Introduction

Family support workers go into people’s homes to offer practical help and emotional support to families experiencing various problems. Families are referred by social workers to family support workers whose role is to provide advice and try and keep families together. The primary concern of the family support worker is the care of the children, whose parents might be experiencing difficulties. Problems might include the abuse of drugs or alcohol, one parent in hospital or prison, financial or marital difficulties or simply the fact that they have not experienced good parenting themselves.

Work Environment

Family support workers spend the majority of their time visiting people in their homes. They may spend a small amount of time in the office writing up reports.

Hours are flexible. Family support workers work a 37-hour week, although some may work part-time. Early morning, evening and weekend work is frequent as this is the time when families with children are together. If the children are of school age, then it might only be feasible to visit them late afternoon or early evening. It might also be necessary to visit some families first thing in the morning to make sure that the children are properly prepared for school, having had breakfast and put on clean clothes.

Daily Activities

The work varies according to the needs of the family and the recommendations of their social worker. Family support workers are asked to carry out a ‘planned piece of work’ with a number of families. This can involve encouraging, teaching and supporting the parents in a number of specific parenting tasks, such as:

• bathing, clothing and feeding the children appropriately, taking into account health and hygiene issues;
• playing with the children – giving them appropriate stimulation, love and attention;
• dealing with discipline and behavioural difficulties;
• supporting families where either the parent or child has a disability.

Family support workers might also help parents to manage their financial affairs better through budgeting. The role of family support workers is not to undertake the tasks for the families, but rather to show them how things can be done and then help the parents until they are able to do things adequately on their own. The average time spent with a family can be up to 2 hours twice a week for a few months, depending on what is required. Some families might need longer-term support with less frequent visits. On occasion the family support worker in the absence of parents has to move into the family home and take over the parental role. After each visit, the family support worker must record what tasks were done, the parents’ attitudes to their children, the state of the home, and so on. Sometimes these reports will be used in evidence in court (with the family support worker attending) should children be the subject of a care order. Family support workers can also be involved in the ‘Assessment and Rehabilitation’ of children – assessing the parental situation, under the guidance of the social worker, where children who have been in foster care go back home, maybe on a trial basis.

Skills & Interests

Family support workers need to be:

• able to get on with people of all ages,
• good at listening and communicating,
• able to understand and gauge people’s feelings,
• non-judgmental about people’s situations,
• able to work independently,
• good organisers,
• flexible,
• able to stay calm under pressure,
• able to encourage others and build their self-confidence.

Entry Requirements

Although there are no specific minimum entry qualifications for the job, you may be required to have previous experience working with children and young people and be willing to work towards N/SVQs in either Care or Early Years Care. NNEB/CACHE qualifications in Childcare can be useful but are not essential.

Training is available on all aspects of the job, including the legal framework, assessment of families, child protection, first aid and how to recognise the signs of drug and alcohol abuse.

Estimated salary range

£14,000 – £20,000 per year, although some London Boroughs may pay up to around £24,000 per year.

Please note that salary information is a guide only and there may be local agreements in place. For further information about salaries for particular positions, please contact your local council directly.

Future prospects & opportunities

Experienced family support workers with further training can go on to become social workers, care managers or family centre managers. There may also be opportunities to move into other specialist areas of support work, such as working with people with disabilities.

Related Occupations

Follow this link to view a list of all related occuptions in Caring For Your Community.
Alternatively, follow this link to view all career profiles placed in the same job area.

Further Information & Services

General Social Care Council www.gscc.org.uk

Care Council for Wales www.ccwales.org.uk

Northern Ireland Social Care Council www.niscc.info

Scottish Social Services Council
www.sssc.uk.com

Skills for Care www.topssengland.net

Early Years NTO www.early-years-nto.org.uk

Children’s Workforce Development Council www.cwdcouncil.org.uk

Community Service Volunteers www.csv.org.uk/socialhealthcare

Follow this link for social services recruitment contacts within local councils in your area.

You may find further information about this area of work in your local Connexions service/careers office/school careers library – under V or AC.

What should I do next?

Look for current local government Family Support Worker vacancies in the following places:

• LGjobs.com - the official recruitment website for local government.
• Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly jobs bulletins produced by local councils themselves, available from libraries, community centres, town halls/main civic buildings and central council personnel departments.
• Local council websites.
• Local newspapers
• National newspapers – The Guardian is particularly well known for its public sector job advertisements on a Wednesday.

Find out about the council and get some work experience if possible by:

• Making the most of work experience placements arranged through your school, college or university.
• Contacting councils close to your home to find out about the work experience opportunities they offer.
• Talking to someone who does the job you are interested in – ring your local council to see if someone can spare some time.
• Making an appointment to see a careers adviser for more specific information about jobs and training.