Job Description

PLEASE NOTE AN APPLICATION FORM AND COVER LETTER WILL BE REQUIRED, AND THE CANDIDATE MUST HAVE A RIGHT TO WORK IN THE UK

We are delighted to be recruiting for a Youth and School Support Worker, for our busy, happy centre in Eastcote, NW London. Find out more about us on our website, adhdandautism. org

This role is partly based in local secondary schools.

Youth and School Support Worker Wanted:

Calling all youth support enthusiasts! Join our ground breaking project, taking our charitable activities directly into the school environment. Join our team as a

Youth and School Support Worker

and work with young people in local secondary schools as well as at our centre in Eastcote, and help them to thrive.

At CAAS we are committed to providing individualised support, information, and advice to young people who have a diagnosis of ADHD and/or autism, or who are on the diagnostic pathway. Our mission is to empower them to explore their diagnosis, provide psychoeducational and emotional support, and connect them to relevant groups and local resources, ultimately enhancing their quality of life.

Hours: 28 hours per week, Term Time + 3weeks during school holiday periods (42 weeks total per year)

Terms: One Year Fixed Term Contract, potential to extend.

Flexible hours: CAAS operates an agile working policy, and your work pattern will be agreed in accordance with this. Most work will take place within the 9am-4pm working day, but some reasonable level of evening and weekend work will be required (eg a fortnightly early evening group and a monthly Saturday morning group).,

Location: CAAS offices / local schools

Full can be found on our website, but key elements of the role are:

1. Job Summary

CAAS provide an ADHD and Autism Support Service for the 8 boroughs of NW London, from our base in Eastcote, with a team of Support Workers. Our work includes offering information, advice, and support to ADHD / autistic people, their families, and professionals in NW London, with the aim of improving quality of life and developing neurodiverse-aware communities. Some of the support is offered through one2one meetings, some of the support is provided through groups and courses which aim to increase understanding and awareness, and provide opportunities for peer support, and some of the support is offered through training and workshops to educate professionals and drive for accommodations to be made to services to allow greater access for our client group.

Within our youth work, we have developed a project working directly with secondary schools to provide them with youth support in the school setting. This work complements our existing youth support work, which mainly takes place in our offices, and incorporates one2one work with young people, delivery of youth social groups, provision of our specialist youth courses, support during our regular drop-in sessions and training and peer awareness opportunities.

In this role, the Youth and Schools Support Worker (YSSW) will spend some of the week working out of our centre, delivering one2ones, groups and courses, and some of the week working out of different schools in the local area delivering our new school project. One day per week will be dedicated to team supervision, training and meetings etc.

The role requires passion for supporting young people, strong organisation skills and excellent communication skills.

There is no requirement for a significant level of experience of working with ADHD / autistic individuals, but a good understanding of the conditions, a genuine acceptance of diversity and a keenness to make an impact are essential

2. Key Responsibilities

School Support Worker

The role will be expected to work in a different school each school-based day, and the times of work may vary, for example to support a pre-school teacher training or an after-school coffee drop in.

As the project is rolled out across new schools, we know the specific elements will be embedded over time, but initially we expect the support worker to:

Offer one to one sessions to students in the school setting

Offer one to one sessions with parent / carers in the school setting

Offer a lunchtime club for students to work on specific topics, or facilitate social interactions

Provide information and advice to groups of teachers on how best to support neurodivergent students

Offer ad-hoc assemblies to the whole school to raise awareness and understanding of the conditions

Offer ad-hoc coffee drop-in support sessions for parents

Signpost to other avenues of support, both in and out of CAAS

Individual Support

The basis of our one2one project is the same, whether being delivered in school, or out of our centre (where it may be offered via video calls). Our individual support encompasses:

Provision of one-to-one ad hoc, tailored support for pre- and post- diagnosis (with the support to be co-produced by the service user). This support may include, but is not limited to:

develop relationships with young people aged 11-25 based on respect and trust, ensuring they have a safe place to develop their identity and place in society.

Establish boundaries and explore challenges/differences.

Mentor, coach and support individuals, encouraging greater social inclusion

Attendance at multi-agency meetings and advocate for the young person where required

Facilitation of Youth Courses

CAAS offers specialist youth courses, including Thriving with Neurodiversity and WHY TRY groups, and has received funding to offer them widely across NW London, mainly in schools, although some may be delivered in our centre or in other organisational settings. The YSSW will be expected to deliver a number of these specialist youth courses across the year, and to support in developing and improving the content and delivery methodologies.

These courses may be delivered in the evening, depending on the cohort being supported, and the YSSW will need to be available for evening work accordingly (notice will be given). The total hours per week will remain at 35hrs per week of work, with the agile working policy being used to flex the hours worked during the week to accommodate the necessary work delivery each week.

Facilitation of Youth Social Groups

CAAS offers a wide range of social groups for young people, mainly at our centre, but some online. These are generally held in the early evening. The YSSW will be expected to facilitate some youth groups each month, so will need to be available for evening work accordingly. As noted above, these hours will be worked within the 35hrs worked per week, using the agile policy to flex accordingly. To note that the groups the YSSW will be required to work may change each term, so flexibility in setting working patterns is crucial.

Wider support

The YSSW will be expected to contribute to the education, support and empowerment of young ADHD and autistic people in a range of other ways, such as:

Build networks within and across the schools being supported within the schools project, to share best practice and develop projects that best support the young people.

Manage and facilitate regular and planned groups for young people and their families within the schools in the schools project

Offer whole school and class assemblies to facilitate peer understanding of neurodiversity

Provide training to school staff to develop understanding, raise awareness, provide reasonable adjustments and suggest a toolbox of strategies that might best support young people

Keep abreast of national and local trends and developments affecting ADHD and autistic young people and identify opportunities to promote awareness of their needs and the development of appropriate services and support.

Join our regular coffee drop-in support sessions to offer youth-tailored support and advice to attending parents and carers.

Organisational

To create resources and content to be used within the schools project

To provide written reports as required by professional agencies and CAAS.

Assist in promoting the organisation's services.

Attend regular supervision and training sessions.

To ensure the monitoring requirements for the project are met.

To provide regular progress reports to the Youth Service Manager.

To comply with such policies/procedures, guidelines and codes of practice as laid down by CAAS and the Law.

Other Responsibilities

To carry out other tasks appropriate to the post and as agreed with the CEO.

To actively participate in and undertake training and development of self and others.

Please note job descriptions only reflect 80% of a role and are not an exhaustive list of duties. You are expected to carry out other activities within the scope of the role.

3. Person Specification - Essential

Knowledge of ADHD/autism and how families can support their young people.

Experience in working with and providing support to young people.

Ability to build good working relationships with young people who may find it difficult to access support.

Experience/knowledge of the challenges facing neurodiverse young people.

Knowledge/awareness of reasonable adjustments, strategies, and coping mechanisms to support neurodiverse young people's needs.

Ability to provide reliable support to families and other adults surrounding a young person, and to act with integrity in times of stress.

Clear communication skills and an ability to represent the organisation internally and externally.

Strong organisational skills with great time management. There is a heavy demand for the personal organisation of your workload and managing appointments, and you will need to be able to manage a diverse workload with competing demands.

Ability to develop relationships with relevant statutory and voluntary sector bodies.

Ability to develop professional relationships with schools, local authorities, and other partner organisations.

Experience in safeguarding children, data protection, equal opportunities and diversity legislation and best practice.

Ability to monitor and evaluate work.

Good oral and written skills and the ability to write and present clear and comprehensive reports.

Computer Software Skilled (much of the work is managed via technology and computers)

4. Person Specification - Desirable

Qualified facilitator / demonstratable experience in facilitating groups and delivering training.

School Experience

Voluntary Sector Experience.

Counselling or coaching skills.

Knowledge of SEN / Social Care Legislation.

5. Equal Opportunities

CAAS recognises the positive value of diversity, promotes equity and challenges discrimination. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds, including applications from Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority communities, people who identify as having a disability, and LGB+, Trans and non-binary candidates

We also recognise the value of flexible working, so will consider different types of flexibility (such as term time, annualised or compressed hours, and a minimum requirement of 60% working in the office for all staff).

CAAS is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be required to undergo an enhanced DBS disclosure.

CAAS is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.? The successful candidate will be required to undergo an enhanced DBS disclosure.

To Apply

PLEASE NOTE WE WILL NOT ACCEPT INDEED APPLICATIONS, AND WE WILL NOT ACCEPT CVS INSTEAD OF APPLICATION FORMS. TO APPLY FOR THIS ROLE YOU MUST FILL IN THE APPLICATION FORM ON THE VACANCIES PAGE OF OUR WEBSITE

adhdandautism. org

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: 33,000.00 per year

Benefits:

Additional leave Flexitime
Schedule:

Monday to Friday
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Ruislip HA4

Application deadline: 21/07/2025
Expected start date: 01/09/2025