Lead Professional

• Working Together to Safeguard Children (WT2023)

The new edition is central to delivering on the Government’s strategy set out in Stable Homes, Built on love 2023, and also incorporates some of the recommendations of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, led by Josh MacAlister. Under the new guidance, the concept of a “lead practitioner” is introduced as a new generic term across all areas of intervention.

WT 2023 has removed the requirement for qualified Social Workers to hold Child in Need cases. This means that alternatively qualified practitioners with the necessary skills and experience can case hold children subject to Child in Need plans, including for example Social Work Assistants, Early Help Practitioners, Education and Health professionals. By introducing this role, the DfE’s main objective is to ensure that the right people with the right knowledge, skills, and relationships, provide families with support at the right time, whilst keeping children safe and their wellbeing at the centre of decision making, planning and the provision of services. Crucially however, the work of the lead professional must be overseen by a Social Work qualified practice supervisor or manager.

The Divisional Management Team has agreed to trial the implementation of the “lead professional” role across Integrated Children’s Services. We believe that Social Work Assistants (SWAs) are ideally placed to be a lead professional whereby casework can be allocated to them, commensurate with their skills and experience. We recognise that some practitioners will be anxious about taking on this role, but we are confident that for most SWAs these changes will simply be a formal recognition of the fantastic work they already do every day.

Formal Supervision will be provided to SWAs on a minimum of a monthly basis by a professional that is Social Work qualified; this will include regular opportunities for them to undertake joint visits with a Social Work qualified practitioner as and when required. All formal meetings (i.e. initial, review or final Child in Need meetings) will be chaired by a qualified Social Work practitioner. In order to prepare SWAs for this role we have agreed a schedule of training that we believe will complement their existing skills and experience. We ask that SWAs please start to schedule these into their diaries over the coming weeks.

• Child development
• Kent's practice framework
• Strengths based approaches training
• Domestic abuse programme - gender privilege and father inclusive practice
• Domestic abuse programme - cultural competence
• Hidden harm - parental substance misuse, parental mental ill-health and domestic abuse - KSCMP

The following districts have been identified to take part in the six months trial with a start date of Friday 4 October 2024 - Thanet, Dover, Gravesend, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Malling CSWS and North Adolescent Services.

Our colleagues in Practice Development will be undertaking an evaluation of the implementation of the role across all the pilot districts and it is envisaged that you will have lots of opportunities to provide feedback and learning.

Should you have any questions about this initiative please speak to your Service Manager in the first instance.