Our Ambitions for Children and Young People in our Care
Middlesbrough Council Children's Services leaders have created a video to explain their aspirations for children and young people in our care. It is important that we are there to support our young people, and that our young people know we have their backs!
You can see the video here:
Meet the Team
Our Practice Model for Young People and Families
Hello Everyone,
In Middlesbrough we have been working hard to develop our Social Care Practice Model, Children and Relationships First. Our model is built on our commitment to keep children safe, happy and well, and ensure that at all times Middlesbrough children know they matter. It’s our passion to deliver a service that children experience as good, or outstanding. The model is a strengths based and relational approach. We respect that families are experts in their own lives so we engage the whole family, not leaving anyone out.
This video has been put together to make sure Children and Young People hear about or commitment to them and know what they can expect from us.
- Sue Butcher, Executive Director of Children's Services
Read our new Practice Standards here!Minding our Ps and Q!
Middlesbrough Children's Services are committed to deliver the best service for our children. We are doing this by minding our Ps and Q. Our Ps are:
- Practice
- Participation
- People
- Partnerships
- Permanency
The Q is Quality, and is embedded in everything we do!
See our poster for more detail!
Children's Care- Our Learning and Development Offer for Staff!
As an organisation, Middlesbrough Council are committed to the professional development of all of its staff.
In Children’s Care we have created our new Learning and Development Offer which encompasses a wide variety of training opportunities to ensure that employees are equipped with the skills and knowledge to meet the demands of their roles.
Middlesbrough Council Children's Services Staff Training Calendar!
Do you work for Middlesbrough Council Children's Services and want to know about the training we have on offer? You've come to the right place! We have a training calendar for 2021-2022 for our staff. It gives you all the dates and topics that you can use to improve practice and keep making sure we are showing Middlesbrough Children that they Matter!
You can find our Training Calendar Here!Join our team
Do Middlesbrough Children Matter to you?
Pride, determination and aspirational – words that describe the Middlesbrough Children’s Services work force who are motivated by wanting to help others and making a positive difference with children and families lives.
Middlesbrough Children’s Services are interested to hear from people who work in the following areas:
- Experienced Early Help Workers who aspire to be Social Workers
- Experienced Social Workers with an understanding of contextual safeguarding
- Adults who would like to help children and young people by being their Foster Carer
- Adults who have space in their homes who would like to care children and young people by offering supported supported accommodation
The Centre For Practice Excellence is made up of 4 components
The Centre for Practice Excellence is central to defining Middlesbrough Children’s Services workforce as a community in which Children Matter. The commitment to moving forward and making a difference in Professional Practice will be achieved by.
The Centre For Practice Excellence is made up of 4 components that show our determination, pride and commitment to moving forward and making a difference in Professional Practice:
- Practice Academy
- Practice Hub
- Practice Model & Tools
- Quality Assurance
These 4 components help us to have the following:
- Has the voice and lived experiences of children at the heart of everything we do
- Brings together Middlesbrough’s strategy to improve the quality of social work practice
- Brings clarity and confidence to the workforce
- Creates a dynamic space for learning for all staff
- Establishes new ways of working with children and families in Middlesbrough to improve outcomes
- Promotes innovation and links with the other learning and research bodies (Universities, Community Care Inform, The What Works for Children's Care Centre and Social Work Institute for Excellence)
- The Practice Academy is our commitment to our students and newly qualified staff and Ensures that they get the best possible start in their social work careers and the best possible support to learn and develop
- The Practice Hub brings Practice Leaders and Champions together to develop expertise and resources from the ‘Knowledge Bank’ to support the Children’s Services workforce
- Has quality assurance driving all we do to measure impact and allow is to continuously improve
- Asks children, young people and their families what works for them
- Promotes integration and reduces ‘silo’ working
- The Centre for Practice Excellence Team ensure that all of the Children’s Services workforce are part of it
- Promotes how effectively we work with the partner services
Practice Academy
In Middlesbrough Children’s Services we value the learning and development of our staff and this is reflected in our Assessed & Supported Year of Employment (ASYE) for Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSWs).
Practice Academy
The ASYE Programme is part of the Centre of Excellence where NQSWs will be provided a 12 month curriculum of learning as part of their ASYE. Through weekly sessions there will be a strong focus on providing NQSWS high quality learning focused on the Knowledge and Skills Statements to ensure a solid foundation in the first year of employment. All designed to improve outcomes for children and young people of Middlesbrough and show Middlesbrough Children they Matter.
The learning sessions include guest speakers from within the organisation, partner agencies, underpinned by input from individuals with lived experience. There is a strong emphasis on reflective practice and learning through being curious and receiving constructive feedback on their work. The child’s journey and developing best practice for exploring and understanding the child’s world are central to the ASYE curriculum.
By the end of their ASYE an NQSW in Middlesbrough will have had a wide range of learning experiences and be a confident practitioner with a high level of knowledge and skill which will be evidenced through their portfolio. This will be a record of their achievement which will be celebrated and built upon at the start of their career journey with Middlesbrough Children’s Services and showing Middlesbrough Children they Matter.
Centre for Practice Excellence
Practice Hub
The Practice Hub brings Practice Leaders and Champions together to develop resources that support practice and engage the workforce in improving the quality of professional practice. The Practice Hub is home to the Knowledge Bank. The Knowledge Bank is easily accessible to practitioners and holds a collection of good practice guidance. The Knowledge Bank is home to the best resources available and disseminates them within the teams and across the services.
Practice Model and Tools
Our Practice Model and tools gives everyone working in children’s services a collaborative and consistent way of working by using Children’s Services non-Negotiables and provocations.
Quality Assurance
Children’s Services takes pride in showing Middlesbrough children that they matter by using quality assurance to recognise strengths in service delivery and show how determined we are to constantly learn, reflect and improve outcomes for children and young people. Take a look to see what Children’s Services are doing to make sure we strive to do our very best to show Middlesbrough Children that they matter.
