A challenging and rewarding career
Residential support workers look after the physical and mental wellbeing of children or vulnerable adults in care.
You’ll need paid or voluntary experience in the social work and care sector.
You could get this in a number of ways like:
Working or volunteering at a youth club
Personal experience of caring for a family member Working as a social work assistant Paid or voluntary work in a care home, nursery or relevant charity
You could take a social care course at college but this is not essential.
It can be helpful if you have English and maths skills.
You’ll need clearance from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to work in this chosen field.
A driving licence could be useful too but not always essential for support work.
To work in children’s homes, you must be at least 18 years old, and at least four years older than the oldest child in the home.
For this reason, many of these jobs carry a minimum age restriction of 23 years.
You could get into this job through an apprenticeship. You’ll need: The ability to get on with people of all ages and backgrounds and gain their trust, tact, patience and understanding
Computer literacy and administration skills, mental strength, to cope with challenging situations and clients
Your clients could include children in care, or adults with physical or learning disabilities, mental health problems, addiction issues or other emotional or social needs.
Your day-to-day tasks might include:
Checking residents’ needs and progress
Providing physical care, which could include bathing, toileting, dressing and feeding
Providing one-to-one counselling or group therapy sessions
Teaching daily living skills like budgeting, shopping and claiming benefits
Providing leisure and creative activities in a safe and supportive setting
Helping residents to deal with problems and become independent