Job Title: Female Personal Care Assistant

Location: Worthing

Hourly rate: £10.42 per hour.

Reference: DP7346a

Hours/shifts: Current PA carer hours/days/times are agreed & negotiated on the start of contract and can be anything from 6 hrs a week up to 12 hours per week term time & 20hrs a week, holiday weeks depending on need. To start mid- September 21.

Summary

I am the mother of a very loving and affectionate daughter of 21, who was diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome at birth. She has learning and speech and language delays/difficulty and currently travels from home in Worthing to Chichester College 4 days a week during term weeks and has a day centre placement 3 days a week in Worthing during holiday times.

I need support & respite in and around those times and I need someone who can be quite flexible with hours and a car is preferable to take her to activities and clubs weekends, evening, holidays.

Specifically, I need two to three shifts of 3-4 hours a week in term time, (12hrs week) to be negotiated and 8 hrs for occasional full days to cover INSET days throughout the year.

Holidays I need 8-16 hrs cover on a Monday or Friday each week, possible evenings, weekends too so could be additional 4 hours.

It would be wonderful to find someone who can commit long term to this role, and would be great for someone who needs regular hours each week.

She is physically enabled and enjoys a variety of activities such as football every fortnight on Sundays, tennis, swimming, riding her bike, ten pin bowling. As a single mother, having a PA/ Carer gives me the additional peace of mind that I have someone to call on if I am ever ill, in need of extra help or I need to go away or out in the evenings.

This rewarding role requires flexibility and commitment to give my daughter the stability that she needs. She is very socially outgoing and affectionate but needs to be continually supervised, given firm boundaries and guidance to keep her safe in the community and at home. She cannot travel independently and needs assistance, support to travel and participate in the community.

She enjoys practically everything including; Books, drawing, arts/crafts, cooking, baking cakes and cake decorating, jigsaws, computer games, singing and dancing and loves to be physically active enjoying trips to the park, beach and indoor play areas. She also enjoys Kayaking, bowling abseiling and walking in the woods.

She is a lot of fun to be with, very creative and is always open to trying new things if given the opportunity. We need a person who has experience working with adults with learning difficulties, who is compassionate, patient and can take the initiative by drawing up a plan of action for activities each session. The idea of this role is to provide much needed respite for me and a variety of fun and learning/educational and physical activities for my daughter that encourage her to grow and encouraged to find inclusion within the wider community that she finds enjoyable and engaging, meeting and making friends.

Other Requirements

• "Exemption is claimed under the Equality Act 2010 Part 1 Schedule 9."

• A UK driving license is desirable but not essential.

• Other :

All applicants must be willing to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check

Successful applicants will be entitled to Holiday pay and will be issued employment contracts.

Description

Typical duties

Domestic:

Though my daughter’s needs are always priority you are expected to carry out some domestic duties during shifts. Should I be taken ill or have an injury which prevents me from carrying out normal domestic tasks, the PA will be called upon I times of emergency to help with these duties. Such as:

• Cleaning and tidying vacuuming after activities, cleaning up spills and messes.

• Teaching my daughter to keep her bedroom tidy, hanging up clothes, putting away toys.

• Giving drinks on a regular basis, preparing meals, cooking and washing up.

• Putting on laundry, hanging out, changing bed linen when necessary.

• Shopping and running errands

• preparation and cooking, cleaning up and storing food, keeping kitchen areas, dishes and utensils clean and tidy

• Keeping bathroom clean and hygienic and any other necessary related domestic duties

Personal Care:

• Assistance with dressing and undressing if necessary and ensuring adequate and appropriate clothing & packed for activities eg putting on hat/sun cream, coat, wet weather gear, lunch, money, phone etc

• Supervision and assistance at mealtimes helping to cook meals, washing dishes putting away

• Assisting with washing, bathing/showering, hair, applying skin creams if necessary

• Administering first aid and medicine during times of illness or accident.

Social:

• Making sure her smartphone & gadgets are charged and usable.

• She also has a bus pass for travel and you will need to ensure tickets are booked for any venues/activities and backpack packed with lunch and snacks.

• Main priority is to keep my daughter occupied with the emphasis on enjoyment and doing fun things together.

• Support with developing independence.

• With prior agreement, taking my daughter out or accompanying and chaperoning on trips e.g. to soft play, park, beach craft fairs, local visits or places of interest. These could include; Museums, shopping trips, activities such as bowling, swimming, gym, meeting friends, attending village events, disability groups or clubs. This could be by walking, car, bus or train.

• Constant supervision indoors and outdoors

• Protecting my daughter from danger and keeping her safe for example; keeping her away from roads, dogs and strangers etc.

• Intervening and supervising when with others and managing inappropriate behaviour

• Teaching or correcting unacceptable behaviour in a loving, form but calm and consistent way

• Giving guidance and instruction when necessary with social skills and boundaries e.g. sharing and turn taking.

• Being mindful of improving my daughter’s overall development by taking the initiative in organizing & booking activities that motivate, encourage, stimulate and engage her in a wide variety of activities e.g. reading, writing, arithmetic, colour, threading, jigsaws, painting, drawing arts and crafts, cutting out shapes, outdoor sports and physical activity etc

Person specification:

The successful applicant will be:

• Able to prioritize this position with any other work or private social activities.

• Be flexible & reliable with hours and days, being able to change as short notice if necessary and be a good time keeper.

• Be female due to personal care needs

• Not smoke at work, use recreational drugs or alcohol.

• Be fit and healthy enough to undertake the full range of tasks.

• Experience with working with people with special needs and challenging behaviour is essential and you would need to be able to learn and adapt to my daughter’s individual needs

• Knowledge of Makaton/Signalong is useful but not essential

• Possess common sense and be able to take the initiative, but also be able to follow instructions.

• Have confidence to deal with any challenging behaviour in a calm, consistent and compassionate way using strategies.

• Patient and tolerant, self-controlled and calm when under pressure.

• Be respectful and courteous, especially when it comes to privacy confidentiality and religious beliefs

• Be honest and trustworthy

• Be cheerful, positive and fun to be with

• Be hygienic and well-groomed

• Able to speak and read English to a reasonable standard

• Legally permitted to work in the UK

• Able to work at all times to a high standard of Health & Safety

It’s also desirable if you are prepared to undertake training relevant to the job e.g. First Aid, Home Safety and Manual Handling. Previous experience and DBS is also preferred

Please note, if you are successful in your application for this position you will be employed directly by the individual employer and not Independent Lives