Early Help Support Worker

Role Responsibility

The Early Help and Preventative Services (EHPS) division provides targeted support and open access services to children and young people aged 0-25, as well as their families.

Children’s Centres in Kent offer a friendly one-stop shop for families with children aged 0-8 years of age. They are welcoming places which offer groups, activities, health services, training opportunities and parenting support. The centres are placed at the heart of communities to enable parents to access the help they need and provide the best possible start in life for their children.

We have 1 vacancy for motivated and organised persons to join our Children’s Centre team across Thanet. The post is full-time, 5 days per week (37 hours) and although based in one of our Thanet Children Centres, will work across our seven children’s centres, other community settings and outreach locations in the Thanet District.  Team working and initiative is essential to the role. The post will include working with parents/carers and children. You will demonstrate the ability to establish warm, respectful, trusting, and supportive relationships with children across all age groups along with their parents/carers and families.

You will support improvements in outcomes for children across Early Help Children’s Centres, and outreach locations. You will lead and deliver high quality play environments and ensure stimulating play opportunities for children. Ensuring environments are learning rich, and will use the EYFS guidance to plan, observe, track and evaluate children’s progress. Groups will be targeted for specific outcomes to support families and some of the work will require you to work on an outreach basis, including occasional weekends and evenings.

You will support the delivery of Early Help services in collaboration with other colleagues, partner agencies, Early Help Unit’s, and the Children’s Social Work Teams to ensure children and families are engaged with Early Help services where appropriate, and that services are delivered in line with statutory requirements. There is an element of visiting families in their homes, so previous experience will be an advantage. 

This post requires the post holder to have a Level 3 Qualification in Early Years.

If you have the relevant experience and qualifications, we would like to hear from you. You will need to be an excellent team player; have good communication skills to engage with children across all ages along with their parents/carers, demonstrating the ability to establish warm, respectful, and supportive relationships. An understanding of the safeguarding levels of support is imperative and you will need a good knowledge of ICT systems.

You will be flexible and creative in your approach and committed to develop new ways of working. You will be willing to learn, working collaboratively to innovate and find new solutions, taking personal and professional responsibility for your actions and performance.

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure Application to the Disclosure and Barring Service

Interview Dates: Friday 24th June 2022

Contact Details

For further information regarding this role, please contact: 

Leanne Hawker 03000 421738

Leanne.Hawker@kent.gov.uk

About the Company

KCC is committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the county's working residents, encouraging applications from people of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds and faiths, and aspires to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.

Please note – if you are interested, please apply as soon as possible as the closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply.