7.5 hours on a Sunday during term time- plus additional holiday activity supports!
We are looking for friendly, hard-working people with a fun spirit and a good sense of humour to join our team of support staff.
Whether you have years of care experience or no experience at all, if you are a caring person, passionate about empowering others and ready to learn new skills we think you could be a great fit at Aspens!
About Us:
At Aspens, we have over 100 years of experience in supporting people with learning disabilities and on the autism spectrum as well as children, young people and adults with a range of disabilities or complex needs. We are here to provide practical and emotional support at all levels of independence, in everyday environments and in the community so that each member of our extended family is empowered to live the way they choose. In fact, our most powerful advances come from the people we support, because they tell us how it should be.
The Role:
Our team within the Children and Young People’s Service work closely with families, carers and other social services involved in a child/young person’s care to build a package of support that is right for every individual and help every step of the journey.
The East Sussex services include social support groups, after-school clubs, Saturday clubs, community-based 1-1 support and holiday activities as well as residential holidays for children and young people with autism and learning disabilities aged 8yrs to 25yrs.
Duties and Responsibilities
· To support children and young people who attend our groups to remove barriers so that they can engage as fully as possible in order to benefit from the group objectives and realise their abilities.
· To support children and young people to engage in activities that broaden their opportunities to be part of their local community.
· To work closely with the Group Lead and other Support Workers to provide a safe and enjoyable group environment for the children, young people and their families.
· Develop close professional relationships with colleagues, children and young people and maintain up-to date picture of the individual needs of each service user.
· To provide personal care if required to children and young people where needed whilst maintaining the dignity of the individual.
· To support children and young people to attend the groups by providing support prior and after sessions where needed for individuals.
· To provide support to the Group Lead to document and reflect on group sessions.
· To comply fully with Aspens Charities expected practices and procedures including Child Safeguarding.
· To conduct yourself at all times in a way that represents the values and principles of Aspens.
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
• Dedicated Employee Assistance Programme and Access to Mental Health First Aiders
• Hardship loans and advance (subject to conditions)
• Enhanced family leave pay
• Travel season tickets (interest free loans for those wishing to purchase a travel season ticket)
• Aspens High Street Stores - 20% discount on all items for Aspens’ staff
• 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’
We know it's not always easy to get to work without a car, and with increasing fuel prices we want to help our staff get to us in an easy and cost-effective way.
We are very pleased to now offer a free shuttle bus service for our staff coming to the Cornford Lane site!
How to Apply:
If you are friendly, dedicated and passionate about supporting others we would LOVE to speak to you!
Click ‘Apply now’ and one of our team will be in touch to discuss the role.
Any offer would be subject to Disclosure and Barring checks, which we will complete on your behalf if you don't already have one, and satisfactory employment references. We will consider job share and part time arrangements for all posts in line with the needs of the charity.
Aspens Charities are an equal opportunities employer
Aspens is committed to the safeguarding and promotion of welfare of all children, young people and adults. All successful candidates will be subject to an Enhanced DBS disclosure, and satisfactory references. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order (1975, 2013,2020). Our safeguarding policies can be found on our website.