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Support worker tasks and skills |
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As a support worker you will always respect the dignity of the people you work with and promote their rights and potential. Many of the people you are likely to encounter will be vulnerable and in need of help with their everyday lives, as well as needing other forms of support. Your tasks may include assisting service users with:
- the tasks of everyday living
- washing, dressing and mealtimes
- going to bed and getting up
- using the bathroom/toilet
- reaching their potential and undertaking activities
- living life as they wish to live it
Your skills may include
- good spoken and written communication
- the ability to make relationships with people
- record keeping
- reporting e.g. as part of a handover to the next shift
- the ability to work as a member of a team
- practical skills
Induction, Supervision and Learning
You should receive induction when you first start your job to enable you to learn about:
- your workplace and organisation
- the tasks and skills of your job
- specific knowledge and skills about the service you are employed in
You should also have supervision from someone more experienced than you are and opportunities for on-going development. There should be opportunities to gain the qualifications for registration with SSSC (Scottish Social Services Council) if registration is required for your post.You should take some responsibility for your own learning and development.
Click here to view SSSC’s Induction Guidance |
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Sarah O'Brien
(Social Care Assistant)
I work for West Lothian Council in a care home for older adults. We have 33 permanent residents and provide respite care for up to 6 people. |
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What is your current job role? My job is to support the residents. I assist people to get up and dressed if they need this, and help to serve meals, teas and coffees. There are two people currently receiving palliative care and part of my job is to collaborate with the palliative care team. We also collaborate with community services such as district nurses. I participate in a hand-over meeting at the end of a shift, which is a formal meeting for day shift, or informal if taking over from night shift. I contribute to people’s care plans but don’t actually write these up myself.
What qualifications did you have when you applied for your post? When I started in this job I had NVQ2 in Care, 1 Higher, 1 Standard Grade and 5 ‘O’ grades. I undertook the NVQ when I worked in England for BUPA and someone from the local college came to assess me.
Have you done any qualifications or since taking up your current post? Since taking up employment with West Lothian Council I have undertaken mandatory training courses such as moving and handling. I put my name down to undertake SVQ3 two years ago and would like to do this. I am currently taking two courses with the Open University (OU) independently: K101 Introduction to Health and Social Care and K207 The Law and Social Work in Scotland. I will be starting another OU course in October.
How did you get to where you are now? When I left school I did shop work for 18 months in a newsagents, then when I was 20 I started doing agency work in hospitals. That’s how I got into doing care work, which I have done for the past 16 years. I have also helped out with my husband’s garages in between care jobs. I have worked for BUPA in Edinburgh, then when we lived in England for a while (my husband was in the army at that time) I got a transfer to a BUPA home in England.
What are your future plans and goals, and what is involved in attaining them? I am working towards gaining my OU Diploma in Health and Social Care. I want to stay in care work, get a job with more responsibility and work my way up.
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Where next?
You may decide that you wish to stay at the level of support worker. If you wish to move to another level click on one of the following for information about progressing to practitioner and/or professional posts
Click here for information about becoming a practitioner, including social work assistant posts
Click here for information about becoming a social worker, occupational therapist or other professional |
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