Sarina Akhtar
Slough
Summary
Adept Senior Family Services Officer with a track record of empowering vulnerable families through targeted support and multi-agency collaboration. Skilled in bilingual communication (Punjabi and Urdu) and organizing, demonstrated at Slough Children First. Achieved significant engagement increases by employing creative strategies and ensuring children's voices are heard, showcasing exceptional organizational and interpersonal skills.
Overview
24
24
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Family Services Officer
Slough Children First
09.2022 - Current
- Company Overview: Targeted Early Help offering practical help and emotional support to vulnerable families
- Offering practical help and emotional support to vulnerable families: adults, children and young people to meet their needs addressing any issues and risks and ensuring they can sustain it and achieve to their full potential
- Conducting 1:1 Early help assessment/support plans with families and children to best identify their needing using evidence-based practice to create action plans, with creative and practical strategies via home visits emails phone calls 1:1 meeting
- Increase engagement and prevent any challenges from escalating
- Liaising with multi-agency networks, including social workers CAMHS, health, housing, police, schools as well as local communities foodbanks and other charity organisations
- Organising team around meetings (TAF) with families and relevant multi agency professionals involved with the families to review and evaluate needs find appropriate solutions and ensure safeguarding is prioritised
- Collaborating with schools to pinpoint children and young people at risk of not being in Education, employment and training (NEET) and offering targeted support and assisting with relevant referrals to enable them back into education and training
- Sourcing external funding and further provisions for family crisis such as having no recourse to public funds, financial hardships, housing issues, homelessness, mental health and behaviour challenges
- Maintaining accurate reports of all interactions and ensuring up to date administration of caseload records on the system within timely manner
- Having knowledge and being up to date on local service provisions empowering individuals in decision-making to sign post and provide appropriate referrals accordingly
- Completing direct work with children, young people and families together and individually capturing the voice of the child using appropriate tools and stratgies but maintaining professional boundaries
- Prioritising deadlines and working with data provided to ensure recording keeping is up to date
- Targeted Early Help offering practical help and emotional support to vulnerable families
Children's Centre Worker/Family Hub Worker
RBWM/Achieving for Children
09.2013 - 08.2022
- Main role and responsibilities to support vulnerable families who are referred into the service experiencing difficulties with some of the following: poor physical health, poor education, financial struggles, mental health, domestic abuse and inadequate housing
- Working closely with multi-agency professionals and those within our service
- I have been working closely with DASH (Domestic Abuse Stops Here) and other agencies supporting families experiencing Domestic Abuse
- I have completed the Freedom Programme Facilitator training, and I have been delivering the programme successfully in Windsor and supporting
- Provide report and feedback for CP conferences and core group meetings
Outreach Worker
London Borough of Hillingdon
07.2012 - 08.2013
- Supporting Families within the local community providing services for vulnerable families e.g
- Parenting groups, stay and play sessions and early intervention
- Working with other professionals and multi agencies including social care, health and schools and early years settings
- Attending CP conferences and core group meetings
Early Years Home Liaison Officer
RBWM
03.2009 - 05.2012
- Company Overview: Ethnic Minority and Traveller Service
- Supporting Ethnic Minority Families to engage with Services in the local community and educational settings via phone calls home visits
- Support parents at relevant multi agency meetings
- Translate for families with language barriers to ensure they are informed and understand the role and responsibility of multi-agency professional and meeting
- Attend CP conferences and core group meetings
- Ethnic Minority and Traveller Service
Nursery Nurse
Slough Borough Council
07.2001 - 03.2009
- Supporting class teacher with planning and implementing of the early years foundation stage (EYFS) with individuals, groups and the whole class to promote effective teaching and learn
Education
BA (HONS) -
Practice Development
Foundation Degree -
Early years
ATHE Level 4 -
Working with Children Individuals and Families
English GCSE - (C)
NVQ Level 3 -
Early Years Education
Skills
- Communication Skills
- Bilingual (Punjabi and Urdu)
- Organisational Skills
- Team player
- Understanding of multi-agency work
- Understanding of following policies and procedures
- Working collaboratively with partner agencies
- Working collaboratively with targeted and universal services
Professional Development
- Data Protection GDP, 09/24
- Safeguarding level 3, 09/23
- Working effectively with fathers, 10/23
- SHINE (Slough children first), 10/22
- Parental conflict getting on better, 09/24
- Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), 12/21
- Signs of safety foundation, 12/21
- MARAC/Stalking and Harassment, 10/21
- Total Respect, 10/21
- Islamophobia, 12/20
- Restorative Practice, 2020
- Leadership and Management course, 10/18
Timeline
Senior Family Services Officer
Slough Children First
09.2022 - Current
Children's Centre Worker/Family Hub Worker
RBWM/Achieving for Children
09.2013 - 08.2022
Outreach Worker
London Borough of Hillingdon
07.2012 - 08.2013
Early Years Home Liaison Officer
RBWM
03.2009 - 05.2012
Nursery Nurse
Slough Borough Council
07.2001 - 03.2009
BA (HONS) -
Practice Development
Foundation Degree -
Early years
ATHE Level 4 -
Working with Children Individuals and Families
English GCSE - (C)
NVQ Level 3 -
Early Years Education
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