Level 5 senior strategic lead/designated doctor and nurse job description

Appendix 1: Role and job description resources for safeguarding children and young people health care staff

All health care staff need education, support, and leadership, both locally and nationally, to fulfil their duties to meet the safeguarding needs of children and young people.

The role description below should be read in conjunction with levels 4 and 5 competencies. Significant expertise, knowledge and skills related to health and outcomes for safeguarding is a pre-requisite for senior posts.

It should be acknowledged that it would be very difficult to accurately data capture time spent in these multifaceted leadership roles. The principles of responsibility and accountability are not restricted to outcome data and model job roles cannot be too prescriptive. Statutory duties must be met. Each health system area of practice must have senior leadership in place as safeguarding children and young people and children and young people in care are integral in general population health needs. Considering a public health approach and long-term planning every intervention for these cohorts of children and young people are also influencing what happens to the adult population of the future and cannot be quantified.

This description should be read in conjunction with level 5 competencies, outlined within the document.

It should be noted that:

• the level 5 senior strategic lead/designated professional are distinct roles and as such must be separate post holders to avoid potential conflict
• these roles are dedicated posts and should not be combined with responsibilities for children and young people in care.

The generic model job descriptions can be amended as appropriate according to national and local context.

The senior strategic lead/designated role is to assist service planning and advise the commissioning ICB, Health Board or equivalent in fulfilling their responsibilities as a commissioner of services to improve safeguarding of children and young people.

Any job description should be jointly agreed by the local commissioning/service planning organisation for safeguarding, the health organisation from which the doctor or nurse is employed, if different, and the relevant local authority.

The role is intended to be a strategic one, separate from any responsibilities for safeguarding individual children and young people. For medical professionals, the senior doctor may have a role in clinical management e.g. providing child protection medicals, lead for FII cases, as the role is often incorporated as part of a full-time consultant post and based within a provider.

The post holder must have an enhanced disclosure check. These professional posts comprise a regulated activity under the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) (for England and Wales), Disclosure Scotland (for Scotland) and Access Northern Ireland (for Northern Ireland).

The level 5 senior strategic lead/designated doctor should:

• ideally be in post (or recently in post) as a level 4 senior/named doctor, for a substantive amount of time, and able to demonstrate through experience, training, and feedback the competencies and skills required for the role
• have undergone additional training in paediatrics including adolescent health
• have extensive experience in the field of safeguarding/child protection and substantial understanding and ability to interpret and advise on the legislation relating to children and young people, and the court process
• have proven negotiating and strategic

The level 5 senior strategic lead/designated nurse should:

• be a senior nurse or health visitor with the expectation that the post would be within the Band 8 range (the role would be subject to the usual Agenda for Change Job Evaluation process)
• have completed specific training in the care of babies/children and young people and be registered on either Part 1 of the NMC register as a registered children’s nurse, or Part 3 as a specialist community public health nurse having completed a specific programme with a child and family focus
• have completed specific relevant post-registration training and planning or completing higher level training e.g. at Masters level or equivalent
• have substantial clinical professional training and experience relating to the care of babies/children and young people
• be currently practising in the field of safeguarding/child protection
• understand and be able to interpret and advise on legislation relating to children and young people
• have an understanding of forensic medicine
• have proven negotiating and leadership skills.

• at all times and in relation to the roles and responsibilities listed, lead and support all activities necessary to ensure that organisations across the health community meet their responsibilities for safeguarding children and young people
• advise and support all specialist safeguarding children and young people professionals across the health community
• be responsible to and accountable within the managerial framework of the employing organisation

The senior health professionals will work together to fulfil the following functions:

• be a member/adviser of the Local Safeguarding Partnership Board or equivalents in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, the safeguarding panel of the health and social care provider/the child protection committee
• serve, as appropriate, on the sub-committees of the /the safeguarding panel of the health and social care trust/the child protection committee
• provide safeguarding/child protection health advice on policy and individual cases to statutory and voluntary agencies, including the police and children’s social care
• liaise with local education and training boards (LETBs)/Deaneries and local education providers to ensure appropriate expert involvement and safeguarding/child protection content within pre-registration, undergraduate, and postgraduate education and training programmes to provide students with the best opportunity for learning and development in safeguarding children

• provide advice to organisations across health care services on questions of planning, strategy, and commissioning with regards to safeguarding/child protection (extends to services for adults who pose risks to children), including ensuring appropriate performance indicators are in place
• advise and contribute to the development of practice guidance and policies for all health care staff and ensure that performance against these is appropriately audited
• provide advice about safeguarding/child protection risks (including any deficiencies or vulnerable areas in service provision) to organisations across health care services via a health representatives group
• ensure expert advice from professionals with specialist experience and knowledge of policy and procedures and on the daily management of children, young people, and families is available to all health specialties in organisations delivering health care services
• provide advice (direct and indirect) to colleagues on the assessment, treatment, and clinical services for all forms of child maltreatment including but not limited to FII, child sexual abuse, honour-based violence, trafficking, and within the Prevent strategy.

• work with specialist and level 5 senior strategic lead/designated professionals to ensure that the health care organisation has relevant policies and procedures in line with legislation and national guidance
• contribute to the dissemination and implementation of organisational policies and procedures
• contribute to monitoring the quality and effectiveness of services, including monitoring performance against indicators and standards
• support and present data collated against key performance indicators (KPIs) and national requests
• encourage case discussion, reflective practice, and the monitoring of significant events at a local level

• provide advice to all organisations across the health community on the implementation of an effective system of safeguarding/child protection audit, training, and supervision
• provide advice on monitoring of elements of safeguarding contracts, service level agreements and commissioned services to ensure the quality of provision for safeguarding children and young people. KPIs and data collection for national returns are included but there should also be interpretation and presentation of data to health systems senior management
• provide advice on clinical governance and standards to level 4 senior/named professionals
• provide advice to the chief executive of the employing health care organisation (either directly or via identified structures or level 5 senior strategic lead/designated personnel such as the medical director, nurse director or children’s lead) about their responsibilities to ensure that performance indicators in relation to safeguarding/child protection are met, and that there are adequate resources for level 4 senior/named and level 5 senior strategic lead/designated professionals to carry out their roles effectively

• advise ICBs and Health Boards on training needs and the delivery of training for all health care staff across the health community
• play an active part in the planning and delivery of multidisciplinary and multi-agency training for all health care staff and professionals
• provide advice including case-focused support and supervision for health care staff at all levels within organisations across the health community that deliver health care services to children and young people
• produce a supervision strategy for the health community which provides direction and options for supervision models, as appropriate to need
• provide supervision for safeguarding children and young people’s level 4 senior/named specialist professionals across the health community, or ensure they are receiving appropriate supervision from elsewhere

• attend relevant regional and national continuing professional development activities in order to maintain knowledge and skills; this includes meeting professional organisation requirements as well as receiving specific training that relates to specialist activities
• receive supervision from outside the employing organisation (this should be funded by the employing organisation and be provided by someone with relevant expertise)

• receive annual appraisal, which should be undertaken by someone of appropriate seniority with relevant understanding such as a board level director with responsibility for safeguarding children and young people, medical or nurse director and/or via an equivalent arrangement as agreed locally; when appraisal is delivered within a health provider, opinion and feedback related to the senior strategic lead should be obtained from a system leader colleague and incorporated; for nurses, midwives, health visitors and relevant health care staff, reference should be made to the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework; this may require input from another level 5 senior strategic lead/designated professional from the same discipline from another locality

• level 5 senior strategic lead/designated professionals should be performance managed in relation to their designated functions by a person of appropriate seniority such as a board level director who has executive responsibility for safeguarding children as part of their portfolio of responsibilities
• be accountable to the chief executive of their employing body

• should have the authority to carry out all the above duties on behalf of the employing body and be supported in so doing by the organisation and by colleagues

• professional roles should be explicitly defined in job descriptions, and sufficient time and funding should be allowed to fulfil specialist responsibilities effectively
• the time required to undertake the tasks in this job description will depend on the size and needs of the population, the number of staff, the number of health care organisations covered by the role, and the level of development of local structures, process, and functions
• the employing body should supply dedicated and effective secretarial support
• given the stressful nature of the work, the employing body must ensure that focused supervision and support is provided; organisations should put in place formal arrangements which may include other level 5 senior strategic lead/designated doctors or nurses from other trusts/employing organisations to provide supervision/peer review for each other

The tables and related data below are a minimum guide to the resources required for the roles. These have not been updated from the last edition.

Level 5 senior strategic lead/designated nurse for safeguarding children and young people

Personal development

• attend relevant regional and national continuing professional development activities in order to maintain knowledge and skills; this includes meeting professional organisation requirements as well as receiving specific training that relates to specialist activities
• receive supervision from outside the employing organisation (this should be funded by the employing organisation and be provided by someone with relevant expertise)

Appraisal

• receive annual appraisal, which should be undertaken by someone of appropriate seniority with relevant understanding such as a board level director with responsibility for safeguarding children and young people, medical or nurse director and/or via an equivalent arrangement as agreed locally; when appraisal is delivered within a health provider, opinion and feedback related to the senior strategic lead should be obtained from a system leader colleague and incorporated; for nurses, midwives, health visitors and relevant health care staff, reference should be made to the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework; this may require input from another level 5 senior strategic lead/designated professional from the same discipline from another locality

Accountability

• level 5 senior strategic lead/designated professionals should be performance managed in relation to their designated functions by a person of appropriate seniority such as a board level director who has executive responsibility for safeguarding children as part of their portfolio of responsibilities
• be accountable to the chief executive of their employing body

 Authority

• should have the authority to carry out all the above duties on behalf of the employing body and be supported in so doing by the organisation and by colleagues

Resources required for post

• professional roles should be explicitly defined in job descriptions, and sufficient time and funding should be allowed to fulfil specialist responsibilities effectively
• the time required to undertake the tasks in this job description will depend on the size and needs of the population, the number of staff, the number of health care organisations covered by the role, and the level of development of local structures, process, and functions
• the employing body should supply dedicated and effective secretarial support
• given the stressful nature of the work, the employing body must ensure that focused supervision and support is provided; organisations should put in place formal arrangements which may include other level 5 senior strategic lead/designated doctors or nurses from other trusts/employing organisations to provide supervision/peer review for each other

The tables and related data below are a minimum guide to the resources required for the roles. These have not been updated from the last edition.