week to deliver the innovation model, working alongside team colleagues in actively coaching each group of multiagency practitioners to engage in the use an identified formulation model/tool.

• Utilise theory and working knowledge of group work and group dynamics to illicit effective experience and outcomes for participants in each group.

• Within forums, coach agencies in effective formulations of presenting experiences of children and families referred to the services based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including specialist theory and evidence, always promoting working collaboratively with children, adolescents, family members and others involved in Children’s services.

• Utilise high level communication skills to promote multiagency involvement and contribution within each forum. Provide support and corrective feedback as required, share and grow expertise and knowledge and develop professional network supports and relationships.

• Assure that all formulations are comprehensive, holistic, and provide adequate information to determine the causes and correlates of presenting issues to direct effective intervention within the ecological context.

• Coach agencies to evaluate formulations and make decisions about treatment/intervention and/or management options in line with restorative principles taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors regarding historical, systemic and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.

• Coach agencies in communicating highly complex information concerning formulation and treatment plans to children and families and other agencies in an empathic and supportive way, using the highest levels of interpersonal skills in situations which could be highly emotive and sometimes antagonistic.

• Actively seek feedback from each forum attendee to inform the on-going development of the innovation.

Practice Development within Restorative Early Support

• Work alongside colleagues to facilitate implementation of the innovation model including regular team supervision within the developing RES teams.

• Work to continuously evaluate effectiveness of implementation process and supervision model within the teams.

• Multiagency working

• Always work to promote perspectives from multiple agencies.

• Always work to promote the Leeds Practice Principles across all agencies.

• Maintain and actively promote relationship building and effective communication between all stakeholders to support multi-agency, partnership working across Leeds.

• Within forums and training events provide appropriate challenge and support that targets systemic barriers to treatment success and promote collaborative problem solving to any barriers across services and partnerships in Health, Education, YOS, Housing, Social Care, Mental Health Services etc to ensure the best outcomes for young people and families.

• Within forums identify and utilise any emerging skills, strengths and knowledge that the entire group could benefit from.

• Support the Lead Practice Facilitator in continually evaluate attendance and contribution to forums and thus any gaps in city wide involvement.  

Training and development

• Contribute to identifying and responding to training and development needs emerging from each forum. Support the Lead Practice Facilitator in the development, facilitation and if appropriate deliver relevant training within and extra to the forums to support and so build capacity of front-line staff, in all involved agencies and settings.

• Support the Lead Practice Facilitator Provide and promote opportunities for agencies within each forum to share skills and expertise and knowledge both within and without the forum itself.

• Work alongside team colleagues to provide and facilitate guidance and support and signposting related to specific problem areas that might emerge from forum discussions (e.g. PTSD, self-harm).

Research and evaluation

• Remain informed of and critically evaluate current research and literature to support evidence-based practice interventions with children and families and promote this perspective in the forums and attending agencies.

• To work alongside associate area colleagues to support a practice based evidenced approach to this innovation model.

• Work alongside independent evaluation projects of the innovation and actively contribute wherever possible.

• Support Leads Practice Facilitator in undertaking internal audit and in depth service evaluation to help develop service provision.

Professional

• To continuously and actively contribute to the development and articulation of best practice across the Multiagency Formulation and Networking forums

• To develop and maintain awareness of current Safeguarding process and protocols within health and Social Care and follow corporate and local guidelines on all matters relating to Safeguarding

• To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to children and adolescents with mental health problems, particularly in relation to Children Act 1989 and the Mental Health Act 1983. To maintain up to date knowledge of psychological and mental health developments in children who have experienced or where there are ongoing child protection concerns.

• To maintain own professional development and gain additional highly specialist experience, skills and training relevant to the developing model (as agreed with the professional supervisor and project board) in line with own relevant professional guidelines on CDP.

• In common with all clinical staff, to receive regular clinical and professional supervision, according to good practice guidelines, from a senior professional and where appropriate clinical supervision from other senior professional colleagues in accordance with guidelines and policy.

General

• Prioritise own workload within agreed objectives deciding when to refer to others as appropriate.

• Participates in the Leeds City Council’s appraisal system, matching organisational aims with individual objectives and undertaking appropriate training as required.

• To comply with the requirements of all Leeds City Council policies, procedures and staff instructions, including responsibilities under the Health and Safety Policy and Procedures.

• To actively promote and support Leeds City Council's Policies on Equal Opportunities and to work in an anti-oppressive manner.

• Ensures that a professional service and image is maintained at all times.

• Promote a culture of continual improvement in the quality, diversity and performance management of services

• This is not an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities, and the post holder may be required to undertake other duties, which fall within the grade of the job, in discussion with the manager.

• This job description will be reviewed regularly in the light of changing service requirements and any such changes will be discussed with the post holder.

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