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The Linkworker’s role within residential childcare is a fundamental element of our work with children and young people. The role itself encompasses a wide range of duties and responsibilities that are crucial to the young person’s placement and their eventual move on.
The most important aspect of the Linkworker’s role is the development of a positive, meaningful and therapeutic relationship with the young person. Relationships should be built on trust, respect and genuineness for the care and wellbeing of the young person. A Linkworker is instrumental in enabling children and young people to move on into adulthood and you have the opportunity to stand out in the minds of these young people as being key people in their lives. Being positive role model in a young person’s childhood experience is a real privilege, so invest in your relationships with young people as it can pay massive dividends. It is the best tool in your social care tool bag!
As a Linkworker you are responsible for liaising with a wide range of professionals and agencies involved with the young people. This can be a useful tool not only in gathering necessary information, but sharing information, ideas and suggestions about how you can work together to enhance the young people in your care. Also maintaining regular contact with these agencies enables you to monitor progress and ensures that the young person is receiving the right services to meet their needs; for example, you should maintain weekly contact with the social worker and family (if appropriate) and other interested parties.
Assessing the needs of the children and young people we care for is not a one-off event. An assessment is a living document, which continues to grow, change and develop, like the children and young people we work with! Therefore young people’s needs change and this should be continually reflected in your assessment. The Linkworker needs to be acutely aware of these changes and should work closely with other professionals, agencies and families (where appropriate) to ensure that these needs are identified and met through careful planning.
Care planning in residential childcare is best achieved through the use if your relationship with the young person, networking with other agencies to ensure you have the right information and the young person is receiving the right services and a thorough assessment, which clearly identifies needs, strengths and the aspirations of the young person. A successful care plan is also a living document, which changes and develops, as with the needs, wishes and circumstances of the young person. The Linkworker should be acutely aware of this and ensure that the young person is fully involved in this process. As a Linkworker, you are not just planning for the young people for the future, but with the young people for their future.
As a Linkworker, you are responsible for advocating on behalf of the young people you are working with. Advocacy is extremely important for ensuring that the rights of young people are upheld and that their views and wishes are not only listened to, but also acted upon.
Advocacy should not be applicable just some of the time, but should underpin all the work you do with young people, even if this means disagreeing with your colleagues to ensure that the needs of the young person are met!
We all have different views on what constitutes as ‘link work sessions’. For some people it is about addressing concerns or issues with young people, for others it is about enjoying 1:1 time with their link child discussing anything from their music collection to their hopes, wishes and fears for the future. Link work sessions are about all of that and much, much more.
Link work sessions should be about spending quality time with your link child to promote your relationship, to make them feel safe, valued and listened to. They are designed to enable young people to have the opportunity to share their fears, discuss their problems and plans for the future, whether this is a simple outing with their friends or a possible return home or potential foster placement.
These sessions should be used for everything from concerns about behaviour or personal hygiene to ascertaining what new hobbies they want to pursue or clothes they need or want to buy. How can you as a Linkworker advocate for a young person without taking the time to find out what the young person needs or want?
These sessions should not focus purely on raising concerns with the young people, as they end up becoming negative experiences and the young people will be less likely to want to engage in any future sessions with you. Therefore the sessions should be meaningful and productive and should always end on a positive note.
Some young people may approach other members of staff when Linkworkers are absent or if they feel ‘more comfortable’ in discussing a particular issue. This should always be encouraged and Linkworkers should not take it personally if a young person choices to confide in another member of staff. This should then be fully recorded and shared with the Linkworker (in agreement with the young person).
You can’t do too many link work sessions, as some people may require or want more than others, for example, a young person who is new to The Croft may require more sessions to alleviate any anxieties etc. However, as a general rule, link work sessions should take place once every two weeks. Link work sessions are a fantastic opportunity to work with young people, so use them!
The sessions should be fully recorded, not just to evidence that they are taking place, but to aid the assessment and care planning process.
The recording should include:
The key to effective link working partnerships with your colleagues is communication! The responsibilities for link working are vast, which I have detailed further on in the guidance notes.
To ensure that you are truly ‘working together’ for the best interests of the young person you are link working, you need to make sure that you meet regularly, share information, concerns, tasks and agree on who’s doing what!
The most effective way for this is to ensure that you meet with your co-Linkworker once a month. This time should be protected and used to review assessments, care plan and update the young person’s file accordingly. It is crucial that you use this time to plan for the coming month, for example, if a young person has a meeting or review coming up within the next month, you should discuss and agree who will attend? It is also important that you each share the link working responsibilities, for example agreeing to take one link work session each?
If you are required to compile a report for the young person’s review, this is the opportunity for you both to meet and discuss and compile the report together. If this is not feasible, then agree what aspects of the report you will each do etc. the reports should be of high standard and follow the guidance provided (see attachments). Once you have completed your report, the manager or deputy manager should check and sign them to ensure a consistent approach.
Once this has been done, it must be recorded. This is useful evidence that the system is working and that each Linkworker ‘knows where they are’. This can then be filed in the young person’s file and will be helpful toll for you to keep up to date with each other!
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