Social Workers in Schools (SWiS) Expansion of services

1. Social Workers in Schools (SWiS) Expansion of services

2. Working together Schools are important partners in our work with children, young people and their families. Teachers see children and young people every day, and are often best placed to notice if something isn’t right, or if families are struggling. There has been strong demand from schools for specialist support to deal with children’s increasingly complex and sometimes harmful home situations. By working together, we can improve outcomes for vulnerable children

3. Overview of SWiS service SWiS is a school-based community social work service SWiS social workers support children and their families/whanau Social workers are employed by NGO social service providers, and work in partnership with school staff as part of the school community. A social worker will work in one school, or a group of schools

4. Effectiveness of SWiS • The work of social workers in schools is shown to contribute to improved outcomes for children, by working with schools to reduce barriers to learning. • Evaluations of the SWiS service found that positive changes, include: • improvements in children’s behaviour • Children better able to set positive goals for the future, and take steps to achieve them • parents usingmore positive discipline strategies.

5. Who it’s for The SWiS service is aimed at: children who have poor attendance or engagement in school children with social or behavioural problems children experiencing grief or loss families who may be struggling financially, or with issues such as overcrowding, gambling etc. at-risk families, including those who have been referred by Child, Youth and Family for community based support.

6. Referral process Referrals can be made by: children and families/whanau (self referrals) schools agencies such as Child, Youth and Family, nurses, community agencies working with families. Referrals to the service are made with the consent of families. The social worker takes a whole of family approach, which may include working with siblings

7. Role of the SWiS worker The role of SWiS social workers is to address concerns that are affecting: children’s safety or wellbeing children’s ability to learn due to emotional or social worries families’ ability to manage aspects of their lives. SWiS work has three key components: social work with children and their families group programmes community liaison and service coordination.

8. Social work with children and their families This component of the service involves: development of supportive, trusting relationships with children and their families Working with children and families to develop goals for change, and teaching strategies for managing difficult situations advocating for children and their families within the school setting keeping child safety paramount, and supporting schools to make notifications to CYF where appropriate Working in partnership with other support services

9. Group programmes This component of the service involves: • assessing the needs of children and families which can best be met within a group context • advising the SWiS governance group about referral trends and proposed group programme responses • planning, coordinating and delivering group programmes for children and families • evaluating the effectiveness of group programmes.

10. Community liaison and service coordination This component of the service involves: • using networks to connect children and their families to community supports • working with other professionals to identify, refer and address specific problems affecting a child’s wellbeing • developing a collaborative relationship with local CYF offices to ensure work with children at risk is coordinated • providing support to the ‘strengthening families’ process when children with complex needs require a multi-agency approach

11. Role of the SWiS provider The SWiS employer : employs and supports social workers provides opportunities for ongoing training and professional development addresses any concerns that may arise between the school, the social worker, and/or the Provider ensures appropriate community liaison and networking links are made links with local CYF sites to share knowledge and expertise coordinates SWiS Governance Group meetings.

12. Role of the school The school: • supports SWiS to access client children during the school day • understands the SWiS service and promotes it to school staff and families • gains consent from family/whānau for referrals to the Service • provides a private room within each school for social workers, (the base school provides the primary work space) • supports the delivery of group programmes within the school • Principal or DP is a member of the local SWiS Governance Group, and signatory to the SWiS Partnering Agreement • attends, and contributes to SWiS Governance Group meetings • helps address any concerns or conflict that may arise.

13. Role of Child, Youth and Family Child, Youth and Family: manages SWiS funding selects and contracts with approved NGO Providers attends SWiS Governance meetings monitors service delivery and financial management by the Provider liaises with the Ministry of Education nationally and regionally coordinates meetings with SWiS social workers to share knowledge and expertise.

14. Role of Ministry of Education The Ministry of Education: • education representatives attend SWiS Governance Group meetings • assist SWiS partners to resolve any issues that they have expertise in, or responsibility for • work with the school to resolve any issues with accommodating SWiS in the school.

15. Governance Groups This will involve providers, principals, CYF operations or site managers, and local representatives from the Ministry of Education. The group will meet regularly to: review the service over the previous quarter set strategic priorities for SWiS services in their community assess and review the needs of the community ensure that services are aligned transitions are smooth for students consider how agencies can work together to share knowledge and expertise

16. More information More information about the SWiS service is available on the Child, Youth and Family website If you have any questions, please contact: Amanda Watson, Project Manager on 04 9163595 or email Amanda.Watson008@msd.govt.nz Diane Garrett, senior advisor ,Social Workers in Schools on 04 918 9323 or email diane.garrett008@cyf.govt.nz