Children Support Worker

Role Type: Full-time / Part-time (Includes shift work: days, evenings, weekends, and occasional sleep-ins)

Job Purpose

The Children’s Support Worker at JustIntime Healthcare provides dedicated, trauma-informed care and therapeutic support to children and young people who exhibit challenging behaviors, complex emotional needs, or neurodivergent profiles (such as ADHD, Autism, or ODD). Operating within our specialized care provisions, the post-holder focuses on creating a safe, nurturing, and structured environment.

The primary objective is to manage and de-escalate behavioral challenges, build secure attachments, teach emotional regulation, and help vulnerable children transition toward positive behavioral outcomes and independent life skills.

Duties and Responsibilities

Behavioral Management & Emotional Support

• De-escalation & Crisis Intervention: Identify early triggers and implement approved, non-restrictive physical or verbal de-escalation frameworks (e.g., Team Teach, MAPA/Crisis Prevention Institute) to safely manage acute behavioral meltdowns, aggression, or self-harming behaviors.
• Positive Behavioral Support (PBS): Actively implement personalized PBS plans, focusing on rewarding positive choices and helping children understand and communicate their needs safely.
• Emotional Regulation Coaching: Assist children in identifying their emotions, teaching them coping mechanisms for anger, anxiety, and frustration.
• Trauma-Informed Care: Build trusting, professional relationships with young people, recognizing that challenging behaviors are often a communication tool for past trauma or unmet needs.

Daily Care & Skill Development

• Routine and Structure: Maintain a consistent, highly structured daily routine (mealtimes, school prep, bedtime), which is essential for minimizing anxiety and behavioral triggers in children.
• Life Skills Mentorship: Support and teach children essential daily life skills, including cooking, budgeting, personal hygiene, and household chores, relative to their developmental age.
• Educational Support: Ensure children attend school or alternative education provisions; assist with homework and engage them in stimulating, therapeutic recreational activities.
• Community Integration: Accompany and supervise children during community outings, medical appointments, and social activities, ensuring public safety while encouraging social skill development.

Record Keeping, Compliance & Safeguarding

• Meticulous Logging: Maintain precise, objective, and daily electronic logs detailing the child’s mood, behavior, dietary intake, and milestones.
• Incident Reporting: Complete thorough, legally compliant Incident Report forms immediately following any physical intervention or significant behavioral escalation.
• Safeguarding First: Actively identify, report, and document any safeguarding or child protection concerns immediately in line with Local Authority Safeguarding Board procedures.
• Multi-Agency Collaboration: Participate in handovers and occasionally provide insights for reviews alongside social workers, educational specialists, and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).