Job summary
Islington is a small densely populated borough with a total resident child population of 40,000. The proportion of children from BME groups is 70%. Approximately 120 different languages are spoken, and it is ranked the eighth most deprived local authority in England. Islington Community CAMHS is therefore dedicated to working with partner agencies at a strategic level and in practice to address the resulting mental health needs of the borough. Islington Community CAMHS is recruiting into 6 sessions (3 days) Band 3 Parent worker to work with the Neurodevelopmental Team NDT) which is a diagnostic team for autism, ADHD and overlapping conditions. We are looking for highly motivated and compassionate individual who will have lived experience of parenting or caring for a neurodivergent young person and who can bring this experience into enhancing the work of the NDT.
Main duties of the job
Please see the Job Description and the Persons Specification for further details about the job role. If you are unable to access the PDF, the details of the job description can also be found in the 'Detailed Job Description and Main responsibilities' section.
About us
Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.
Job description
Job responsibilities
We would hope that parent worker could draw upon their personal lived experience, wisdom and knowledge of parenting or caring for a child with a neurodevelopmental condition to:
Inform clinical practice, i.e. the way the team is working. Offer support in the facilitation and development of parenting support webinars and groups. It would be beneficial that the parent has attended or accessed relevant psychoeducational courses or materials themselves. Connect the team with community support agencies and groups e.g. our local ADHD support group. To support with service user involvement; considering how we can include parent/young peoples views in service changes and development. To jointly compile the termly newsletter for parents who are waiting assessment. Support with the development of parent resources (pre and post assessment) To support families to access and engage in the assessment process, especially where additional adjustments are needed. Model self-advocacy and hopefulness via the appropriate sharing of own story to inspire and instil confidence in service users. To be involved in further developing the parent worker role in the team. Work in a way that acknowledges the personal, social, cultural and spiritual strengths and needs of the individual. Attend team meetings to feed back on the role and progress of work. Attend relevant mandatory training. Participate in regular supervision from a clinician.
Person Specification
Education/qualifications
Essential
- To have accessed psychoeducation courses or materials relevant to their child's diagnosis (e.g. 123 Magic, Early Bird, Cygnet, Webinars)
Skills and abilities
Essential
- Ability to be culturally sensitive to the needs of the whole community, e.g. when working with families with interpreters, ensuring equal access for all families irrespective of their background
- Computer literacy
- Excellent written, verbal and non-verbal communication skills
- Ability to work collaboratively with team and wider trust.
Knowledge and experience
Essential
- Lived experience of parenting a child with autism and/or ADHD.
- Interest and ability to contribute to service development.
Desirable
- Experience of facilitating groups or teaching, using a variety of multi-media materials suitable for presentations with parents, children and /or professionals.
Personal qualities
Essential
- Ability to form good working relationships and work flexibly with others in a multidisciplinary and multi-agency settings.
- Disability and neurodiversity awareness and commitment to advocacy for disadvantaged groups. Keeping up to date with changes in the field of neurodivergence.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Employer details
Employer name
Whittington Hospital NHS Trust
Address
Northern Health Centre
580 Holloway Rd
London
N7 6LB