Please forward a full CV along with a covering letter or email, detailing your interest in the work we do along with your suitability for the role to: recruitment@thebelayfoundation.org.uk
Following shortlisting, there are usually three, sometimes four stages to our recruitment process:
The Belay Foundation provides training to all new Specialist Support Workers (SSWs) in attachment and trauma, safeguarding, professional boundaries, and regulating techniques, as well as any bespoke training or preparation that will help you take up any individual role. SSWs also receive ongoing support, peer supervision and clinical supervision.
All Specialist Support Worker roles not only provide the opportunity to make a huge difference to a family, but also to develop experience and practice in working in complex environments impacted by early life trauma, neurodiversity, attachment challenges and other environments where relational safety are crucial.
This role, with a family in the Bishop Auckland area, is to support a gorgeous four-year-old and his family for 5 hours a week.
Chris* is imaginative, creative, energetic, smart and affectionate. He loves everything to do with animals – whether building pretend zoos, or sharing his dinosaur expertise – and also really enjoys sensory play, hanging upside down from the climbing frame, and jumping on the trampoline. Very high energy, Chris is extremely engaging but also needs a high level of attention. He lives with the impact of his earliest life experiences, which mean that he finds some aspects of life difficult. Chris can be impulsive and struggles to manage his emotions. He is very close to his immediate family and loves nursery – but always takes time to build up his confidence with new people.
The role will naturally take time to develop, but the aim will be for you to spend time with Chris out and about exploring and playing, probably during the day on Saturdays and maybe at another time during the week too. You will be happy to establish a long term relationship with this family, have experience of working with children, and an interest and preferably experience in the developmental impacts of attachment and trauma and in supporting children with sensory needs. You will need to be playful, energetic, curious and open to new experiences – while also being mature, emotionally grounded, resilient and patient.
To support you The Belay Foundation will offer training in attachment and trauma, safeguarding, professional boundaries and regulating techniques, as well as other any other preparation that will help you in the role. You will also receive ongoing support, peer supervision and clinical supervision.
This is a great opportunity to develop your practice supporting children with trauma and to learn about the impact of complex additional needs on a child’s development and family life.
Role Details
*Name changed to protect identity.
We are continuing to recruit on behalf of a family in the Worcester area. The family are seeking two to four great people to support three siblings aged 14, 9 and 7. Combined, there are around 30 hours a week available, to be split between the roles. The number of roles, and the specific hours, duties and responsibilities of each, will be discussed and agreed with candidates, with the aim of shaping individual part time positions that will collectively provide the support the family needs, while also building on the interests, skills and experience of those applying. These roles will provide great career development. Our aim is to shape the roles to form a support team playing to individuals strengths and interests while also enabling flexibility alongside other commitments.
Chris* (14) is really into history and butterflies! He has an amazing memory, and can be fun company. Karl*(9) is a cute, determined poppet who enjoys duplo and playing with vehicles (Tractor Ted being a particular favourite). Ollie* (7) is chatty, funny and caring and likes nothing more than dressing up or playing with lego.
All three children can be individually lovely; however they all live with complex disabilities and the impact of their earliest years. The children are educated at home and between them, they have both complex medical and behavioural needs. Chris, who is autistic, can display behaviours that are similar to those of a much younger child both at home and out, and needs calm, consistent support not only to attend activities but also to help him through the daily routine. Karl is visually impaired and has medical needs that mean he needs practical support. Ollie is impulsive, looks for and benefits from one to one attention, and often presents younger than his years.
Chris, Karl and Ollie’s family are looking for several individuals to join the existing team supporting the family – assisting with the children’s routines, facilitating learning, and enabling access to activities and opportunities outside the home. A support worker would only ever work with one child at a time, as all the children require 1:1 as a minimum.
It is essential that all candidates are flexible, willing to learn and to work to build trusted relationships. You will have experience of working with young people, and ideally working directly to support neurodiverse children and who live with the impacts of early trauma. The key requirements, however, are that your experience is grounded in personal maturity, you are able to remain calm and connected even under pressure, and that you are willing to work together with the parents and existing support staff to learn and put into practice the strategies that have been identified to work well for them as a family. There will be some personal care required, and working with Chris can be both challenging and physical. As the children are home-educated there will also be a requirement to support and enable the young people with their more academic and home learning activities. As this is an attachment-focussed role, we are looking for candidates who are willing to gradually evolve their roles with the family and are reliable, as all the children struggle with change. Flexibility in shift times/days would be beneficial as every week looks different.
To support you The Belay Foundation will offer training in attachment and trauma, safeguarding, professional boundaries, regulating techniques as well as other any other preparation that will help you in the role. You will also have access to ongoing support and supervision.
This is a great opportunity to develop your practice supporting children living with neurodiversity and trauma, and to learn about the impact of complex additional needs on a child’s development and family life.
Role Details
* Names changed to protect identity.
This great role, for around 4 hours per week one evening after school, is to support a ten-year-old girl. It offers great career development.
Jo* is very bright, funny, clever and kind. She loves arts and crafts as well as the inevitable screentime at home, while also enjoying trips out to the local playground. When out and about she is drawn to chatting to any dog that passes; similarly at home Jo likes nothing more than playing with her guinea pigs.
Jo is very high energy and needs a high level of attention. She is extremely engaging but also lives with the impact of her earliest experiences, which mean that she finds some aspects of life difficult. She becomes very attached to significant adults and flourishes with clear, enforced boundaries.
The role is to support the family one evening a week after school (with potentially extra hours in school holidays and at weekends), building a trusted relationship with Jo, playing with her at home, making tea, supporting homework, taking her to the local park and other similar daily activities.
You will have experience of working with children, with an interest and preferably experience in the developmental impacts of attachment and trauma and in supporting neurodiverse children. You will be happy to work together with Jo’s family to use strategies that work, and to be able to combine playfulness and energetic interaction with the maintenance of firm boundaries and personal resilience. You will need your own car in order to (after an initial period) pick Jo up from school in Frome.
To support you The Belay Foundation will offer training in attachment and trauma, safeguarding, professional boundaries, regulating techniques as well as other any other preparation that will help you in the role. You will also receive ongoing support, peer supervision and clinical supervision.
This is a great opportunity to develop your practice supporting children with trauma and to learn about the impact of complex additional needs on a child’s development and family life.
*Name changed to protect identity.
A great opportunity is available to support a 10-year-old boy. This role would be for around 6 hours over two or three days; it is a role that offers great career development.
Noah* is a wonderfully creative, funny, joyful child who loves hugs and massages! As long as the rain holds off he will happily play outside on the trampoline or in the garden for hours – although he is not keen on the cold and wet in winter. A fashion-conscious young man, he is currently obsessed with Dr Who and loves to create stop motion animations and videos on the iPad. Noah is bright and able to articulate his feelings. However, he also lives with the impact of his earliest experiences, which means he finds spending time with other children and in large groups of people very difficult; he struggles to feel safe and therefore lacks the confidence to explore or try new things, and in many ways presents as emotionally younger than his chronological age. Due to Noah’s needs we are only looking for female applicants.**
The role is to support the family over two or three sessions a week – either after school or on Saturday mornings – with potentially additional hours available down the line. The key to success in this role will be the ability to build a trusted relationship with Noah, playing with him at home and (after a gradual introduction process) taking him out and about.
You will have experience of working with children, be mature and grounded (whilst also open to having fun and joining in with Noah’s interests enthusiastically). You will also be interested in, or even better experienced in working with, families living with the impacts of attachment difficulties and early life trauma. You will be able to work together with Noah’s family to learn about the parenting approaches the family use and to remain calm and connected. While a driving licence and access to a car are not essential both would be very helpful as Noah is likely to require a high level of support to use public transport.
To support you The Belay Foundation will offer training in attachment and trauma, safeguarding, professional boundaries and regulating techniques, as well as any other preparation that will help you in the role. You will also receive ongoing support, peer supervision and clinical supervision.
This is a great opportunity to develop your practice supporting children with trauma and to learn about the impact of additional needs on a child’s development and family life.
Role Details
*Name changed to protect identity.
** Due to the vulnerable nature of the individual being supported, this role is exempt from the 2010 Equality Act on gender grounds.
This great role is to provide trauma-informed support to a 13 year old girl. The role is based in the family home, although it will involve lots of trips out of the house. The role is part-time for 10 hours per week plus training and supervision time. Ideally sessions will be after school on a Monday and Tuesday plus a session on alternating Sundays. Times can be flexible.
Imogen* (13) is very busy with lots of interests and enjoys doing different activities. She loves horses as well as spending time with her dogs and chickens at home. Imogen likes visiting the beach and often going swimming or playing mini golf. Imogen has been diagnosed with autism and ADHD as well as living with the impacts of her earliest traumatic experiences. Imogen is great company and the role is required to offer her parents and siblings a break as well as offering Imogen an additional safe adult relationship. The role will start by making an attuned relationship with Imogen, building up to taking her out or occupying her while her parents can focus on her siblings. The family live in a village outside of Ramsgate so you’ll need access to a car to both reach the home and to take Imogen out.
This role will be extremely rewarding and offer a valuable insight into working directly with children with complex needs using an attachment model of care. You will have experience of working with young people or children with autism and be open to learning about attachment and trauma. Emotionally mature, you will be happy to fit in with the family and to work with Imogen’s parents to use strategies that work within the family.
To support you The Belay Foundation will offer training in attachment and trauma, safeguarding, professional boundaries and regulating techniques as well as other any other preparation that will help you in the role. You will also receive ongoing support and reflection sessions through peer supervision and clinical supervision. If you are currently studying a related field, this role will give excellent opportunities to make theory to practice links.
Role Details
*Name changed to protect identity
This is a fantastic opportunity to offer trauma-responsive support to a family including Mum, 16-year-old Eddie* and 11-year-old William*. The role is for up to 20 hours per week and can fit around other employment or commitments.
Eddie* (16) loves gaming and is really into retro computer games. Eddie has previously been very sociable and really chatty, particularly about gaming, but currently has withdrawn into spending a lot of time alone and finding it hard to be with people. It’s understandable given his level of trauma and repeated sense of abandonment. He has previously enjoyed going out and to visit playgrounds or cafes and has enjoyed going to the gym, but at the moment he is choosing to stay at home to maintain his emotional wellbeing. Eddie is autistic with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) and ADHD as well as the impact of his earliest traumatic experiences.
William* (11) loves Jurassic Park and anything to do with dinosaurs! William is very chatty, inquisitive and engaging, he loves fantasy play at home as well as building things, including woodworking. Outdoors, William used to enjoy outdoor trips and parks but has more recently become very anxious about being outdoors unless there is absolute assurance that he is in a dog free area. Attending school for four mornings a week, William is autistic as well as having experienced developmental trauma.
The aim of this role is to be present at home to allow Eddie and William’s mum to leave the house, either alone or with William. You’ll create a strong relationship with Mum and be comfortable playing with William, offering the boys food and drinks, and engaging with them in an attuned and trauma-responsive way.
This role will be extremely rewarding and offer a valuable insight into working directly with children with complex needs using an attachment model of care. You will have experience of working with young people or children with additional needs and be open to learning about attachment and trauma. Emotionally mature, you will be happy to fit in with the family and to work with the boys’ Mum to use strategies that work within the family.
To support you The Belay Foundation will offer training in attachment and trauma, safeguarding, professional boundaries and regulating techniques as well as other any other preparation that will help you in the role. You will also receive ongoing support and regular group reflection sessions.
Role Details
*Names changed to protect identity
A fantastic opportunity is available to support a 8-year-old boy. This role would be for around 8-16 hours, mostly worked at weekends during term-time, and on weekdays during the school holidays. The hours could potentially be split across two applicants if appropriate.
Laurie* is a very sociable and affectionate child who is full of energy, fearless and independent. He loves water and just being out and about – or at home bouncing endlessly on the trampoline. He also enjoys playing with trains and cars or watching the odd movie; but ideally always wants to be on the move! He is great fun to be with, however living with the impact of his earliest experiences and his complex needs means Laurie presents as emotionally younger than his chronological age, struggling to regulate himself, to stay calm and on task in school, to fit in with social norms around personal space and behaviour, and to manage his impulsivity and emotions.
The key to success in this role will be the ability to build a trusted relationship with Laurie, playing with him at home and taking him out and about, being confident in managing boundaries and potentially aggressive behaviour towards you and his peers, and to be actively enthusiastic about getting involved in physical activities alongside him.
This role will be extremely rewarding and offer a valuable insight into working directly with children with developmental trauma using an attachment model of care. You will have experience of working with children, be open and engaging with emotional maturity, and be willing to work together with Laurie’s family to use strategies that work in keeping him calm and connected. A driving licence is not essential however you will need to be able to either drive confidently with a young person or travel safely with them on public transport.
To support you The Belay Foundation will offer training in attachment and trauma, safeguarding, professional boundaries and regulating techniques, as well as any other preparation that will help you in the role. You will also receive ongoing support and access to reflective supervision.
This is a great opportunity to develop your practice supporting children with trauma and to learn about the impact of complex additional needs on a child’s development and family life.
Role Details
*Name changed to protect identity.
If you would like to be kept informed once our new ways of working are in place, please email us on info@thebelayfoundation.org.uk to let us know.
The Belay Foundation is a charity helping families whose children have suffered early life trauma.
Registered Charity in England and Wales No. 1192653
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