YOUNG PERSONS SENIOR SUPPORT WORKER in SWINDON
- Full time (40hours per week)
- £31,000
- Sleep Nights are paid at £75 per night
Focus Futures UK supports children and young people, aged 16-21 years old, with care experience, as they develop skills and independence for adulthood.
We do this through a trauma-informed and strengths-based approach to achieve the best possible outcomes with them.
We are committed to safeguarding and protecting our children and young people at Focus Futures UK.
All posts are subject to a safer recruitment process which includes enhanced criminal records and barring checks, scrutiny of employment history, robust referencing, and other vetting checks.
Our safeguarding system is underpinned by policies and procedures which encourage and promote safe working practice across Focus Futures UK. On joining you will be required to maintain safe working practice and to safeguard our children and young people.
Overall Purpose: Ensuring all young people are effectively safeguarded in accordance with all relevant policies and procedures. Dedicate weekly 1:1 time with young people to empower them to achieve their personal outcomes set within their Pathway Plans.
Responsibilities:
- Supporting a young person living semi-independently in the community; you will be responsible in structuring key work sessions consistent with the independent living programme.
- Monitoring the young person’s ability to engage with everyday living and develop skills where necessary by supporting their identified needs.
- Supporting the young person in settling within the community and accessing local resources.
- Encouraging and support the young person in accessing education, training or employment as well as supporting them with any application process.
- Supporting and assist the young person around budgeting money, grocery shopping and administer a weekly subsistence allowance.
- Encouraging the young person to engage and take part with positive activities within the community, building on relationships and developing social networks.
- Maintaining accurate record/ log keeping and capable of completing comprehensive reports.
- Maintaining the cleanliness and hygiene of the accommodation.
- Promoting safe, consistent, and understandable boundaries with the young person in conjunction with a 'Young Person’s Agreement’.
- Preparing high standard monthly progress reports regarding the young person’s progress which are submitted to the placing authority.
- Completing required paperwork/ administration.
- Working in partnership with other agencies and support the young people to attend meetings with other professionals. You will be required to attend admission and planning meetings; and attend Looked After Children’s Reviews ensuring all relevant paperwork is complete.
- Carrying out weekly Health and Safety checks within the accommodation. You must record and report any repair work or damage to the property to ensure it is kept to a high standard.
- Maintaining confidentiality of young people and report any concerns regarding young person’s welfare to your line manager.
- Attending staff meetings and training sessions as and when required.
- Contributing and attending structured supervision sessions at least once a month.
- Ensuring all children are effectively safeguarded in accordance with all relevant policies and procedures.
- Referring young people to appropriate services with your professional opinion considering the most effective team/services.
- Supporting a group of young people, providing 1:1 and weekly groupwork sessions.
Management, organisation, and administration:
- To monitor objectively the quality of relationships between young people, between staff and young people and between staff with the constant aim of improvement.
- To plan and prioritise the shift, alongside the Area Manager.
- To deputise for the Area Manager in his/her absence.
- To ensure that full and complete casework records of young people’s progress are maintained and that sound decisions are made and carried out for all young people.
- To perform any other reasonable task that the Area Manager may require.
- To support young people to and from school, on shopping trips and activities.
- To perform sleeping-in duties as required.
Work experience:
- Experience of working with children, young people or adults with complex needs, neurodiversity, and trauma.
- Experience of working within a team and completing tasks with adults of young people on a 1:1 basis.
- Experience where your current or previous role demonstrates examples of transferable skills suitable for this role.
Personal attributes:
- Working individually and within a team
- Empathetic and a good listener and reflective
- Patience and calmness
- Self-motivated and a positive nature
- Ability to engage with young people in a positive and proactive approach.
- Sense of humour
- Self-organisation
- Excellent communicator and ability to read the room
- Honesty and reliability
- Self-aware with boundaries
- Ability to assess risks.
Senior Support Worker knowledge and skills:
- Effective communication skills: recording and report writing and verbal communication.
- Awareness of non-verbal communication i.e. eye contact and personal space etc
- De-escalation knowledge of challenging behaviour
- A professional and caring value base i.e. consistency and empathy
- Consideration and awareness of the person behind the behaviour
- Understanding of how anxiety and depression presents in young people
- Experience of how to apply a strengths-based approach to your work
- A childcare qualification or a commitment to complete one or NVQ L3 equivalent in relevant subject to the role.
- You will apply trauma informed knowledge to your work or be willing to complete training to gain this knowledge. This will embody the practice that is provided to our young people.
Essential criteria:
- Ability to lone work with individual young people
- Sleeping in duties and on call duties may be required
- Willing to work every other weekend, some Bank Holidays & Christmas Holidays
- Your health is paramount and there will be a voluntary disclosure regarding health to ensure you are supported with reasonable adjustments considered.
- Be at least 21 years of age
- Have a valid driving license, with access to a car for work
- The right to work in the UK.
- Successfully complete Safer recruitment requirements and a clear enhanced DBS
Benefits
- As part of our commitment to ongoing professional development, we offer staff the chance to gain a Diploma in Childcare while working with us.
- Casual dress
- Company events
- Company pension
- Free, On-site parking
- Health & Wellbeing programme, including a £30/month Wellbeing Bonus
- Celebratory Culture where Birthdays and Work Anniversaries are celebrated
- Refer a Friend Scheme, where you can claim £250 for Refer a Friend who successfully completes their probation with us
Job Types: Full-time, Part-time, Permanent
Pay: £31,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Company events
- Company pension
- Free parking
- Health & wellbeing programme
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
