Introduction

Helpful services may exist, but if few people hear about them they will have little effect.

The Children’s Information Service (CIS) aims to provide information about early years education, family support, childcare and play provision services which are accessible and affordable for 0-14 year olds. Outreach development workers concentrate on ensuring that the information gets to the people who will benefit.

The post is found in all types of authority except district councils.

Work Environment

Outreach workers are, by definition, employed to reach out to the community in a direct way and much of their work will focus on family homes or education and play centres used by the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships (EYDCP).

A degree of flexibility is needed in terms of where outreach workers may work and the kind of role they may be asked to play. Some local car travel will be required. The hours are 37 per week, with some anti-social shifts from time to time.

Daily Activities

The work involves getting access to hard to reach communities – including parents, providers and other professionals – to tell them about early years and childcare services. The CIS is a focal point for co-ordinating, analysing and disseminating this information. There are 4 areas of service that will benefit children up to the age of 14. Family support and information

• under 5s social work team – assesses children in need and sets up support packages including counselling and advice about buying educational and social services in both the private and public sectors
• family support worker team – provides support in the family home tailored to individual needs (in-house education and stimulation when it seems necessary, helping with truanting etc) assisted by social workers
• CIS.

Early years team Children and Family and Early Years Centres provide a range of educational and support services to meet a variety of family needs:

• family group work – parents and children attend together and look at areas of difficulty and try to find solutions
• community groups – open to all members of the public to share experiences
• children’s groups – provide integrated education, care and family support for children in need such as those with difficult domestic circumstances, autism and attention deficit disorder
• outreach work – usually in the family’s home
• nursery schools – early education for three and four year olds during term time, which also extends to day provision for children whose parents are working or training
• sessional projects – for three-five year olds with special needs
• childminding network – supports, trains and monitors the quality of childminders for parents
• advisory teacher – oversees all the services and ensures good practice models, materials and systems are in place.

Play team The team manages out of school services provided by the council and commissions and develops offers from other agencies and businesses:

• summer holiday schemes – sometimes organized in partnership with the voluntary sector
• STEPS – a specialist all year round service catering for children and young people with learning difficulties
• log cabins – an open access adventure playground providing after-school and holiday play.

Development team Works with the EYDCP and the CIS to make sure all the schemes work and are available to as many as possible. The outreach worker has a close working contact with the team. As part of their task to disseminate information about these services, outreach development workers keep a comprehensive database of childcare information linked to a national database and website. They will also develop new information points. This will entail collecting relevant and up-to- date information by word of mouth, in printed and electronic form (e-mail, the internet) and making it available to the public, head teachers, school governors, teaching staff, council members and external agencies like NSPCC and other care organisations. The day to day administrative tasks outreach workers undertake include word processing, photocopying, faxing, record-keeping, filing, maintaining a diary, dealing with correspondence and collating documents (letters, reports etc). They also deal with enquiries and advise customers on the most beneficial service for their particular needs. Other duties include:

• assisting the development team and other senior colleagues with exhibitions, presentations and meetings to promote the CIS
• arranging and attending working party meetings to promote the CIS and keep up to date with new developments in the service
• helping to track down clients who might benefit from what is on offer.

Skills & Interests

You would need to be able to:

• communicate clearly, verbally and in written form, including report writing
• respect confidentiality
• give presentations
• work on your own initiative as well as part of a team
• liaise effectively with other sections of the council and external agencies
• be sensitive to individual needs
• motivate staff
• gather and disseminate information to all service users
• sign post as required
• show you have a caring nature.

Entry Requirements

A good general education is essential.

Experience of liaising with a variety of organizations and individuals, developing outreach services and of working in an ‘information-giving’ and customer care environment is essential.

You would also be expected to have knowledge of the Data Protection Act, of Early Years and Play Service and the EYDCP.

Estimated salary range

£19,230 – £21,177

Please note that salary information is a guide only and there may be local agreements in place. For further information about salaries for particular positions, please contact your local council directly.

Future prospects & opportunities

This is a growing area with exciting challenges. The concept of education and social service professionals working in partnership with families for the sake of children is being developed in most authorities. Continuing Professional Development is standard.

Outreach development workers can progress to information assistant and to information and administration manager with further training and experience. There are also posts in other aspects of the Early Years and Play Service and in social work with the appropriate qualifications.

Related Occupations

Follow this link to view a list of all related occuptions in Caring For Your Community.
Alternatively, follow this link to view all career profiles placed in the same job area.

Further Information & Services

Community Care journal

Information on paid and voluntary opportunities in youth work is available from the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services.

General Social Care Council www.gscc.org.uk

Care Council for Wales www.ccwales.org.uk

Northern Ireland Social Care Council www.niscc.info

Scottish Social Services Council www.sssc.uk.com

Social Care Association www.socialcareassociation.co.uk

National Training Organisation for Social Work/Social Care www.topssengland.net

Community Service Volunteers www.csv.org.uk/socialhealthcare

Follow this link for social services recruitment contacts within local councils in your area.

You may find further information about this area of work in your local Connexions service/careers office/school careers library – under V.

What should I do next?

Look for current local government Outreach Development Worker, Children’’s Information Service vacancies in the following places:

• LGjobs.com - the official recruitment website for local government.
• Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly jobs bulletins produced by local councils themselves, available from libraries, community centres, town halls/main civic buildings and central council personnel departments.
• Local council websites.
• Local newspapers
• National newspapers – The Guardian is particularly well known for its public sector job advertisements on a Wednesday.

Find out about the council and get some work experience if possible by:

• Making the most of work experience placements arranged through your school, college or university.
• Contacting councils close to your home to find out about the work experience opportunities they offer.
• Talking to someone who does the job you are interested in – ring your local council to see if someone can spare some time.
• Making an appointment to see a careers adviser for more specific information about jobs and training.