Support Worker

Description of Role

In this role you will be supporting individuals with complex communication needs and a range of hearing and/or sight difficulties. In some services, the individuals you support will have challenging behaviour and may have some learning, physical disabilities and/or mental health issues.  
In different services you could be supporting children, young people, and adults to enable them to access their programmes including holidays, arts, sport and wellbeing.  

Sense services include:

•   Residential and supported living services
•   Day activities services
•   Community services
•   College services

Whilst you might be appointed to work in a particular service which will be detailed in a one-page service profile, you may be asked to work in different services in order that we can support people in the most flexible and person-centred way.

The main purpose of your job is to provide a high quality, reliable support service, personalised to suit each of the individuals Support Plans and PCPs.  To promote independence, choice and enhance inclusion in the community.

Specific Responsibilities
1. To promote independence, life skills and informed choices in accordance with individuals care plans, Ensuring:

1.1    You enable individuals we support to influence their services and the way they are supported. 

1.2    You Listen to individuals and act on what is important to them.

1.3    You use information to contribute to developing person-centred plans, involving families, friends and other professionals if this is appropriate.

1.4   You provide opportunities for individuals to make choices and decisions.

1.5    You support people to take part in the running of their own homes, if you work in a home environment.

1.6    You support people to speak up for themselves, and/or advocate on their behalf.

1.7    You support individuals to keep in contact with family and friends, and to develop their social networks if they choose to.

1.8    You support people to live an ordinary life, accessing the same local facilities as others

2.   Listening and responding to people, using a wide range of communication skills to ensure they understand.

3.   Promoting and supporting people to take part in enjoyable, satisfying and purposeful activities

4.   Supporting people to make sense of their environments and to access their communities, learn new skills and maximise their independence.

5.   Supporting people with their health and well-being and personal care including continence requirements, if required.

6.   Supporting people with their behaviour, if needed. Independently follow any written plans and guidelines for each person.

7.   Supporting more junior staff when required.

8.   Taking into account people’s age, gender, sexuality, ethnic origin, religious/cultural background, abilities/disabilities, and other needs.

Helping Sense to provide a high quality service by:

1.   Keeping all records of your work up to date and accurate. Ensure critical information is passed to Team Leaders/ Supervisor as necessary
     
2.   Completing Sense’s induction and skills development programme and attending courses arranged by your manager. Contributing to supervision and Sense My Performance Plan. Attending and contributing to meetings.

3.   Behaving respectfully at all times time to the people we support, them their families / friends, your colleagues, and neighbours and members of the public.

4.   Helping new colleagues to get to know the people they are supporting and how to work in the service.

5.   Keeping up to date with Sense’s policies and practices, and following these at all times.

6.   Keeping a safe, healthy and supportive environment for the people you support, yourself, your colleagues, and anyone else coming into contact with Sense.

Carrying out community support responsibilities. This means:

1.   Provide practical help with everyday tasks such as shopping or dealing with mail, assisting to improve or maintain independence within the own home and community and may help people with complex communication needs to access services such as GP surgeries, shops and leisure facilities.

2.   May also do short term pieces of work to re-enable people after loss of sight and/or hearing, so to develop a basic communication method, or to re-organise the home to make it more accessible.

3.   Demonstrate good practice to staff in residential and supporting living if the Individual is moving to one of those settings.

4.   You may also be expected to carry out other duties that are in line with the nature and grade of the role.

5.   You will be required to carry out some work at evenings weekends, bank holidays and regular sleep-ins overnight. / and /or waking nights