Community support worker

Katie's story

Purpose of role

Katie is employed by Leicestershire County Council and is based in Loughborough.

The Community Support Worker role was created when the government bought in a new law that stated that everyone has the right to have an assessment to find out if they need social care support. It is Katie's role to carry out these assessments and to put a plan in place for the person to access the support that they need. Katie is responsible for around 20-25 cases at a time and supports each person through the whole process of assessment, care planning and choosing the support that they receive.

Career journey

Katie grew up with a close family friend who had physical and learning disabilities. Seeing the challenges that her friend faced inspired Katie to study Health and Social care at college. Whilst at university, Katie worked for a day service on a casual basis and, on graduating, took on a full-time position as a senior support worker. The experience and skills that Katie gained through her role has enabled her to progress to her current role as a community support worker. To take this step in her career, Katie was required to have a Level 3 Health and Social Care qualification, GCSE English and substantial experience of working in adult social care.

Day in the life of a community support worker

Katie's typical day is a mixture of completing office-based tasks, such as report writing and answering telephone enquiries, and traveling to visit people to complete care assessments.

Katie's day usually begins with checking for updates on her cases and following up tasks from previous meetings. For example, Katie may need to contact day services to find out whether they are able to provide the kind of support that the individual is looking for.

The most significant part of Katie's day-to-day role is meeting with people and their families or carers. In these meetings, Katie works with the person to find out what their needs are and what type of support would help them to meet those needs. In some cases Katie only needs to meet with a service user once in order to complete the assessment and put a plan in place. However, there are other cases where Katie works with a service user over a longer period of time to work through this process.

As well as completing her own tasks, Katie has to be ready throughout the day to help her team with urgent cases and emergencies. For example, Katie may need to cancel her afternoon meetings in order to find emergency accommodation for a person who is being discharged from hospital but cannot safely return home.

Want to find out about care career opportunities in your area?

Use our enquiry form to connect with local employers.

You can explore job vacancies at Leicestershire County Council on the East Midlands Shared Services Jobsite