London Support Worker
An experienced support worker required to assist a 19-year-old girl with cerebral palsy.
Location: London
Position: Support Worker
Type: Part-time or bank contract (zero hours)
Pay: £15.50 weekdays, £17.50 weekend (gross)
Hours: Day shifts, ideally Fridays and Saturdays
Driving licence required: Yes
Requirements: experience in working with children or young adults with cerebral palsy
Skills required: PEG feeding
Meet the family
An experienced support worker required to assist a 19-year-old girl with cerebral palsy.
Our client is friendly, motivated and sociable young lady who thoroughly enjoys accessing the local community to meet up with friends and attending a number of different types of groups and spending time with her family. She has a good sense of humour and especially enjoys her holidays.
Our client sustained cerebral palsy as a result of injury at birth. Her functional movements are extremely limited. She is wheelchair dependent and reliant on others for all her personal care needs and activities of daily living.
Our client does not communicate verbally but can make her needs known with her facial gestures and smiles. She uses a communication aid at school and at home, and can easily follow and understand conversations about every day topics. Our client is able to make all her own choices and the support worker role will be to seek and follow her requests in all activities.
Our client lives with her mother, father and two younger siblings. She attends several extra-curricular activities, which the carers would be expected to attend with her once current restrictions have eased.
Our client needs a stable staff team who are committed and reliable so that she can get to know you and build her confidence.
As a support worker you will also be involved with our client's practical care, which includes assisting with personal care, promoting and creating social experiences and contacts, maintaining existing interests and activities and developing other opportunities plus implementing rehabilitation under the guidance of therapists. Adherence to policies and procedures which are in place for our client's (and support worker's) safety, protection and wellbeing is essential as is accurate recording of day to day events.
The aim of our client's involvement in daily activities is to provide a fruitful and fulfilling lifestyle and to stimulate any possible further improvement/recovery of function.
Our client's family have a wheelchair-adapted car and carer's who are drivers will be required to drive her around the community in the family car.
As a support worker with our client you will need a positive and understanding approach to working with a person with a significant disability, experience of assisting individuals with personal care, creative and social activities and an enthusiastic, motivated and friendly manner. You should also have excellent communication skills. We are looking for someone who has high standards of practice, a therapeutic approach and a desire to learn and understand our client's specific needs and desires. It is also vital that you develop a good relationship with her so she can enjoy your company.
You will be provided with an induction and training about our client's specific personal care needs/routine plus mandatory moving and handling and first aid training. You will also receive frequent supervision sessions to help develop your expertise with her and maintain high standards of practice.
A lively personality and enthusiasm to build a reliable, honest and trustworthy professional relationship with her are essential requirements for this position.
Essential
- Full driving licence
- Ability to work respectfully
- Ability to follow guidance from the client and her family
Desirable
- Experience in preparing and administering medication
- Experience in PEG feeding
- Experience of working in a family home
- Experience in helping the client with college homework
- Interest in cooking
- Animal lover (family has cats)
This post is subject to two excellent references and an enhanced DBS check.
Proof will be required of a right to work in the UK.
*Gender is considered to be a genuine occupational requirement in accordance with paragraph 1 of Schedule 9 of the Equality Act 2010 for a female worker to work with this young lady.
