Here you will gain an understanding of the key documents that are the most important when it comes to your role as a key worker
Important Documents
Key Working Codex
The Key Working Codex is a clear and detailed guide on what sessions need to be carried out with each young person. Each young person should have a copy of the codex in their folder and staff should fill this out by detailing the date this was completed under each section/session in the codex. This document ties in closely with the independent skills assessment. Each section that is completed should have a corresponding mentoring form detailing exactly what was completed.
Independent Skills Assessment
The Independent Skills Assessment (ISA) is a document that details the key skills each young person should have, to be considered "independent". It is the role of the key worker to be able to go through these skills, highlight the person's current ability to carry them out and teach them the skills, or increase their current skill level. These should be marked off on the ISA that is in the young person's folder, highlighting the rating of their ability and the date of the assessed skill component. A corresponding Mentoring sheet should be filled out with each session complete.
You should revisit the skills in this assessment at several points throughout the young person's placement to ensure they have really understood and mastered the skill.
UNDERSTANDING MENTORING
In addition to the structured key working sessions where staff will work with young people on things that aid them towards independence and support them in their placement, Staff and young People may do additional activities that allow them to boost self-confidence, and achieve enjoyment through recreation.
Some of these activities would be used as a means to help the young person understand the world around them and develop emotional maturity and empathy such as volunteering activities. Other activities would be used as a reward or special activities. And some activities are just leisurely things that can be done with young people to get to know them or get them to engage in activities that would help them to gain confidence, open up to, and build a good rapport with their mentor.
These Activities Could Be:
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Baking
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Football
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Sports at Community and sport centres
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Walks through the park
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Art therapy
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Obstacle courses
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Bowling
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Cinema Trips
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Meals out
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Laser Tag
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Volunteering at homeless shelters
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Volunteering at elderly care homes
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Amusement parks
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Go Karting
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Swimming
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Learning new skills e.g. an instrument
More Important Forms and Info
Incident Forms
Some situations classify as incidents. Incidents could be broken down into, acts of aggression, disturbances or disagreements, vandalism and property damage, attempts at harm to others or self or situations which have caused emotional distress.
Incidents require you to fill out forms detailing what happened leading up to the incident, what the incident itself was, who was involved and what agencies it was reported to (including reference numbers and names/badge numbers). You need to be able to explain the facts of the situation how it was resolved and the action points and things to consider moving forward.
After every incident the risk assessment should be updated to give further instructions on how risks against this recurring can be mitigated.
The Chronology should be updated to reflect the incident.
Accident and Injury Forms
Accidents Happen, its just important to record them when they do, all accidents and injuries should be recorded on an accident and injury form, marking what caused the accident, what part of a person was injured, who attended to the injury and who was present at the time, if the person involved needed to be taken to A&E or the ambulance was called.
All of the necessary information would also need to be recorded in the Accident Log book at the placement and any items from the 1st aid box used, would need to be recorded.
This incident would need to be recorded in the chronology if a young person is injured and reported to HR if s staff member is injured.
Front Sheets
Each young Person has a front sheet in their file which NEEDS TO BE COMPLETED. This contains key information that you will need to know about a young person in situations where they go missing for example or when you need to book appointments.
Their personal details such as name, contact numbers, date of birth, an image, distinguishing features, height and build. It should contain details of their borough, main risks, their social worker, other details for professionals in their lives, e.g. CAHMS, virtual School.
You would need to add details of their doctors dentists and opticians and also any details of their school, college, apprenticeships, placements or work
On this form should also be detains of any parents, close friends and relatives and an understanding on the scope of the relationship. e.g., YP's parent is not allowed unsupervised contact with YP for fear of emotional harm. or YP is authorised to spend weekends at Parent's home.
Missing Policy and Reports
Missing policies are very important to understand for staff. You need to be able to identify what classifies as a missing young person and how to appropriately respond to a missing young person.
All young people are free to come and go, as long as they are back by their curfew, this varies from person to person but is normally no later than 11:00pm (the curfew is set or agreed by their social worker and should be in the young person's file).
If the young person doesn't come home at 11pm, call them and see where they are if they are on the way home no further actions required unless they do not arrive and become unreachable
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If the young person states that they are not coming home that day and it wasn't pre - agreed get an address from them, ask to speak to someone who can verify where they are staying, and have the young person send their live location. Simply call managers and let them know.
If the young person isn't contactable, we report them missing by calling 101 ensuring we receive and note down a CAD number and then inform the young Person's EDT. A missing report form should be filled and the incident recorded in the log and the chronology. no further action required.
If a young person isn't home by curfew but he is in communication with you, you don't have to report them missing or absent until half an hour after you're unable to reach them anymore.
If a young person hasn't informed you that they aren't coming home today and to your knowledge it wasn’t previously planned and agreed with other staff members or social worker. But after communicating with them they are willing to tell you where they will be staying e.g. they send you an area, or a postcode, or a road name, or someone we are already familiar with or already know to be there associate such as at my "grandma’s house" or at my "boyfriends house" or at "my parents’ house" 1) try to speak to someone there to verify that they indeed are there. If that's verified, then you only need to report it to their boroughs EDT as unauthorised absence. If you aren't able to speak to someone but they gave you an address it is still unauthorised absence, and you report it to EDT.
Missing incidents have their own type of report form and require you to complete return interviews. Police may attend the property to do a room search etc.
once a young person has returned to the placement you must let the social worker and the police know.
