Senior Support Worker - Families Plus

at  South Gloucestershire Council

HOW YOU’LL MAKE A DIFFERENCE

You will make a difference as Families Plus 5-18 Senior Support Worker by working alongside children and families, seeing the small steps of progress they make and helping them recognise how they have achieved that themselves. You will help families get to the point where they are able to do things by themselves, without the need for professional support.
Here are some comments from parents who have been helped by Families Plus workers:
‘The work we’ve done with you means our daughter is communicating her feelings more easily than before, which is helping enormously.’
Current members of the Families Plus 5-18 team have said that the most rewarding aspects of their job are:
“When you have worked really hard to build a relationship and engage a family or young person, or even help them change their way of thinking and all of a sudden, they have a lightbulb moment and something changes”.
“The Privilege of getting to know and support families at the most difficult times in their lives, to have the opportunity to build relationships with them and to be trusted with their personal and sensitive information.”

WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU

You will hold or be working towards a professional qualification e.g. degree, NVQ 4 or equivalent

• You will have a willingness and ability to communicate and engage with a wide range of people which will require you to take time and patience on occasions.

• It is key that you have a good sense of judgement of when and how to support, empower, listen, facilitate learning, use humour, be empathic, challenge or even step back.

• • You must be resilient to be able to keep going despite knockbacks and frustrations and to hold the level of emotions displayed and the complexity of families.
• You will be required to travel widely within the authority so you must either have a current driving licence and provide a car or have access to appropriate means of travel.

You will carry out whole family assessments, providing advice and guidance to families, in order to establish plans where appropriate. You’ll ensure that services are effective, and supportive for families with children/young people aged 5-18 years old.

• Within the role you will review and monitor Early Help plans, responding to the changing of needs and renegotiating where appropriate in accordance with safeguarding procedures.

• It is expected that you will provide support and mentoring to support workers, including those who are new to the team and those who are need of some support in a specific area of practice. You may be required to contribute to or lead on an area of specialism within the team or across the wider preventative services.

• • You will liaise and work with contacts from different sectors; including schools, health, social care and voluntary sector ensuring that communication is effective so knowledge and best practice is shared.