Wellbeing Officer

**Recruitment of Wellbeing Officer for Young Carers - 37 Hours**

St Helens Carers Centre is an independent charity, established since 2001. The Volunteer Board of Trustees governs the Centre; it consists of 6 Trustees, most of whom are carers or former carers.

We are extremely well respected by our local partner agencies; we have built up a reputation based on providing a friendly and efficient service, our approach is simply to go above and beyond. The Adult Carers Centre currently has over 15,000 Carers registered & the Young Carers Centre supports over 780 Young Carers, aged 6 - 18 years of age.

Our organisation is also a network member of the National Carers Trust.

Our aim is to put preventative measures into place so that Adult & Young Carers are better able to cope with their caring responsibilities. For Young Carers, we help them to achieve in school; give them time away from their caring role so they can think about their own aspirations, create opportunities for them to pursue a career of their own choice and give them the chance to make long lasting friendships with other Young Carers who understand their situation.

The Young Carers Centre is located opposite the St Helens Town Hall. The Centre has been specifically designed to cater for children and young people. The bright décor and the facilities make the Centre appealing to all age groups.

The Young Carers Centre also provides a range of support, the services offered include:

- Young Carer Assessments/Reviews (in home, school, college or at the Young Carers Centre)
- Referrals out into other agencies for support
- Practical/Emotional Support
- Benefits Advice for 16 years +
- Regular Age-Specific Activities (during term time & school holidays)
- Chattin 4 Action Committee - Young Carers working to make positive changes
- Residential Breaks
- Wellbeing Workshops
- Maths Tuition

In addition to the above we also work closely with schools, colleges, alternative education provisions and other agencies to raise the awareness of Young Carers. We provide staff training, deliver school assemblies and provide briefings to teams so that they are fully aware of our service and how to refer in.

**Why is what we do so important?**

The Young Carers we support face challenges on a daily basis, the impact of caring can affect their social life, education, physical and mental wellbeing. They can be taking on practical and/or emotional caring responsibilities that would normally be expected of an adult. Their tasks can include, for example, changing catheter bags on a daily basis, providing personal care, helping the cared for to get dressed, administering medication, keeping them safe from taking an overdose, moving and handling, providing care to younger siblings, shopping, cleaning, cooking and providing emotional support.

JOB TITLE: Wellbeing Officer for Young Carers
LOCATION: St Helens Young Carers Centre
REPORTS TO: Team Leader Young Carers Service
SALARY: £25,878 - £26,845
HOURS: 37 Hours Per Week. (Monday to Friday, will be required to lead on the occasional evening Activity up to 8pm).

**Who are we looking for ?**

**What will the successful applicant be doing ?**
They will work with newly referred Young Carers, developing a support plan which will help to reduce the impact of their caring role. They will create tools and resources, tailored to the needs of the Young Carer; these will be used when delivering one to one sessions. The Young Carers team aim to help Young Carers and their families so that they get the support they need, preventing them from becoming socially isolated and/or falling behind in school/college or taking on a caring role that is deemed to be inappropriate.

**Main Duties and Responsibilities**
- To contact and meet with newly referred Young Carers and their families to see what support is needed.
- To undertake an initial statutory Young Carers assessment to identify needs to plan and support around any issues and prevent problems from escalating. This involves creating a support plan within a specified timeframe. These assessments will take place in the Young Carers home, school/college or at the Young Carers Centre.
- To link Young Carers into other services delivered by St Helens Young Carers Centre and to signpost and/or refer them and their families into statutory and voluntary agencies as appropriate to need.
- To provide 1:1 support to a caseload of Young Carers whose primary need is around social isolation and confidence building.
- To assist in the delivery of Young Carer residential breaks (we offer approximately 3 per year).
- To work in partnership with statutory and voluntary agencies to ensure a multi-agency approach.
- To advocate on behalf of Young Carers and their families by providing reports, liaising with professionals, attending, and chairing meetings so that support is offered.
- To deliver and lead on the occasional evening activity session, on a rota basis, giving staff the opportunity to s