4.14 The Role of the Lead Social Worker and their Supervisor |
Contents
1.
The Role of the Lead Social Worker
Each child who is subject of a Child Protection Plan should have a named Lead Social Worker. The named Lead Social Worker should be a qualified and experienced social worker from Children's Social Care.
Having the lead role among members of the Core Group, the Lead Social Worker is responsible for ensuring that the outline Child Protection Plan is developed into a more detailed inter-agency plan and written agreement, by the Core Group.
The Lead Social Worker should complete the Core Assessment, securing contributions as appropriate from Core Group members and others as necessary.
The Lead Social Worker should also:
- maintain regular contact with relevant agencies whether they are members of the Core Group or not
- co-ordinate the contributions of family members and other agencies to planning the actions which need to be taken to implement the Child Protection Plan
- act as a focal point for the communication of information between members of the Core Group
- together with the Core Group, but also on a continuous basis, review the progress against the planned outcomes set out in the Child Protection Plan.
The Lead Social Worker should regularly ascertain the child's wishes and feelings, and keep the child up to date with the Child Protection Plan and any developments or changes.
The Lead Social Worker has specific responsibilities to see the child at a minimum of once every 4 weeks, unless specified as more frequent in the Child Protection Plan, and to maintain contact with and visit other family members on a regular basis.
As part of the ongoing review of the Child Protection Plan the child should be seen at home, and the Lead Social Worker should be satisfied that the child is being suitably cared for in terms of the home environment. For example, the child's sleeping arrangements should be viewed along with other living arrangements - for instance, does there appear to be adequate food and cooking facilities in the house - to ascertain whether a child's basic needs are being met.
The Lead Social Worker should record:
- contact and discussion with professionals and agencies
- details of all visits made to family members by the Lead Social Worker
- when the child was seen and who else, if anyone, was present at the time of each visit
- the reasons for deciding (or not) to see the child alone
- what the child is saying
(See Chapter 2.6, Record Keeping)
The Lead Social Worker is responsible for notifying members of the Core Group, other agencies and the Quality Assurance Unit of any change of circumstances such as changes to the household, change of address and any temporary or permanent change to the child's placement, as soon as possible.
The Lead Social Worker is immediately responsible to and supervised by a Team Manager or Senior Practitioner. The Lead Social Worker should keep their supervisor informed of any difficulties in implementing the plan, visiting the family or seeing the child.
2. The Role of the Lead Social Worker's Supervisor
The Lead Social Worker should receive regular supervision in line with Children's Social Care supervision policy, from the Team Manager or Senior Practitioner, and in cases where a child is subject of a Child Protection Plan, the supervisor should ensure that the Lead Social Worker is able to maintain the child's safety, health and development as the primary focus.
The supervisor should be fully aware of all aspects of the Child Protection Plan, and should ensure that the Plan is adhered to, that agreed procedures are followed and that open communication is maintained between agencies.
In the Lead Social Worker's absence the Team Manager should arrange for a suitably qualified and experienced social worker to undertake visits as confirmed within the Lead Social Worker's remit.
The supervisor should ensure that the Child Protection Plan is followed during periods of absence by the Lead Social Worker and should inform Core Group members of any temporary or permanent change in Lead Social Worker within 5 working days.
The supervisor is responsible for endorsing decision-making in the Child Protection process, and recording decisions endorsed on the child's file. Reading and signing of case records is also a function of the supervisory responsibility (see Chapter 2.7, Supervision and Staff Development).
Evidence of supervisory discussion should be recorded on the child's file by the supervisor.
The supervisor is also responsible for chairing the Initial Core Group. Subsequent Core Group meetings may be chaired by the Lead Social Worker.
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