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9.7.2 Staff Support

Contents

  1. Context and Scope
  2. Procedure


1. Context and Scope

The Children Act 1989, The Care Standards Act 2000, and The National Minimum Standards for Children's Homes, 2011 all acknowledge that in order to safeguard and promote children and young people's welfare, all staff must be well supported, guided and empowered.

The following procedure therefore responds to the need to support staff in the complex task of caring for young people placed in residential childcare.

The following procedure should be read in conjunction with Wakefield Council Intranet, Human Resources, Work Force Development, and Appraisal.


2. Procedure

1.0 All staff, including domestic, ancillary, agency and sessional, as well as the Children’s Homes Manager, should be properly managed, supported and are clear about to whom they are accountable.
1.1 All staff (as detailed in 1.0) should receive one to one supervision from their line manager on a monthly basis. Supervision should be in line with the departmental supervision framework: ’Dignity at Work’ and all supervisors should ensure that the staff they supervise are familiar with this.
1.2

Supervision of staff working with young people should address the following areas:

  • Responses to and methods of working with young people
  • Key working (where applicable)
  • Staff member’s role, including their accountability, in fulfilling the Statement of Purpose
  • Staff member’s work in fulfilling the Placement Plan for individual young people
  • Staff member’s personal involvement, feelings, concerns and stresses
  • Staff development and training needs
  • Feedback on performance
  • Guidance on current and new tasks, including the setting and maintenance of standards
1.3 ‘Dignity at Work’ provides the arrangements for staff supervision and all staff should follow this with supervisory responsibility.
2.0 All staff, including the Children’s Homes Manager, should have current written job descriptions and person specifications that are related and consistent with the home’s Statement of Purpose. These should clearly state the responsibilities and duties currently expected of them and their line of accountability. Staff must be aware that job descriptions are subject to periodic review.
3.0

‘Dignity at Work’ provides the yearly appraisal framework for all staff and this should be in place within each home.

An employee's personal file should contain a record of the professional performance review (Appraisal), which formulates the Personal Development Plan and this should include:

  • Level of performance achieved
  • Targets for coming year
  • Agreed training and development needs and how these will be met

The above is also consistent with ‘Dignity at Work’.

4.0

All staff should receive a written copy of ‘Dignity at Work’, which provides the guidance on the procedure and practice of supervision and appraisal.

For new staff this will be part of the induction process that is updated on an ongoing basis, as and when, new legislation, guidance, procedure and practice dictates.

5.0

Team meetings should usually occur on a weekly basis and should include discussion of both the care of individual young people and the management of the current group. This should help to formulate a review of the practices within the home on a regular and frequent basis.

Team meetings should have an agenda and be minuted.

6.0 Staff should have access to sources of advice and counselling. This can be accessed through occupational health.                          

End