Support Worker
| Posting date: | 06 March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £12.69 to £13.31 per hour |
| Additional salary information: | Competitive |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 04 April 2026 |
| Location: | Shotley bridge, DH8 0HU |
| Company: | The Cambian Group |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 23909 |
Summary
Who are we?
We are the Cambian group, the largest independent provider of care and education for children and young people. We believe that everyone has a personal best. Those we care for and those who care for them.
If you are enthusiastic about making a difference in the lives of young people, we invite you to join our dedicated team. Apply now and embark on a fulfilling career journey with us!
Main purpose of the Job:
- To provide advice, assistance and support to young people, safeguarding their welfare at all times.
- To attend to their practical, physical and emotional needs.
- To act as an appropriate role model and work closely with them to enable them to address their difficulties and achieve their optimum potential.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Provide care for young people through:
- Attending to practical matters in relation to childcare (cooking, cleaning etc)
- Establishing positive relationships with young people and always offering them unconditional and positive regard
- Meeting the physical, emotional, behavioural, cultural and educational needs of young people
- Acting as a role model and demonstrating appropriate pro-social ways of dealing with problems
- Helping young people gain self-control by challenging unacceptable behaviour and rewarding acceptable, pro-social conduct.
- Ensuring that each young person’s care plan is followed and amended as appropriate to reflect their changing needs
To act as a key worker through:
- Taking responsibility for a small number of young people and ensuring that their needs are fully met
- Establishing relationships which young people perceive to be positive, warm and rewarding
- Providing advice, assistance and support on a 1:1 basis to enable young people to address past and present difficulties
- Providing emotional support at times of difficulty or stress
- Being ambitious for young people, helping them achieve their goals and optimise their potential
- Providing support for young people in their education and extra-curricular activities
- Keeping accurate records and providing written reports on young people for planning meetings, reviews or any other meetings as directed by the line manager
- Empowering young people and facilitating their active involvement in the decision making about their lives and future
- Acting as an advocate at meetings where the young person is the subject of discussion
- Encouraging the young person to develop links with the community, attend off-site activities and expand their personal social network
To work as part of a team through:
- Being aware of the aims and objectives of the home and working collaboratively with colleagues to achieve them
- Attending team/ staff meetings and making a positive contribution to them
- Actively contributing to the development of the team
- Receiving and storing information to improve communication
- Being willing to give and receive feedback on performance with colleagues and managers
- Being aware of childcare plans for all young people and providing support for colleagues by maintaining consistency in the execution of those plans
- Providing informal practical and emotional support to colleagues experiencing difficulties
- Attending and contributing to regular supervision sessions in line with the National Minimum standards
- Monitoring the conduct of colleagues and referring on any causes for concern (Whistleblowing)
- Being familiar with all policies and procedures and adhering to them
General:
- Attending young people’s meetings and contributing to them
- Driving company vehicles (current driving licence holders subject to procedures)
- Receiving training appropriate to role and maintaining an up-to-date training profile
- Responsibility for the accurate maintenance of financial records appropriate to the duties of the post
- Responsibility for the health, safety and welfare of self and colleagues in accordance with the requirements of the organisational Health and Safety Policies
- To carry out all other reasonable tasks as directed by the line manager
New staff must be comfortable using an electronic care recording system on a daily basis to document, monitor, and update childr