West Sussex Short Breaks Activities & Youth Club Leader/Senior Support Worker

West Sussex Short Breaks Activities & Youth Club Leader

Location: West Sussex

Hours of Work: 20 hrs (per week)

Shift Pattern (If Provided): After school and weekend working required

Salary: £12.65 (per hour)

_________________________________________________________

What you can expect from us:

• Fantastic paid training and career progression opportunities (including recognised qualifications in health and social care)
• Paid DBS (we will recover the cost should your employment terminate for any reason, other than redundancy, before passing your probation)
• Flexible work arrangements with opportunities to take on additional bank shifts too
• 30 Days Annual Leave (including Bank Holidays) / Pro rata dependent on hours. Annual leave entitlement increases with length of service
• Nest Pension and Death in Service Benefit (Includes unlimited access to a suite of six services: a 24/7 UK-based GP, Best Doctors, mental health support, a health check, access to nutrition consultations and an online fitness programme [Smart Health])
• Dedicated Employee Assistance Programme and Access to Mental Health First Aiders
• Aspens High Street Stores - 20% discount on all items for Aspens’ staff stores: Bexhill, Crowborough, Hampden Park, Paddock Wood, Seaford
• Blue Light Card and access to high-street discounts
• Refer a Friend scheme, so you can earn up to £250 for every person you refer to work for Aspens
• Recognition schemes, including ‘Employee of the Month’

About the Role:

Within the role of group lead you will be expected to deliver stimulating and engaging short breaks services for children and young people on the neurodevelopmental pathway.

As a Group Lead, the day-to-day tasks that you will be required to complete can include:

· Co-ordinate and support the development and delivery of short breaks activities

· To safely deliver Short Breaks activities

· To support to manage the team of support workers

· To oversee the planning and preparation of comprehensive session planning

· Promote the health, welfare and development of children and young people we support

· Submit weekly/monthly reports including attendance, financial information, all behaviour management observations and safeguarding issues.

· Completing observation sheets, ensuring a smooth flow of information to facilitate good communication within the staffing team, as well as professionals who require viewing of these.

· Supporting the team and individuals we support with Safeguarding requirements, completing incident reports as/when required and ensuring that relevant Safeguarding policies and procedures are understood and followed by yourself and your staff team.

• Fully implementing policies and procedures of the organisation and that all recording systems are completed accurately on a regular basis. To sign to say that all policies and procedures have been read.
• Supporting the Short Breaks manager with the rota and ensuring adequate cover of shifts
• Completing staff Inductions with new staff and supporting in the completion of any necessary training
• Supporting with social activities and accessing community-based services including those required to promote health and wellbeing.
• Supervision and Appraisal of staff

Collaborative Working

· To work closely with the West Sussex Short Breaks Manager

· To work closely with the West Sussex Short Breaks Data-Entry Administrator

• Attending training, participating in supervision sessions with nominated manager and attending staff meetings as required by your line manager.

· To liaise with managers and staff as required.

· To assist in the induction, training and mentoring of support workers.

· Attend regular staff meetings as required.

· Attend training and help to deliver any training to staff as required.

· Develop and maintain good working relationships with parents, extended family members, social workers, education and health staff, together with other professionals as appropriate or directed by your Manager

About the Service:

We offer children and young people on the neurodevelopmental pathway the opportunity to develop the skills required to become independent and confident young people. We offer a range of support to young people aged 8-18 years living in West Sussex who may be in or out of education.

About Aspens:

At aspens we have over 100 years of experience supporting individuals of all ages with a range of disabilities, those on the autism spectrum, and those with complex needs. Through the provision of highly personalised support across a variety of services, we aspire to enable people to learn new skills, live life to the full and contribute to society however possible.

Here at Aspens we strive to uphold our core values by aspiring to be honest leaders in the social care field, setting the highest possible standards for the care of the people we support.

Our dedication to caring for people applies to our valued workforce as well as to the people our organisation exists to support, and we work to treat all of our employees, external partners and those we support with respect and kindness at all times.

We empower our staff by equipping them with the skills, knowledge and tools they need to do an excellent job, remain up to date with the latest developments and training in the sector and to achieve their own professional goals.

For more information about Aspens and our services please visit our website: https://www.aspens.org.uk/

Person Specification

As a charity we are looking for caring, hardworking and understanding people to join us to promote the values that Aspens champions; respect, honesty, empowerment and professionalism.

Ideal candidate is those who are able and willing to work toward their own personal progression, for self-development and to be able to better support the people we work with. We have an incredible internal training team who support staff from day one to not only benefit your career going forwards but to offer you that first step in a new career if this is what you’re looking for.

Below you will find our essential and desirable criteria for candidates applying for a Senior Support Worker role with us.

Essential Availability:

After school and weekends – Hours of work vary and you are required to be flexible

Essential Training and Qualifications:

• NVQ L3 in Child Care and/or Youth work or Equivalent

• Safeguarding of Children training

• Paediatric First Aid training

• Commitment to continued personal development

Desirable Training and Qualifications:

• Epilepsy training

• Fire Safety training

• Training in alternate forms of communication (Makaton, pictorial, objects of reference etc.)

Essential Experience and Knowledge:

• Previous experience of working within in a team as well as leading a team

• Previous experience of monitoring and evaluation processes.

• Previous experience delivering activities for vulnerable children and young people

• Experience or knowledge of neurodiversity

• Previous experience with writing reviews, support plans and risk assessments

· Knowledge of Safeguarding and Whistleblowing processes and procedures

Desirable Experience and Knowledge:

• Experience or knowledge of Report writing (including the completion of incident/accident forms)

• Knowledge of alternate forms of communication (Makaton, pictorial, objects of reference)

• Experience or knowledge to develop and deliver training

• Experience or knowledge to work in partnership with staff from

other agencies.

Essential Skills and Attributes:

• A caring person with a calm, friendly and patient nature who has a drive to help others

• Good communicator with the ability to work independently or as part of a team.

• A confident leader with good interpersonal skills

• A trustworthy individual with good listening skills and the ability to show empathy

• The ability to work under pressure and deal with widespread demand with good problem- solving skills

· An organised individual who has a clear understanding of empowerment and involving young people in the development of the service.

• Good working knowledge of IT including Microsoft 365

Desirable Skills and Attributes:

• Working knowledge of an electronic system as such SharePoint to manage timesheets etc

Additional Essential Criteria:

· Clean driving Licence and access to your own transport

Additional Desirable Criteria:

· Registered on DBS Update Service

Equal Opportunity Statement

At Aspens Charities, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. We welcome applications from all qualified individuals, including those with disabilities and those who are likely to be underrepresented in Aspens’ workforce, such as sex/gender, minority ethnic group, religion, belief, sexual orientation, age, as well as abilities. We believe that a diverse team leads to better outcomes and a more enjoyable work environment where everyone feels valued, heard, and has an equal opportunity to thrive.

As a Disability Confident employer, Aspens Charities is dedicated to supporting and promoting the recruitment, retention, and career development of people with disabilities. We recognise the value and contributions that individuals with disabilities bring to our organisation. Applicants who declare they have a disability and who meet the minimum criteria for the role will be offered an interview, where practicable and appropriate.

 

 

Accessibility and Accommodations

We are committed to providing an accessible recruitment process for all applicants. If you require any accommodations during the application or interview process, please let us know by contacting [email protected].