Sarah Wells-Jones

• Working as part of a multi-agency and multi-disciplinary team, as well as autonomously, I lead, develop and monitor a variety of children and family cases with two or more complex needs, including vulnerable families and those in crisis.
• I identify and manage a range of multi-agency teams, encourage and support their service involvement and utilise their strengths in order to best support children and families. I also encourage and remind them of their responsibility when necessary, through regular reviews.
• I provide high quality specific practical, personal and emotional support to families as part of a child centred, outcome focussed plan, to ensure families' needs are met and strengths identified.
• I observe, assess and identify strengths and needs of children and their families individually and as a whole, with multiple and complex needs, in order to provide evidence based and innovative early intervention and prevention through a pro-active approach to achieve agreed family outcomes.
• I advocate for children and their families, where their voices are often unheard, or their rights or wellbeing are being threatened.
• I identify areas of need and ensure the safe effective and equitable delivery of a range external and internal services for the children and families, as well as carrying out direct programmes of work, enabling children and families resolve issues and problems themselves, for families to be able to achieve long term and sustainable outcomes.
• I develop and produce specific, targeted and achievable support plans, action plans and maintaining accurate, timely and up to date records.
• I provide practical and specific advice and support to colleagues and team members, as well as a variety of multi-disciplinary practitioners.
• I ensure that colleagues and multi-disciplinary partners feel heard and valued, as well as support them with challenging and complex families through identifying training opportunities and offering emotional support.
• I apply policy, theoretical principles as well as practical experience to shape and format my support and advice to children, families and multi-agency practitioners.
• I follow and maintain safeguarding principles, ensuring children's' safety is at the heart of my role.
• I utilise reflective practice as well as regular supervision to review work and ensure effective interventions for families are identified and in place.

During my tenure, I have independently curated and implemented programs known as "Summer Squad", "Easter Squad" and "Cooking Champions". These initiatives were developed in collaboration with the Welsh Rugby Union, and various charities across Wales, as well as within Neath Port Talbot. "Summer Squad" and "Easter Squad" are comprehensive, inclusive child provisions designed to address various critical aspects of child development, with a particular focus on inclusion for those affected by poverty, lack of opportunity and access to opportunity and those facing social, emotional, and behavioural challenges. Consequently, I undertook the development and leadership of "Easter Squad" and "Summer Squad."

These initiatives have now been integrated into all aspects of Children's Services in Neath Port Talbot and are also accessible through educational referrals. The remarkable success of these programs has resulted in my recognition as a finalist for the "Partnership Award" in Neath Port Talbot, and they have garnered the attention of two English Universities for review. The Squad programmes are publicly supported by local and national councillors as well as a number of Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of the Senydd (MS).

Furthermore, I played an active role in collaborating further with MPs and MS to address and alleviate food poverty in Neath Port Talbot. My efforts were instrumental in introducing "Everyone Deserves a Christmas" and "Everyone Deserves an Easter" to the Neath Port Talbot community for the first time in 2021. Working in partnership with Children's Services, we identified families in Neath Port Talbot experiencing food poverty and provided them with fresh hampers, ensuring they had all the necessary ingredients to prepare a fresh family meal.

In summary, my contributions extend beyond caseload management and have resulted in the successful development of vital programs that have improved the lives of children in Neath Port Talbot, earning recognition and accolades from the community and academia alike.

• Observing, assessing, identifying needs and gaps in provision, in order to provide both evidence based and innovative, advice, strategy and guidance to schools, multi-disciplinary practitioners and families in supporting pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties (BESD).
• Ensuring inclusive practice in Education settings.
• Encouraging Schools to take responsibility for inclusive support practices within their settings.
• Developing and producing Action Plans, Individual Education Plans with specific and targeted interventions, alongside giving advice, guidance and support to schools, young people, their families and colleagues.
• Developing child centred support plans, encouraging co-production and implementing robust strategies.
• Curating and delivering training and development for school staff and colleagues.
• Advising school staff as to best practice, referral pathways, and up to date training opportunities.
• Managing own caseload and working autonomously.

· Leading, mentoring and motivating the counter team.

· Driving sales.

· Identifying and meeting a range of customer needs.

· Expanding services.

· Meeting and exceeding set targets.

• Mentored pupils on academic and personal issues bolstering their confidence and self-esteem.
• Maintained up-to-date subject knowledge, ensured delivery of accurate information.
• Prepared lesson materials including visual aids and handouts to support learning objectives.
• Adapted teaching style according to the needs of each student thus personalising learning experience.
• Ensured that all safety guidelines were followed during practical sessions reducing risk of accidents.
• Presented complex information in an understandable manner to facilitate knowledge absorption.
• Fostered positive learning environment by implementing interactive teaching methods.
• Assessed individual pupil progress and adjusted lessons accordingly for better improvement.
• Provided safe, caring and fun learning environment for students and participants.

• Explored new opportunities whilst maintaining focus on core responsibilities.
• Maintained all project documentation, guaranteeing accuracy and accessibility.
• Assisted in budget preparation and financial planning procedures.
• Created detailed schedules to streamline work processes.
• Liaised with external parties to ensure seamless project execution.
• Managed multiple projects, ensuring organisation and efficiency.
• Troubleshot potential problems before escalation, preventing major disruptions.
• Oversaw daily operations ensuring consistency in quality and service delivery.
• Negotiated contracts with suppliers, securing favourable terms.
• Implemented risk management strategies to mitigate potential issues.
• Addressed customer complaints and resolved issues.
• Trained and assigned tasks to team members.