Support Workers

You will have a rewarding and stimulating vocation, providing personalised support and care to people with learning and physical disabilities and thereby helping them to lead more independent lives. The key is to assist people to make informed choices about all aspects of their lives so that, for example, they can take part in community life and develop a network of friends and acquaintances.

Services are provided in:

  • Residential services: services for a small group of people, typically six

  • Respite services: help for carers (normally family) by the provision of short breaks in respite services for the people in their care

  • Day services: where people go during the day-time and are encouraged to undertake various activities.

Your role will be to support people in their daily lives and this can include personal care of either sex, subject to their wishes.

In the service you will support service users to:

  • Prepare meals

  • Tidy and vacuum the home

  • Decorate their bedroom

  • Do the laundry

  • Manage their finances.

Personal care may involve assisting people to:

  • Take a bath or shower

  • Go to the toilet

  • Take or manage their own medication

  • Carry out domestic duties.

  • Improve their skills in the above

Other activities:

  • Shopping

  • Visiting the doctor or dentist

  • Swimming

  • Attending football matches

  • Going on holiday (additional payments are made)

  • Going to the pub or a restaurant

You will need to use your own initiative as you may regularly spend time alone with service users. Sometimes you may find that service users become aggressive, but you will be fully trained to deal with these situations. Voyage employ a team of behavioural therapists who develop strategies to help staff teams cope in these circumstances.

You will be expected to work flexibly to meet the needs of the service and these will vary between services. You can expect to work shifts over 365 days of the year including weekends and bank holidays. Most services operate shift patterns consisting of an early shift, a late shift and a night shift. There may be opportunities to work additional hours over and above full time hours and these will attract an enhanced rate of pay. While you will be appointed to work at a specific service, you may be asked to work in other services for operational reasons.

You will have regular, one-to-one supervision and support sessions and an annual appraisal. All services have regular management team meetings to discuss issues of concern to the service and to share important information.

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