If you've spent your career building trust with young people rather than managing a caseload, this is for you. If you have been in university but can demonstrate working with young people, we can support the transition to work.
We're Nurture Health and Care Ltd, and we're building a new kind of service for young people aged 10–25 who've been let down by systems that moved too fast, moved them too often, or never really understood them. We're looking for people whose instinct is already right — youth workers, mentors, key workers from youth offending or early help services, people who've run detached youth projects or 1:1 mentoring programmes — and we'll train you in the clinical and safeguarding skills that turn that instinct into a professional practice.
What you'll do
- Build genuine, consistent relationships with a small number of young people as part of a dedicated team — not agency-style rotating cover.
- Work alongside psychologists, therapists and health professionals who'll teach you why young people do what they do, not just how to respond to it.
- Use a structured, relationship-first model (not restraint-first) to help young people feel safe enough to change.
What we're looking for
- Real experience connecting with young people in any setting — youth work, mentoring, youth justice, informal education, sports or activity-based youth programmes.
- Calm under pressure, and comfortable holding boundaries with warmth rather than authority.
- No care sector background needed — we'll teach you the clinical framework from scratch.
What we offer
- A fully paid 4-week structured induction before you work independently — nobody is thrown in.
- A genuine career pathway: our Senior and Practitioner roles are recruited from within our own trainee and practitioner pool, not brought in from outside.
- Ongoing supervision, reflective practice and training — this is a service that invests in staff, not just rotas.
- Apprenticeship routes and further study support for those who want to go further.
If you've ever thought "I'm good with young people, but I don't want to be a traditional care worker" — this role was built with you in mind.
Please note: we are not currently able to offer visa sponsorship for this role. Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK.
Apply now — no CV jargon needed, just tell us about a young person you helped and how.
Reports To:
Senior Intensive Support Practitioner
Location:
The role is based in Peterborough. The vacancy may be advertised across Cambridgeshire and surrounding county areas to reach a wider pool of suitable applicants, but the work location will be Peterborough with travel across Cambridgeshire and surrounding areas as required.
Hours:
36 hours per week (3 x 12-hour day and night shifts per week including weekends and bank holidays) as part of 24/7 rota.
Contract:
· Permanent, Full-time roles
· Part-time roles: flexible contracted hours, subject to service need.
Job Purpose
The Intensive Support Practitioner is a new Care Worker role which works alongside children and young people during ordinary everyday life, recognising that ordinary moments create extraordinary opportunities for healing, learning and recovery. Guided by each young person's formulation, EHCP and therapeutic goals, the post holder supports children and young people to develop emotional regulation, independence, health, education and community participation through consistent therapeutic relationships.
Key Responsibilities
· Develop trusting therapeutic relationships built on compassion, consistency and professional curiosity.
· Support morning and evening routines, meals, shopping, cooking, budgeting and everyday living skills.
· Promote emotional regulation using co-regulation and relationship-based approaches.
· Support attendance at education, health appointments, activities and community engagement.
· Promote healthy lifestyles including sleep, nutrition, exercise and personal care.
· Recognise behaviour as communication and implement formulation-led responses.
· Maintain safe environments and contribute to safeguarding and risk management.
· Complete accurate documentation and contribute to handovers and reflective practice.
· Work collaboratively with families and the multidisciplinary team.
· Model Nurture values in every interaction.
Pay and Benefits
In addition to your salary, Nurture offers:
· A structured induction and full competency-based training programme.
· Paid safeguarding, trauma-informed care and specialist practice training.
· Monthly protected development time.
· Regular supervision, reflective practice and professional support.
· Access to a competency passport and professional development portfolio.
· Opportunities for progression into senior practitioner, therapeutic practice, leadership and specialist roles.
· Annual leave entitlement of 5.6 weeks per annum (pro-rata for part time).
· Pension contributions in line with statutory and organisational arrangements.
· Employee wellbeing support and access to a supportive, values-led team culture.
Our Promise to You
Nurture is committed to developing specialist practitioners. You will receive structured induction, monthly protected development, supervision, reflective practice, coaching from the Principal Therapeutic Practice Lead and ongoing career development.
· Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, and early applications are encouraged.
Pay: £23,793.12 per year
Benefits:
- Additional leave
- Company events
- Company pension
- Health & wellbeing programme
Work Location: In person
