What Does a Seashell Residential Support Worker Do?
Seashell provides residential support for children and young people with the most complex needs from across the country. We have 17 modern, four-bedroomed houses where we provide 24-hour care, weekly and termly boarding, and 52-week placement for individuals aged 3-25 years.
Our Care Team is an integral part of creating a safe and nurturing environment for the young people we support. Seashell Residential Support Workers work one-to-one providing daily care and support, including personal care needs, mobility, daily routine, communication, independent living skills, learning and access to leisure activities.
To better illustrate the varied day-to-day of a Residential Support Worker and what they do, you can watch our ‘Day in the Life’ series where we show an example of a morning shift and an example of an afternoon shift.
Morning shift with Ben
Senior Residential Support Worker Ben Saunders showed us a morning in his life while supporting College student Max.
Ben clocks into the Residential Houses at 7:30am and receives a detailed handover from the night staff to ensure any important information about the student is passed on. After this, Ben waits for Max to get ready for the day and checks on him at 8am. Max is very independent, but with other students Ben may support them with getting up, dressing or brushing their teeth, so the role can be varied depending on who he is working with.
Ben then supports Max to make his own breakfast to promote his independent living skills, but with other students Ben might make their food for them or support them with eating. All students are supported to have the confidence to be able to live as independently as possible.
After Max leaves for College at 8:30am, Ben calls Royal College Manchester to let them know he is on his way. Ben then spends some time in the office where he can complete admin and computer work, including emails, training and meetings. To develop his skills and career, Ben is also currently completing his Level 3 Qualification in Adult Care.
After light cleaning work around the house, Ben has a handover with the afternoon staff at the end of his shift and leaves at 2pm.
Afternoon shift with Wes
Residential Support Worker Wes clocks in for the afternoon shift at 2pm, where he is working with College student Will. After receiving a handover from the day staff, Wes meal preps for dinner following the student’s weekly meal plan.
At 3pm Will returns from College, and Wes receives a handover from the College staff about his first day in The Ged Mason Building, which went very well!
Residential students benefit from a varied activity rota where they can enjoy use of our world-class facilities. Activities after education can include cycling around our Bradbury Cycle Centre, swimming in the Bertie Broome Swimming Pool, use of our state-of-the-art accessible climbing wall, visits to the on-site playground, and off-site trips such as a local disco.
This week, Wes and Will went on two-to-one support in the community, accompanied by an additional support worker. Will demonstrated important life skills such as using the crossing, and at Costa he was encouraged to make independent choices about his order.
Other day-to-day tasks completed by Wes included looking over the MARs (Medication Administration Record) charts, checking the fridge and medication cupboard temperatures, and recording all of the notes for the day on our digital records system Nourish.
Will eats independently at mealtimes and is encouraged to use practical life skills such as washing up and emptying the dishwasher. After dinner, Wes supports Will to take care of his home by using the hoover, which is an important skill for the future.
Before bed at 9pm, Wes administers medication and personal care, such as supporting Will to brush his teeth. At the end of his shift, Wes records any additional notes on Nourish and gives a handover to the night staff before leaving at 10pm.
Join our team
We’re hiring Residential and Senior Residential Support Workers to make a positive impact like Ben and Wes. The role is 37.5 hours per week, with a mixture of day, evening and night shifts with alternating weekends.
The Senior leads the operational house team of Residential Support Workers, ensuring staff have the resources and support to provide the quality of service and continuous ongoing development.
Read more about the role and benefits of working at Seashell on our vacancies page here.
