working with children

sangie595

devilivus wrote: »

My friend works in a residential home with children ins a support role, and he definitely makes a fair but more tha minimum wage, so I don't see why you shouldn't go for it.

Not sure why Sangie seems to upset if i'm honest. ( Maybe you two have history??!!)
what's wrong with someone trying to better their situation?

Not upset and no history. I simply think that "better than washing up" is no reason at all to work with children. As I have made clear, it is a vocation, not a £ sign. And a few hours of work with children, if the OP can get it, will in no way fulfil the requirements of the course. And they have indicated not a single desire to work with children at all. Would you want to trust the education, welfare and safety of a child to someone whose only interest in them appears to be how much money they earn?

If the OP wants to better themselves, then there are lots of ways of doing it that don't involve setting out on a career path they have no real interest in. Only a couple of months ago they were off to do payroll training because a friends girlfriend made a lot of money doing it. I don't know what happened to that decision, but whatever it was, this one seems no better thought out.

jimmy2times

''And a few hours of work with children, if the OP can get it, will in no way fulfil the requirements of the course''

how many hours work IS needed? haven't found the answer yet. The sites i've looked at so far haven't been specific.

I've emailed the college but no reply yet.

Anyone taken such a course and can PM me the answer please?

kingfisherblue

Working with children in the role of a support worker is vastly different to babysitting, football coaching, or even mainstream teaching. It really isn't a job to go for unless you seriously enjoy being with children and want to make a difference to their lives. Just the term 'support worker' should give you a clue that they need far more input than most kids.

Let me describe a scenario for you. A child, let's call her Flossie, has severe behavioural problems due to autism. She is violent and has broken her parent's wrist. She has learning difficulties and you can't reason with her as you would with other children.

Another scenario - Billy is the sole carer for his disabled mother. He is only eight, but has to cook and do housework as well as help his mum shower, dress, take medications, and move around the house.

John has a disabled brother. His mum is finding it hard to cope, but reluctant to accept help from outside, so pretends everything is fine. He helps his mum as much as possible, but is falling behind in he schoolwork. His homework is incomplete and he is often late for school.

Anna lives in a residential home for children with disabilities because her parents cannot meet her needs within the family home any more. She is very demanding and easily frustrated. Your role includes evening, weekend and overnight care, and Anna has a high level of care needs, including tube feeding, self harm, incontinence and epilepsy. Although her parents can't cope with Anna, they need emotional support themselves, as they feel guilty for their decision to have her living in residential care.

These are just a few possible children that you could find yourself supporting. Your hours are likely to be evenings, weekends and overnight, plus school holidays. Daytime shifts are often spent in multi-disciplinary meetings or writing reports. You may have to take children out to various places for socialising and for life skills, but you might not be quite as keen on taking a teenager who has meltdowns in the supermarket because you have picked up red apples instead of green ones. You might have to drive a minibus, or take a child somewhere in your own car (for which business insurance is required).

An enhanced DBS check is mandatory.

Now, I'm not saying that support workers always face the problems detailed above, but they do work with challenging and/or disadvantaged children. Parents sometimes have learning disabilities as well as their children, and helping them to help their child can be problematic.

Obviously there are some great times for support workers, but there are tough times too. Emotionally it is very demanding.

If you don't have a burning desire to work with children, but just want a better paid job, please consider other careers, otherwise you probably won't even get a job as a support worker. Employers want people with compassion and understanding, as well as an efucation.

Try volunteering in a special school or with a group of disabled children first - then multiply your responsibility tenfold. Could you cope?

jimmy2times

I have a burning desire to work with children

devilivus

sangie595 wrote: »

Not upset and no history. I simply think that "better than washing up" is no reason at all to work with children. As I have made clear, it is a vocation, not a £ sign. And they have indicated not a single desire to work with children at all. Would you want to trust the education, welfare and safety of a child to someone whose only interest in them appears to be how much money they earn?

I don't really disagree with any of that, but it feels like you're trying to save the world!
It's not up to you to decide who can apply for what jobs.
I'm sure there are people doing childrens social work jobs who are LESS suited to it than the OP. In fact, bearing in mind the number of sexual offenses against children in the paper from such staff recently, I'd say that's fact! (and these people still managed to get hired initially)
I'm assuming the OP would tell the interviewers what they wanted to hear and not say ''I need a better paying job''.
Your replies are what i'd expect if he was outrighting asking to look after YOUR kids, whereas he just wants advice from people regarding getting into a new career.
You should let the interviewers/colleges/etc decide if he can do it or not

elsien

jimmy2times wrote: »

''

how many hours work IS needed? haven't found the answer yet. The sites i've looked at so far haven't been specific.

I've emailed the college but no reply yet.

Anyone taken such a course and can PM me the answer please?

There isn't a definitive answer to that because it's not about the numbers of hours worked but about the situations you experience. I have done a similar NVQ with adults with learning disabilities and I had to have worked in the field for 12 months before starting the course. (Some colleges will say you can do the knowledge stuff in the classroom and the observations via work experience - my answer to that would be not if you want to do it properly, you can't.)

So (for example) I had to have worked in situations managing challenging behaviour, where I'd reported a H&S issue, where I'd communicated with other professionals, attended meetings..... this list goes on.
In my current role I had to do a write up about a safeguarding incident and include my report. I haven't had a safeguarding referral in the last 6 months although I work full time.
So the answer to your question is a bit how long is a piece of string, depending on your work experience and what situations arise while you are there. That's why they suggest working/volunteering, so you have relevant experience to draw on while doing the qualification.

sangie595

jimmy2times wrote: »

I have a burning desire to work with children

Sorry - that simply doesn't wash when it only appears on page two and is the last reason you could come up with (and after being told it is the only good reason several times). And the answer is, to complete workplace based assessment - full time or at the very least, a significant part-time position, either voluntary or employed.

And to be honest, any reasonable educational institution would expect experience before allowing you on the course in the first place, partly to demonstrate aptitude and commitment, and a lot to do with the fact that your chances of sticking out the course and passing are enhanced and they want people to pass for their reputation. Any place that doesn't care about their reputation and would take a student without aptitude and experience is only interested in your money. Your chances of passing are therefore diminished.

Either do this the right way or don't do it - as much for your sake as for the childrens. If you are going to spend that much money on a course, you want to pass and you want to be CERTAIN that this is the job for you. As kingerfisherblue suggested - volunteer first and then see if you are genuinely up to it. And that will start to give you the experience you need to train with a good training place - and you may even find an employer willing to help you train.

sangie595

devilivus wrote: »

I don't really disagree with any of that, but it feels like you're trying to save the world!
It's not up to you to decide who can apply for what jobs.
I'm sure there are people doing childrens social work jobs who are LESS suited to it than the OP. In fact, bearing in mind the number of sexual offenses against children in the paper from such staff recently, I'd say that's fact! (and these people still managed to get hired initially)
I'm assuming the OP would tell the interviewers what they wanted to hear and not say ''I need a better paying job''.
Your replies are what i'd expect if he was outrighting asking to look after YOUR kids, whereas he just wants advice from people regarding getting into a new career.
You should let the interviewers/colleges/etc decide if he can do it or not

You have no idea whether the OP is better than any of the people you describe - neither you nor I know the OP or their proclivities. I haven't made any comments on such matters. But I do happen to think that getting the best people into the jobs is important and the OP saying what people want to hear is not achieving that. If the OP genuinely wants to do such work, they would have come up with their burning desire sooner than page two of the thread, and long before everyone had already told them that that was the only reason to get into this line of work. There are many careers to invest in, but the only reason to do so is to want the work, not just wanting the money. Otherwise they may as well burn the money, because they will end up doing something they hate just for the money. The OP clearly has no burning ambition to do anything in particular, and that is not a place to start from. As suggested earlier, careers advice might be more appropriate.

jimmy2times

sangie595 wrote: »

. If the OP genuinely wants to do such work, they would have come up with their burning desire sooner than page two of the thread

I was just asking for course advice on a forum. It's not a job interview. Just a question about the courses/qualifications needed

If I was asked 'why' I wanted to do it, i'd have given a good answer.

And For the 5th time, the 'pays more than washing dishes' post was simply a reply regarding how the low pay might put me off!!! It's been taken out of context and was never my reason 'why'

emsywoo123

jimmy2times wrote: »

''And a few hours of work with children, if the OP can get it, will in no way fulfil the requirements of the course''

how many hours work IS needed? haven't found the answer yet. The sites i've looked at so far haven't been specific.

I've emailed the college but no reply yet.

Anyone taken such a course and can PM me the answer please?

I teach apprentices and they have to do 30 hours a week over at least 13 months. (Levels 2 and 3)
I am undertaking a degree and I have to do 10 hours a week over 3 years. (Levels 4-6)

It depends entirely on the course and the awarding body.