Family support worker

You could do a college course to learn some of the skills and knowledge you need in this job.

Courses include:

• health and social care
• children and young people's workforce
• children's learning and development

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

You could apply to do an apprenticeship with an organisation that works with families, such as:

• Health and Social Care Level 2 Foundation Apprenticeship
• Peer Worker Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship
• Children, Young People and Families Practitioner Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship
• Early Intervention Practitioner Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship

Foundation apprenticeship

You can apply for a foundation apprenticeship if you're aged 16 to 21.

If you're aged 22 to 24, you can apply if you:

• have an education, health and care (EHC) plan
• are in care or have been in care
• are in prison or have been in prison

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• no specific qualifications or experience to apply for a foundation apprenticeship

• 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship

More Information

• guide to apprenticeships|https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide
• equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
• apprenticeship levels|https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/apprentices/about-apprenticeships#UnderstandingApprenticeshiplevelsandqualifications

You'll normally need some experience to apply for training or jobs as a family support worker.

You can get this by volunteering or finding paid work with:

• children's homes or youth projects
• nurseries
• family refuge centres
• probation services
• family community centres
• mental health services

You can find volunteering opportunities listed on Do It and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) .

You can apply directly for family support worker jobs if you have experience of working with children, young people or families.

You'll also usually need a minimum of a level 3 qualification in:

• childcare or child development
• social work or social care
• counselling
• youth work
• education

Career Tips

The ability to speak a second language used by groups in the community may be useful for some jobs.

Further Information

You can find out more about careers in support work from Think Care Careers .

As a family support worker, you could:

• speak to families to understand what type of support they need
• create plans to help families deal positively with the challenges they face
• introduce play and learning activities for parents and children
• give tailored support to children with complex social and emotional needs
• help children to develop language and communication skills
• help families to develop their parenting skills
• work with nurseries, schools and other partner agencies
• follow safeguarding procedures at all times
• help families get access to other support services
• support clients in family panel and court hearings

You could work at a client's home, at a school, in an office or in a court.

Your working environment may be emotionally demanding.