Casual Support Worker required in Knutsford, Cheshire

Being a Support Worker at AFG is a hugely rewarding role and could be your first step on a long and happy career in Health & Social Care.

So, what does a Support Worker do?

We have a vision to create a world where people control their lives. Here at AFG, we pride ourselves on helping the people we support to design, develop and 'own' the support they receive by planning this with them; we support people to make informed choices and increase their own independence; and we support people to maintain their own health, wellbeing and living environment. These principles are really important to us.

Our Support Workers work in a variety of settings including community-based services (often supporting people in their own homes) to our Treatment & Recovery Centres.

One thing that is common across all of our services is a focus on personalised support and tailoring our services to the needs and aspirations of the people we support with a diverse range of care needs (including Learning Disabilities, Physical Disabilities, Mental Health Concerns, Complex Care, Substance Misuse issues to name a few)., This vacancy is for a Casual Support Worker opportunity covering the Knutsford area where you will be supporting individuals with mental health and learning disabilities. You would only be covering services in areas where you are comfortable to get to and work hours which you are comfortable in covering.

At Alternative Futures Group, we support people who live with conditions such as Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Autism, Physical Disabilities, Incontinence issues, Non-verbal communication and Self Harming Behaviours so the work of a casual support worker can vary greatly from home to home with highly individual care plans being in place for each person we support.

Due to the varying levels of conditions we support, you will come across challenging behaviours as a result all Casual Support Workers at AFG are given a tailored training plan including training around Physical Intervention and De-Escalation to ensure they have the skills to work with the people we support in their local areas.

The people we support all have their own unique personalities and we support the person to have the best quality life, rather than just treating the condition they live with. This means the people we support will vary in what activities they enjoy such as going swimming, watching films, day trips out, learning how to make new meals etc. With this in mind, we skill match all support workers including casual support workers to the people we support to ensure you have the skills and interests. This will mean you can work safely with the person supported as well as sharing interests e.g. if you love to watch football, we will try to offer you shifts in services where the people supported would like to be supported on trips to their local football team to watch a game. On top of this, depending on the people you would be supporting, they may require support with finances, attending appointments, household chores, managing a tenancy, building social skills, health
and hygiene needs, lifestyle skills, moving and handling, medication management and personal care.

In some services, lone working occurs therefore we also require Casual Support Workers to be comfortable with working alone and with people we support who have varying levels of needs.

Casual Support Workers need to be flexible as the shift patterns can vary massively based on where you would be working and who you would be working with. This can involve night shifts, long day shifts, short day shifts and can start as early as 7am with staffing required 24/7. Here is an example of some of the shift patterns we offer:

• Early 07:00 to 14:30


• Late 14:30 to 22:00


• Flexi 10:00 to 17:30


• Waking Night 22:00 to 07:00


• Sleep 22:00 to 07:00


Please note our Support Workers are contracted by area therefore flexibility is essential to work in other services where required.

There are a few things that we look for in all of our support workers; we would need you to…

• be a good communicator (verbally and in writing)


• be patient, confident and enthusiastic about caring for others


• be able to use your own initiative


• be able to work as part of a team


• have flexibility to work a varied shift pattern to provide 24-hour support


• share our AFG values


We don't ask for any other relevant training or a previous career in care as full training will be provided - you just need a willingness to learn and develop.

Your pay - our Support Workers receive a rate of £12.00 per hour for all worked hours. Once you are successful for a role with us, full details of your pay will be included in your written offer.

As a 'values based' employer, the people that work for us genuinely care about the people they support, and we are seeking likeminded people to join our AFG family. If you are passionate about caring for others and have a real desire to make a positive difference to the lives of the people we support then we would love to hear from you.