 | Copyright © tri.x | |
Regulation 5 – Engaging with the Wider System to Ensure Each Child’s Needs are Met
The Children’s Views, Wishes and Feelings Standard
Surrey Children's Services Procedures Manual, Children’s Consultation and Participation Procedure
The term Link Worker is used to describe the person who has key responsibility for coordinating the care of a child in the home. This guidance summarises the key responsibilities for that person.
In July 2021, this chapter was updated to reflect local guidance.
The home's manager is responsible for ensuring that each child has a dedicated Link Worker who will build a positive and constructive relationship with the child (preferably the Link Worker should be appointed prior to admission for pre-admission visits, or certainly upon admission for the child’s introduction to the home).
The home's manager should ensure that all Link Workers are suitably trained and fully competent to carry out the duties required of them.
Ideally, the Link Worker should remain consistent throughout the child’s time at the home; however, the home's manager may decide that the Link Worker for a child should change if:
All staff have a duty to each young person living in the home regardless of their role.
A Link Worker is a named member of staff who has a central role in respect of a particular child.
A Link Worker ‘s areas of responsibility are broad, and involve getting to know the young person in an enhanced way including their case history and the details of their file. It is also important to get to know other individuals and service providers involved with the wider care of the child.
Responsibilities of the Link Worker include:
The Link Worker should be the main co-ordinator within the Home of multi-agency services for the child, and point of contact for other services. They should help other staff follow the agreed approaches and care strategies set out in the Placement Plan. They should also help to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of each of the services.
Wherever possible, the Link Worker should be involved in visits prior to admission, so as to become a familiar face who will be present at the time of admission.
During the early stages of placement, the Link Worker should help the new child settle in and make sure they have a copy of the Young Person’s Guide and understand the house rules.
The Link Worker should ensure that all the child's records and recording systems are adequately set up and that recording is taking place.
The Link Worker, supported by the rest of the staff team, should assist the child to maintain social, recreational, cultural and religious links through daily living activities inside and outside the home.Keyworkers should ensure that these areas have all been considered and discussed with the child and then shared with staff on how best to approach this day to day work with the child.
Being there each morning:
Ensuring that the child is awake and ready for the day which can include: checking that the bedroom is clean and in reasonable order, that there are clean and properly presented clothes to wear, that they are clean, brushes their teeth, has brushed or styled their hair, has breakfast and are is fully ready for the day ahead.
Talking to the child to make sure that s/he understands what is planned for the day.
If there are meetings, appointments or other significant events planned, talk through how these will go, how best to support the child etc. Raise any risks or concerns with your Line Manager or supervisor.
Being there during the day:
Support the child’s education or daily programme
Take a regular interest in the child's health needs, including appointments with the dentist, doctors, and opticians.
Make sure the child has adequate clothing - bought, cleaned, dried and ironed. Ensure that your child is clean and presentable and is supported with their personal hygiene as appropriate to their age and needs.
Bedrooms should be kept safe, personalised (the child should have an input into the personalisation of their room), in a good state of repair and be well equipped, there should be adequate facilities for personal belongings and clothes to be stored away and kept safe. It should be agreed with the child what support they may need to keep their own space safe and hygienic.
Hold the child in mind, be aware of their wishes and feelings, talents and interests, and any conflict with current risk.
Plan at least one individual session with the child each week, (see Section 4, Planning and Recording a Link Worker Session below) and use this as an opportunity for you to share positive time and activities, talk about how they are doing, where and how they need support, talk through possible ways to approach things that they or others are worried about and plan for the short and medium term etc.
Being there at night:
It is important to work with the child, and other professionals as appropriate, to develop a healthy night-time routine that can be easily and consistently followed by others. There will be value in talking with the child and their parents/carers about what their preferred routine and night-time needs are.
Being there day-to-day:
Plan for the future by remembering birthdays and anniversaries or special occasions and make them special for the child, this includes important dates in their family network.
Support contact arrangements with significant others.
Keep all the other staff informed and up to speed about what is happening in the child's life.
Advocate on your child's behalf.
Support the child through changes which are happening in their lives, both at the home, in education, in their overall plan, with the social worker and at home with their family.
Ensure records and assessments are maintained to ensure consistency throughout the practice of the team.The Link Worker must actively promote the health care of each child and enable them to learn about healthy living.
In doing so they should liaise with key health professionals, including the Named Nurse for Children Looked After, CAHMS, the child's GP and dental practitioner.
The Link Worker should contribute to the assessment of the child’s physical, emotional and health needs and support appropriate action to ensure that the medical, dental and other health services needed to meet them are in place.
Children should be provided with guidance, advice and support on health and personal care issues appropriate to their age, needs and wishes and Link workers should seek the advice and support from the Specialist Nurse as needed.
The Link Worker must ensure that relevant health care procedures in this manual are adhered to, in particular, that the child is registered with a GP and has access to a Dentist and optician; and that the child has an up to date Health Care Plan. See the following procedures:The Link Worker is responsible for promoting the educational achievement of the child and liaising with education professionals See the following chapter:
This will include ensuring that the child is:
Link Workers may be required to attend parent's evenings and other school events with or without the child. The Link Worker should ensure that they are receiving all the necessary information and literature regarding events that effect the child’s education. These duties should be carried out with the purpose of strengthening home/school links and improving the child’s educational outcomes.
Link Workers need to keep themselves and their key child in touch with key people in the child’s life.
The Link worker should ensure they are familiar with any restrictions on the child’s time and contact with family or friends, and understand the child’s views on keeping in touch and how the child does this formally and informally. Wherever possible and appropriate the Link worker should build a professional relationship with key family members and provide them with regular updates about the child.
Social workers - provide monthly summarise on the young person and monitor the frequency of their visits (see Social Worker Visits Procedure).
Education - Advocate for the child’s needs, wishes and feelings and ensure education settings are aware of significant issues for the child that may affect their learning (also seeSection 3.3, Educational Achievement).
Specialist/expert support and guidance: If the key child needs additional support or guidance from specialists or experts (e.g. on substance misuse, budgeting, sexual health), talk to your manager or the social worker about how it can be obtained. When support has been identified the Link Worker needs to ensure that arrangements are made for the child to access this support.
The Link Worker must help the child understand how to raise concerns including the Complaints Procedures and provide a copy of the authority's complaints procedure.
Also it is the Link Worker's responsibility to ensure the child has an up to date copy of the Young People's Guide and other information produced by the home for children and is helped to read and understand it.
Ensure the child is fully conversant with staying safe in the home, including the Fire Precautions, and what to do if the alarm sounds.
Help the child to understand their Care Plan and how their needs will be met.
Ensure that records and the children's files / electronic record is up to date and well organised.
Make sure the child's Placement Plan is kept up to date and relevant to the child's interests and needs; make sure the child has a copy.
The Link Worker must ensure that the child's file is kept up to date, in particular, that relevant/up to date copies of the following records are contained in it:
Link working sessions should be based on spending positive time with a child and provide you with a chance to do something enjoyable, observe the child, assess their progress, develop your relationship and identify and resolve problems etc.
You must arrange a Link Working session with your key child as soon as possible after s/he is placed and then weekly thereafter.
The overall purpose of Link Working sessions is to ensure the child is getting the support they want and need, including discussing achievements and what is going well, as well as what might be causing, problems or worries and how to work to overcome them.
There are various ways to do this, either formally in a meeting or informally whilst undertaking an activity. The session should be positive and enjoyable for the child, and therefore a formal meeting is less likely to achieve those aims.
PLAN AHEAD: It is not exhaustive, but this is a list of things you should do in planning a Link Working session:
| | Copyright © tri.x | |
