Ld + Autism Keyworker

The Islington and Camden Keyworker Service is a member of the Transforming Care LD and ASD Support Service across North Central London (NCL). The Keyworker Service provides coordination and direct support to children with learning disabilities and/or autism, who also have mental health needs and/or behaviours that challenge. This project uses intensive, direct interventions with the aim of supporting children and young people with neurodiversity to remain living at home, in the community; preventing avoidable admissions to inpatient mental health services and/or 52-week residential placements; and to reduce the length of inpatient admissions, supporting early discharges.

This role will provide high quality support to the children and young people and their families/carers (predominantly in their homes), working as part of a team to help unblock the system, provide a bridge across different parts of the system including health, education and social care, and be a key point of contact for families/carers. You will hold a small caseload of children, young people and their families; you will work both independently and in partnership with professionals across the network; providing direct, intensive, clinical support for families/carers. The role will work across various settings, including in homes, schools and in the local community.

You will be part of a large and diverse multi-disciplinary team, with colleagues from both health and social care. You will benefit from high level, expert support and supervision, including line-management, individual clinical supervision and weekly reflective groups. You will receive multiple, specialist training opportunities including PBS - positive behaviour support, MI - motivational interviewing and NVR - non-violent resistant NVR.

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.

**Clinical**:
To be a key point of contact for families/carers allocated to you, identifying gaps in their support and enabling the system to work together to bridge those gaps

Where required and with support, provide high quality, direct support to the children and young people with complex needs and their families/carers when they need it most

To work closely with inpatient settings, local CAMHS providers (including crisis teams), social care and education to ensure that the system is working in a coordinated and joined up way for the young person and their family/carer, helping to reduce any blockages to accessing that support

With support and training, to facilitate the provision and implementation of tailored behavioural and emotional support to help a child or young person and their families/carers develop skills for progress and self-management to meet their agreed goals and outcomes

Communicate clearly with the child, young person and their family/carer to help them understand and navigate the system

To work within and contribute to risk assessments for the young people you work with

To ensure children and young people you support are enabled to make choices, develop their independence skills and access a range of positive activities both in the centre and in the community

To safeguard the well-being of the children and young people in your care through effective support, proactive behavioural strategies and individualised risk assessments; to respond to and report any concerns about the welfare of a child promptly in line with local guidance on safeguarding children

To improve outcomes for children and young people with complex needs and their families/carers, including those with mental health needs, through effective family/carer interventions, which will improve communication, reduce behaviours that challenge and support them to maximise their potential

To develop and sustain effective, positive working relationships with children, young people, parents/carers, the management team and the professional network as part of a ‘wraparound’ approach to supporting families/carers

To increase the resilience of the network through psychoeducation, putting the child at the centre, supporting the network to increase confidence and reduce reliance on services

With support, to represent the service at meetings, including Care Education and Treatment Review