Practice Educator

Sutton Council
Sutton
Permanent
Full Time
9
36
£46,041 - £54,129 (£56,172 unconsolidated maximum)
Per annum
27 days

29/01/2023, 23:55

w/c 30th January 2023

In Sutton, there is much for us to be proud of both as a council and as a borough. This includes high levels of resident satisfaction, the quality of our services, our success in addressing our financial challenges to date, the way that we involve and engage with residents on key issues facing the borough, and the enthusiastic and motivated staff that we employ. 

Looking ahead, there are plans for the delivery of new homes and new schools and the London Cancer Hub is being developed, while the Council is also seen as a driving force within the South London Partnership of five outer south west London boroughs focused on strategic growth, regeneration and investment.

All of this demonstrates a good track record and an authority that is ambitious and set to deliver more improvements for the borough. We've set out our vision for the future of Sutton in our corporate plan - Ambitious for Sutton. This strategic plan will shape the outcomes we achieve, the services we provide, and the impact we have on residents, to make Sutton a great place to live, work and raise a family.

Situated in Zone 5, Sutton is less than 30 minutes by train from central London, and south and south west London are easily accessible by public transport. There are 10 train stations which serve key neighbourhoods within the borough providing direct connections to London Victoria, London Bridge, London Blackfriars and St Pancras International. Sutton also has direct rail connections with Epsom, Dorking, Guildford and Horsham, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and West Croydon for the London Overground. There’s also an extensive road network which provides close and easy access to the M25 and M23.

Recruitment and Retention Package at Sutton including a Golden Hello and Retention Bonus

As of 1st September 2022, all new recruits to selected roles within Children’s Health Services shall receive a starting salary similar to the NHS. For example a newly recruited Specialist Health Visitor at Sutton would be placed at a mid range spinal point (SP 39) of Grade 9,  closely matching the NHS pay scale for the same role. The current LBS figure would be £47,805 to offset the NHS entry figure of £46,836. 

As part of our Recruitment and Retention Bonus and to support our colleagues with the rising costs of living, we have introduced additional benefits to make the role as competitive as possible:

  • New recruits to selected roles within Children’s Health Services are entitled to the NHS passport scheme. This is the transfer of your continuous service from your previous employer so staff don't lose the benefit you may have acquired due to long service
  • Staff within selected roles within Children’s Health Services will receive a “Golden Hello”, a one off payment of £1,500 when joining, paid in your first months’ salary and a Retention Bonus of £1,500 after completing 2 years service.

Practice Educator

Salary £47,805 - £51,903 (unconsolidated maximum £53,946)

Practice Educators at Sutton are responsible for promoting high standards of care through the demonstration of clinical expertise and leading the creation of a clinical environment that encourages learning and professional and practice development in partnership with senior clinical staff. The delivery will contribute to the success of the Children, Young People, Women & Families Clinical Care Group.  This will require innovation and may include participation in the development of Clinical Care Group policies and guidance, supporting and implementing changes to local services. You will work as a part of a team of practice educators facilitating the induction, clinical mandatory updates and continuing professional development for all levels of nursing and community nursery nurses in the 0-19 team.

Practice Educators at Sutton work within a designated area of practice in public health nursing (School Nursing or Health Visiting) so experience in working in these environments is important in understanding the nature of the work we do.   In addition ,you will be required to liaise with the relevant education providers to ensure that communication between education and practice is maintained. They must also:

  • Be professionally accountable in line with current legislation and the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2018)
  • Work in partnership with existing voluntary and statutory networks in line with Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC)
  • Undertake area wide portfolios of work related to children & families as defined by the 0-19 Service manager.

Childrens Health Service

Our Cheam and South Sutton, Carshalton, Wallington and Central Sutton Specialist Public Health service teams improve outcomes for our children, focusing in particular on improving school readiness, mental health and well-being and our SEND provision.

Our clinical leadership to the School Nursing or Health Visitor workforce is dependent on the specialist pathway within the Clinical Care Group community sites to deliver frontline professional and operational priorities, develop Specialist Community Public Health Nurses and the existing workforce and support the 0-19 Service manager to ensure the safe, effective and person centred care of Children, Young People, Women & Families across the borough.

The service also delivers the Healthy Child Programme for children aged 0 - 19 year. We work closely with the iHV and offer the exceptional benefit of  annual membership for our staff. Our service prides itself in active partnership working with the iHV; staff members are encouraged to submit articles related to innovation and evidence-based practice where opportunities arise.

In addition to the above, we offer staff comprehensive training  and encourage everyone to undertake personal development opportunities whether in leadership, specialist training around speech and language, children with extra needs,  perinatal mental health, alongside personal preferences expressed by individuals to progress their interests and careers. Innovation and ambition are strongly encouraged. We pride ourselves in hearing  staff voices in improving our service provision to the benefit of our resident population here in Sutton.

For more information on the role and the service, please download the Candidate Pack which can be found towards the bottom of the page. For an informal discussion, feel free to contact the Children's Health Team - Jenny Giles, Head of Children's Service (Jenny.Giles@sutton.gov.uk) or Jean Crate, Service Manager (jean.crate@sutton.gov.uk)

To be successful in the role, we would expect all candidates to demonstrate the following competences:

  • Educated to Degree level and registered Nurse with active Nurse and Midwifery Council registration.
  • Specialist Practitioner qualification in Health Visiting 
  • Robust understanding of Child and Adult Protection agenda demonstrated through work experience, CPD or qualification.
  • Evidence of continuous professional development including Practice Teacher or NMC Teacher qualification preferred alongside PGCE qualification.
  • Highly developed specialist knowledge underpinned by theoretical knowledge and relevant practical experience.

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across - however big or small - will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

In addition, we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff, supported by our IT infrastructure, including Google Chromebooks and Google Apps.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

  • Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
  • Flexi-time (Please note, this applies to roles at grades 1-9 only)
  • Comprehensive learning and development programme
  • Local and national discounts for shopping, eating out and leisure activities
  • Interest free season ticket loans
  • Local Government Pension Scheme
  • Car parking scheme
  • Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
  • Zip car scheme
  • Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
  • Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
  • Subsidised gym membership

Please apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.

To support our diversity agenda and reduce the risk of bias in our recruitment activities, our short listing process completely anonymises personal information that can identify job applicants e.g. name, title etc. Our hiring managers review and short list applications based on the information provided as part of your application as to how well you meet the requirements and criteria for the role, as outlined in the job profile.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

We pride ourselves on being a diverse, inclusive and welcoming Borough and we aim to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve. We are respectful of difference and realise the positive value of diversity in our workforce. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and disabled candidates, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce. As part of our Disability Confident Committed status, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role.

We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.

Important Information - Criminal Records
This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory result to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. It replaces the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).

This opportunity is closed to applications.