Support Worker — Children and Young People
Community based sessions across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, with offices based on the Amelia Trust Farm
£13.25 per hour, plus 45p per mile
About us
Smooth Starts Plus supports children and young people who find the world a difficult place, often because of complex sensory, attachment and/or communication needs. We help them access the activities, communities and education that other children can take for granted. Many of the children we work with have been turned away by other services. We don't do that.
What the job actually looks like
Most sessions are two workers with one child, and every new starter works only paired sessions to begin with, until you've learned how we work and we've learned how you work.
You collect the child from home or school and build the session around what they enjoy. That might be visiting a farm, going swimming, the beach, a trampoline park, or imaginative play with Lego in the park. There are no set, static session plans. The child leads and you adapt. You'll chat with parents at pick-up and drop-off, and write up your sessions in a paid weekly admin slot. You can be anywhere for that, home or a café, as long as the work gets done.
Sessions run outdoors in all weathers, and some children need personal care.
Real support behind you
This job is both emotionally and physically demanding, as well as rewarding. But you're not doing it unsupported.
You start on paired sessions, every child's plan is designed by our in-house Occupational Therapy team, and there's a manager on call seven days a week. You'll have regular one-to-one supervisions, a proper debrief after any hard incident, and free confidential support through Health Assured for you and your family.
Do I need experience?
Not the kind you might think. Experience from volunteering, caring for someone, or from your own life counts just as much as paid work. We train you fully before you ever work with a child. What we can't train is patience, warmth, creativity and good judgement, so that's what we look for.
Hours
This is a permanent contract with fixed, guaranteed hours. It is not zero-hours work. Sessions run in set blocks: weekdays between 9am and 6pm, weekends between 9am and 4pm, and we build your rota around your contracted availability.
You'll need
A full UK driving licence held for at least a year, and your own car. Driving children is part of the role, so business-use insurance will be needed (most insurers add this cheaply). You'll also need an Enhanced DBS, which we arrange and whose annual Update Service fee we pay, and to register with Social Care Wales, which we support you through in your first six months.
Pay and benefits
- Permanent contract with guaranteed hours
- From £13.25 per hour, paid monthly
- 45p per mile for all work driving
- £2.50 bonus for every session note submitted on time
- Paid weekly admin time
- 28 days' holiday including bank holidays
- A paid induction before you ever work with a child, and ongoing training delivered by experts with lived experience of the subjects they teach
- Health Assured employee assistance programme, for you and your family
- Auto-enrolment pension
Pay: £13.25 per hour
Work Location: In person
