Job details
Serious Applicants only who are looking to join a positive team and family providing the best care possible for their son.
I am looking for 1 additional Personal Assistant to join our evening overnight respite team for my teenage son. You will work on a 2 to 1 ratio supporting him every other Saturday. That’s 31 hours per month. With two of you on shift there will be the opportunity to have a break and rest/nap (paid). The position would be for 15.5 hours from 6pm on a Saturday evening until 9.30am the following day.
Additionally, the ideal candidate must also have flexibility and sometimes be able to cover annual leave on a Tuesday from 3.45pm until 8.45am on the Wednesday. There may also be times when a Personal assistant cannot come in on a Tuesday due to an emergency or illness and will give us 24 hours notice. On these rare occasions the ideal candidate would be able to cover these times given 24 hours notice.
My son is full of life, loves playing with his iPad, his toybox, and is incredibly cheeky. He lights up any room and brings a smile to all those who meet him.
My son has a diagnosis of Isodicentric 15 Chromosome Duplication. This entails a number of health complications including epilepsy, learning disability and can be a little wobbly on his feet with no sense of danger.
Despite his disabilities, he tries to lead as full a life as possible. His interests include:
- Going to the Cinema.
- Trampolining.
- Watching dinosaur programs, cartoons and 'Friends'
- Eating is a huge enjoyment and he enjoys a varied diet
- Being out in the car.
- Going for nature walks
- Music
- Being out and about and part of life.
The right PA could make a huge difference to his life. Now he is 19, yet cognitively much younger, we want him to access more fun activities but don't want him to be held back by having to go everywhere with his old Mum and Dad.
It’s probably more important that we get on and have shared values, than for you to have a huge amount of previous experience of this type of work. If you are the right person to help us, I hope you will get a lot out of it as well. Not only will you be able to help my son to have positive experiences and gain confidence, but you’ll get variety in your time here and a wide range of valuable work experience.
Because routine is important to us, punctuality is highly important. My son in particular needs someone who is reliable, calm and able to reassure him when he needs it and who can be flexible when needed.
Although I will be your employer, and will make the decisions, we will be working together as a team as I believe we will achieve more by working together. You should also feel confident to ask what my son’s needs are and also be willing to listen to my requests and the directions that I give as his needs often change. There will be training given if you are a successful candidate, this will be over the first few shifts. We will keep teaching as we go along as we are learning all the time and will always pass on relevant, helpful information as our sons needs change. Over time you will get to know how he rolls but as you will be part of a team of 2 there will always be another person to ask for help relating to our son's care. Also we will also be available to contact.
The hours I require are:-
1 Personal Assistant - 6pm Saturday afternoon through to 9.30am Sunday morning (15.5 hours with a paid 3 hour nap factored into the night). This is every fortnight although there are options to work more hours as mentioned above.
The position will initially be on a 6 month trial basis to ensure that all parties work well together. We have established great relationships with past employees who remain in contact with us to this day and who have become a part of our extended family.
This position also offers 5.6 weeks holiday pay (pro-rata)
Duties will include:-
- You will play fun games ,go out in the garden, watch TV
- You will prepare dinner/drinks and assist with eating & drinking.
- Preparing rucksack with items needed for going out.
- Assist our son to access fun appropriate activities both indoors and outdoors
- Getting in and out the car
- Assist with walking as he does not perceive danger, kerbs, steps or uneven ground.
- Assist him to get ready for bed.
- Nappy changing
- Clothing and footwear changes
- Assist using toilet
- Administering medications (tablets)
- Assisting with teeth brushing
- Assist with walking upstairs safely and getting into bed
- Tidying up the trail of toys and washing up and putting away any pots used.
- Monitoring for seizures and reacting in a reassuring manner. This can be done via the CCTV that is set up downstairs. More information regarding the types of seizure and how to manage this will be shared with you during your training.
- We monitor his health closely and you will be required to record details of any seizures and medical issues. Again this will be explained to you during your training with us.
- Administering morning medication.
- Showering and getting dressed
- Preparing breakfast and aiding our son to eat it.
This list is not exhaustive but gives an indication of the high level of care our son needs to be able to stay safe, healthy and able to maintain both a happy and fulfilling life.
Training:
Training on my sons specific needs will be available before you begin working with him. You should be prepared to attend any relevant training sessions we feel necessary and read any training literature provided and follow procedures we have tried and tested in order to keep both our son and yourself safe.
Information about being a Personal assistant
It is the job of the Personal Assistant to assist their employer in all areas of personal care and domestic support, and to act as a confidential escort, assistant and companion in the person’s social and day-to-day activities. By providing help at the right time the disabled person is enabled to lead an individual and independent lifestyle in the community.
Your employer will have a number of expectations of you which are essential for the employer/employee relationship to work successfully due to the fact that you are supporting them to live as they wish to do, and will be working in their home.
The Personal Assistant should always ask what their employer’s needs or wishes are and listen to the requests and directions. The Personal Assistant should have the physical skills of lifting, pushing and bending. It is not essential to be a strong person physically to do the job, but general good health and fitness are considered to be an advantage.
Acknowledgement of and respect for the following aspects of the employer’s lifestyle and makeup is equally important: physical aspects, intellectual, sexual, cultural, educational, and social aspects.
Note:- All needs will vary from day to day and duties will alter accordingly, so the Personal Assistant needs to be able to adapt to our sons needs as he learns to do more for himself (we teach essentials for living skills in his home education).
NB: This role will be subject to an enhanced DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) check.
Essential Qualities
- Ability to accept responsibility
- Reliability and trustworthiness
- Willingness to learn the job well
- Attention to detail and ability to communicate clearly and pick up on cues from our son.
- Administering medication
- Clean personal habits
- Empathy
- Reliability
- Friendly, easy going manner
- Able to work with or without direct supervision
- Willingness and ability to learn
- Supportive and positive attitude
- Sense of humour
- Good spoken and written english in order for our son to understand verbal instructions and for data forms to be completed.
- Clean current UK Driving Licence – to be able to drive our sons motability car (our insurance will only accept EU/UK driving licence (not international).
- Cooking skills
- Non-smoker
Desirable Qualities
- Able to complete data sheets about sleep, eating, mood etc and seizure monitoring data form
- Qualification in care i.e. NVQ standard
- experience working with individuals with Epilepsy
Job Type: Part-timeSalary: £13.00 per hour
Job Type: Part-time
Pay: £13.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Company pension
- On-site parking
Physical Setting:
- Homecare
Shift:
- Night shift
Application question(s):
- What do you feel you can bring to this position over and above other candidates?
Education:
- GCSE or equivalent (required)
Experience:
- Caring: 1 year (required)
Language:
- English (required)
Licence/Certification:
- UK/EU Full clean driving licence (NOT international) (required)
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
Reference ID: Carer 2024
