Named Nurse for Safeguarding Children

We are looking for an exceptional and innovative Named Nurse for Safeguarding Children who will help us further develop our integrated safeguarding service and fulfil our statutory requirements as set out in Working Together to Safeguard Children (2023) and the Intercollegiate Document for the roles and competencies for healthcare staff (2019).

Using safeguarding expertise and highly developed skills you will work in partnership with the safeguarding senior leadership team, specialist practitioners and the other safeguarding named professionals, taking responsibility for children's safeguarding practice ensuring that structures, systems, policies, and processes are in place and effective across the Trust.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide organisational safeguarding expertise, through the provision of highly specialised assessment, analysis, advice, and support.

They are expected to be highly visible and accessible to colleagues across the Trust providing training, supervision, and oversight of complex cases. They will act as an exemplary role model to staff across the Trust for all issues relating to children's safeguarding.

The post holder will liaise internally with all wards/departments, and externally with Children's Social Care teams, Local Safeguarding Children Partnerships, Integrated Care Boards, safeguarding colleagues in University Hospitals Bristol and Weston (UHBW), and other agencies within BNSSG, to lead on the development of safeguarding children practice.

The post holder will work in partnership with the NBT Named Doctors, Named Midwife for Safeguarding and Named Professional for Adult Safeguarding to lead an agreed portfolio of roles. The safeguarding team is an integrated all age service and everyone is expected to develop expertise in safeguarding across the all age arena.

North Bristol Trust (NBT) and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston (UHBW) are working towards a hospital group model and as the acute providers for the BNSSG area it is expected that the named roles for safeguarding will engage in opportunities for positive collaboration across the two trusts.

About us

North Bristol NHS Trust employs over 12,000 staff providing healthcare to the residents of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset from our award-winning hospital building at Southmead. We are the regional Major Trauma Centre, and an internationally recognised centre of excellence in a range of services and major specialities. Our vision is that by enabling our teams to be the best that they can be, we will provide exceptional healthcare, personally delivered.

North Bristol NHS Trust values all people as individuals. We aim to be an anti-discriminatory organisation and are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We welcome applicants from all underrepresented groups.

Job responsibilities

Develop, implement and evaluate evidence based safeguarding children practice across the organisation and its networks.

Provide, receive and present highly complex, sensitive information relating to safeguarding children and child protection.

Use knowledge and expertise to improve the quality of referrals to childrens social care supporting staff with challenging patient conversations and consent processes.

Develop knowledge of early help and support services and work with teams to share this information with patients.

Provide effective safeguarding children supervision for a range of professionals and staff.

Develop, implement and evaluate safeguarding children training programmes and learning resources for all staff groups from induction to specialist courses.

Lead on the co-ordination and response to notifications of Rapid Reviews and Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews including scoping records, preparing chronologies, writing Internal Management Reviews, analysis of practice, recommendations and action plans leading to improvements in practice.

Be a regular presence to areas of the trust where children are seen and treated or where high risk parental presentations occur including but not limited to ED, ICU, NICU, Outpatient services and imaging, substance misuse teams and trauma and neurological wards.

Facilitate safe and effective multi-professional communication and information sharing and seeking across a range of settings and agencies.

Communicate highly complex, sensitive and emotive information within the organisation and in multi-agency contexts about suspected or actual risks to children and any action plans to protect children and families.

Be responsible for policy development and implementation for safeguarding children including interpretation of policy.

Undertake audits of practice and with the senior leadership team and named professionals co-lead on trust wide Section 11 and Joint Targeted Area Inspection preparation and response for the Trust.

Foster effective working relationships to promote inter-disciplinary and multi-agency collaboration and be an active member of multi-agency safeguarding groups.

Contribute to strategic planning by participating in multiagency partnership groups and be responsible for keeping the Safeguarding Senior Leadership Team informed of practice changes and resource implications.

Be an advocate for children using and promoting Think Family approaches across all services;

To have oversight of and be involved in complex cases, strategy discussions, and multiagency meetings supporting NBT staff to share information and advocate for children and families.

Work with the Matron for the Emergency Department to maintain a high level of focus on child safeguarding activity for the Division.

Work collaboratively with the Named Midwife, Named Doctors and Named Professional for Adult Safeguarding to ensure an all-age approach to safeguarding across the organisation.

Identify opportunities for collaboration with UHBW safeguarding Named Professionals and develop and maintain wider networks across the Integrated Care System.

Work with Designated Professionals in the ICB where system collaboration has been identified and for cases where complex information sharing within health is required.

line manage staff including recruitment, development, and performance.

Person Specification

Education/Training/Qualifications

• NMC registration as a Children's Nurse OR NMC registered as a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (HV/SHN)
• Completed post-registration training safeguarding children
• Be currently practising in the field of safeguarding at a senior level with extensive experience of child safeguarding and protection roles
• Teaching qualification

Work Experience

• Be currently practising in the field of safeguarding at a senior level with extensive experience of child safeguarding and protection roles
• Demonstrable experience of supporting staff to recognise, assess and refer safeguarding children concerns3
• Experience of multiagency and multiprofessional working within statutory safeguarding frameworks
• Experience of providing line management and development of staff
• Experience of service leadership

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Expert level knowledge of statutory frameworks relating to child safeguarding and protection including Children in Care
• Highly articulate with advanced written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to interpret policy, research and wider information into training and supervision content that supports improving practice in health settings
• Teaching and presentation skills
• Ability to challenge practice with a focus on improving outcomes for children and quality improvement of service

Personal Qualities/Special Circumstances

• Able to work with interruptions and the need to re-prioritise workload
• Able to work alongside team members and trust wide colleagues to develop safeguarding practice in others
• Able to travel within the working day to attend external meetings
• Actively promotes well being and support recognising the impact of child safeguarding on colleagues and self

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.

Interim Associate Director of Safeguarding