Support Workers: their roles and tasks – a brief scoping study

1. Support Workers: their roles and tasks – a brief scoping study Jill Manthorpe, Stephen Martineau, Martin Stevens, Shereen Hussein, Jo Moriarty; & John Peardon (user advisory group)

2. Method • Search of UK literature on support working in adult social care in UK published since 2003. • Search of eight bibliographic databases and five websites established 36 relevant UK research studies - retrieved and themes identified. • People with experiences of using services participated in the research in two ways: discussion at a carers’ and users’ advisory group attached to SCWRU, and a member of the group (JP) volunteered to assist the research team in debating the subject further. • The literature search was conducted November – December 2007. The review was written up May – June 2008 and further literature added in October 2008.

3. support worker The term is elastic, it includes people employed or self-employed to foster independence and provide assistance for people using services in areas of ordinary life such as personal care, communication, employment and social participation. They may take on secondary tasks in respect of advocacy and learning.

4. Wanted: support worker • Salary: £8.00 - £11.50 per hour • Job Description This position is based in a flagship development for the local authority, it is a multi discipline unit that houses many day services as well as two floors of residential service users. You will be working with older adults and older adults with dementia • Source Reed 14 Nov 2008

5. Three defining characteristics in the literature (limited in number of studies and people) • fostering independence among people being ‘supported’ (theoretically or aspirationally); • lack of professional accreditation; and, • engagement in both social care and healthcare tasks (sometimes wider).

6. Wanted: Support worker: learning disabilities • Required for work in a learning disability supported housing establishment in the Cambridge area. • Duties of this role will be including providing support to adults with learning and physical disabilities in supported living projects in Cambridge, Ely & Huntingdon. You will also be required to maintain client’s independence, providing personal care, and supporting with day to day activities and life skills. • We have a variety of shifts available to suit your requirements and working hours may vary from 8 hours to 40 hours per week. • We also offer ongoing training opportunities, excellent rates of weekly and holiday pay, reimbursed CRB and free* uniform. • £6.49 - £13.27 per hour Source Guardian website 12 Nov 2008

7. + support worker What is in front of the words ‘support worker’ is always important Some examples: -community, leisure, detention centre, housing, leisure, and floating Inverse relationship between studied populations and their numbers (eg intermediate care support workers)

8. Wanted: Domestic Abuse Support Worker • minimum 6 months experience - We are looking for someone with considerable experience in providing services to victims of domestic abuse, you will be working with vulnerable children and adults, supporting them with emotional issues and guiding them etc. You may be working alongside multi agencies eg, doctors,social workers,care workers.In return Pulse Social Care offer Excellent pay rates, Holiday Pay, A contract of employment call Pulse Privelage where you can claim tax relief on mileage,,claim for food etcA suitable candidate will have experience in this field, will be a car driver and can provide satisfactory 2 years work reference and 5 years work history without any gaps in employment. £10-12 per hour. • Source Reed 14 Nov 2008

9. Many of them are floating

10. Support workers and personalisation • Personal assistant more common term in direct payment circles • Potential for ‘support worker’ to be used more - to convey differences from ‘care’ • May further obscure role boundaries, accountabilities, skills, contractual relationships

11. Wanted: Senior support worker (temporary) • A long term temporary position has become available in the Exeter area. The successful candidate will have previous experience in a similar role. They will hold or be working towards an NVQ level 3 in Social care. If you are interested in the position please don’t hesitate to apply. • £7-8 per hour • Source Reed 14 Nov 2008

12. Research questions • Studies were predominantly small-scale qualitative projects (interview, questionnaire and/or focus groups). Subject numbers ranged from as few as eight to 59, apart from Skills for Care study of direct payments users and personal assistants (2008) • There are no longitudinal studies examining support workers’ working patterns, roles and tasks. • There is a lack of evidence about specific terms and conditions among workers, and the profile of the workforce. • How might relationships/work be affected if the support worker role were to become more formalised and subject to checks, inspection and registration?