Neuro-developmental Pathway Lead

The Neuro-developmental Pathway Lead is responsible for the smooth operation of the neurodevelopmental pathway and ensuring the provision of an efficient, focused service that achieves the service's goals. The role will lead the administrative and clinical staff in managing the flow of patients through the pathway.

1. Operational Management

• Develop a new neurodiversity pathway that utilizes existing services to improve the experience of neurodivergent children, young people, and their families.
• Reduce inefficiencies by establishing a clear pathway for neurodivergent children and young people, allowing them to access the correct professional in a timely manner.
• Ensure neurodivergent children receive support for their needs according to priorities identified jointly by their families and professionals working together.
• Provide high-quality, up-to-date, and relevant information about neurodivergence and services provided in Enfield to parents, carers, and professionals.
• Utilize information and expertise gathered from other teams in the UK and abroad when planning, designing, and implementing the neuro-diversity pathway.
• Ensure the pathway is developed using the expertise and experience of professionals from various disciplines, as well as neurodivergent adults.
• Improve the quality of screening processes for neurodivergent children who internalize their distress, reducing the number of children missed at early stages.
• Make reasonable adjustments to screening and assessment processes to ensure neurodivergent children can access the support they need.
• Consider the different assessment and intervention requirements for neurodivergent children and young people versus those with additional learning needs.
• Ensure the effective operational management of the service, providing services that align with the objectives of the Neuro-developmental Pathway.
• Ensure services are developed and provided by the service that are of the highest standard in terms of fair access, equality of opportunity, and anti-discriminatory practice.
• Ensure practice within the pathway/team meets relevant standards, is appropriate, timely, safe, and follows agreed professional practice.
• Manage access and patient flow through the pathway to ensure an efficient and effective service delivery that supports service users and carers.
• Provide timely advice and direction to pathway clinicians and CDT psychology team members as necessary.
• Ensure the team supports a whole-system approach and develops liaison/consultation services to support services appropriately.
• Work with the Service Lead to develop quality assurance systems that support performance against KPIs.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships and new working arrangements with colleagues, children, and young people, parents, and other key stakeholders.
• Ensure staff engage in regular meetings, training, and team-building activities to promote a working environment that is open, honest, supportive, and outward-looking.
• Ensure the appropriate and accurate use of the client information database (RiO).

• Inform the Service Lead about the effective use of human resources, ensuring safe staffing levels that reflect the necessary and appropriate skill mix.
• Support the Service Lead in ensuring all staff receive regular appraisal and professional development support.
• Support staff with training and participation in regular audit.
• Support staff to be proactive in contributing to team and service training initiatives.
• Manage SLT working within Neurodiversity, providing support and guidance for service delivery.

• Support the Service Lead in ensuring the team works effectively within the allocated financial framework.
• Identify potential areas, events, or situations that may have an adverse impact on financial expenditure for the service, taking appropriate action to eliminate or minimize such impact and informing the Service Lead at the earliest opportunity.
• Plan and coordinate workload autonomously, ensuring all deadlines are met and objectives achieved, seeking advice from the Service Lead when necessary.
• Assist or lead locally held training events, workshops, and manage projects as identified as service needs or by the Service Lead.

• Provide and/or contribute to the production of reports, information, and proposals that support effective delivery of care and an integrated approach to work with colleagues at the local level or through external agencies.
• Take responsibility, under the direction of the Service Lead, to achieve excellent performance for all relevant performance targets.
• Provide regular feedback on the progress/activity of the team to the Service Lead.
• Be responsible for the collection of KPI information, wait times for assessment, and ensure relevant data is sent to the Service Lead in a timely manner.
• Investigate any concerns arising within the teams and propose resolution.
• Follow up on anomalies or concerns/complaints raised by patients/parents/carers and inform the Service Lead of actions taken.
• Act within the Trust's Human Resources Procedures and take action as required, refer and liaise with Occupational Health as necessary.
• Support and provide supervision for expert-by-experience staff, as required.
• Support the induction of new permanent, bank, and agency admin staff to their work area, as requested by the Service Lead.
• Input into the recruitment process for available roles within the team.

• Work with families and carers of neurodivergent children to ensure they understand their child's abilities and the pathway available to support them.
• Ensure families and carers are listened to and included in all decisions relating to their child's support while in the pathway.
• Ensure robust systems for transitions out of the pathway and into alternative services at the end of the period of care.
• Provide assessments for children and young people referred to the team based on the appropriate use, interpretation, and integration of complex data from various sources (dependent on service requirements and staffing).
• Identify needs and refer children to the most appropriate treatment pathways within the service based on clinician and parent/carer agreed priorities.
• Evaluate and make decisions about treatment options, taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family, or group.
• Provide specialist expertise, advice, guidance, and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to children and young people's formulation, diagnosis, and treatment plan.
• Contribute directly and indirectly to a framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all children and young people of the service, across all settings and agencies serving children and young people with a range of needs, neuro-developmental differences, learning disabilities, and mental health problems/behaviors that challenge.
• Undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual children and young people and provide advice to other professions on risk assessment and risk management.
• Communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation, and treatment plans of children and young people under their care and monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.
• Contribute to a service-wide process of increasing awareness, acceptance, appreciation, and empowerment of neurodivergent children, which includes, but is not limited to, adaptation of appropriate terminology relating to neurodivergent populations, ensuring experts by experience are a core part of the service, inviting neurodivergent adults to share their experiences with the team, and keeping actively involved with the changes and recommendations for supporting neurodivergent children and young people.

• Ensure as a member of staff, you are fully aware of current developments, legislation, and practice in the care of children and young people with additional needs.
• Attend regular management/professional supervision. Through supervision and appraisal, acknowledge own limitations and discuss/identify/access training as appropriate. Be aware of and reflect on own practice as a lead/clinician.
• Be aware of and adhere to all Trust policies, acting as a role model to other staff. Manage time effectively. Continue to meet professional standards of practice and relevant professional legislation.
• Undertake other duties as required by the Service Lead.