New Types of Worker - Senior Support Workers with Pregnant Women
Senior Support Workers with Pregnant Women
Background
Gateway Family Services is a Community Interest Company whose main aim is to reduce inequalities in learning, employment and health. We do this by offering supported training and employment opportunities in community health service delivery. We particularly specialise in breaking down barriers to education.
We currently run a pregnancy outreach project, but find that many of the women referred to it are extremely vulnerable (seeking asylum, surviving domestic abuse relationships etc). Social services involvement tends to be limited to definite risk issues, and child social services involvement centres purely on the babies' welfare. As such, our level three workers are required to support these women in ways above and beyond their role, training and pay.
Our work has clearly demonstrated the need for a support worker role between the existing level 3 and professional graduate roles – a Senior Support Worker (level 4)
Objectives
Our main objective is to explore the skills mix in the current social care workforce and develop the role of a level 4 Senior Support Worker who is able to support pregnant women with more complex needs.
We will work closely with professionals to create a competency framework, allowing for career development from level 3. We will also develop and deliver a training programme that is consistent with the Common Assessment Framework.
