Kisimul
Careers FAQs

Staff constantly tell us that one of the most exciting aspects of their job is that every day is different! Kisimul is often referred to as a ‘family’, and you would be welcomed as such. Our focus throughout each and every day is to support the individuals in our homes, promoting choice and independence to give them the best possible outcomes in life.  We get involved in everything from weekly shopping and food preparation to sailing, rock climbing and horse riding – the possibilities are endless!

The main responsibilities in terms of what you will be doing within the role are contained within the advert and the job description. All jobs at Kisimul have a range of responsibilities in order to make a career with us as varied and enjoyable as possible. Every day is different, and it is therefore hard to capture everything within an advertisement. Any additional duties would only be confirmed after being discussed and agreed with the employee and your manager.

Working with people with autism and severe learning disabilities who may display behaviours of concern can be difficult at times, but brings with it huge rewards. It requires a huge amount of patience and dedication to those we support. However, supporting an individual and helping to create an atmosphere which is safe, caring and enjoyable and where people can grow towards independence and reach their full potential is enriching and fulfilling. We are so proud of our staff and the genuine difference they are able to make to the lives of those they support.

Yes, our services are open 365 day a year, seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

The hours vary, depending on the requirements of the service in which you would be working. Typically, working hours are:

Day shift – 07:30 till 20:30, one hour unpaid break, 40 hours per week on average.

Night Shift – 20:30 till 07:30 with 40 minutes’ unpaid break, 35 hours per week on average.

However, there may be some variations to shift patterns including part time hours, which will be discussed at interview stage. There can, on occasion, be staggered starts to ensure that the people we support are able to access the appropriate range of activities.

Yes, there will always be other staff on shift, with numbers varying depending on the size of the home and the requirements of the individuals. There is no lone working on night shifts.

Night shifts are generally 11 hours long, with start times ranging between 20.00 and 21.00.

The hourly rate for children’s services is £9.51 p/h for day workers and £10.18 p/h for night workers.

For adult services in our provision in the North, the rate is £9.51 for day workers and £9.49 – £10.53 for night workers.

For adult services in our provision in the South, the rate is £11.50 for day workers and £12.18 for night workers.

 Absolutely. Whilst having previous experience is preferred, the comprehensive training package and continued on-site training creates opportunities for those wishing to start their career within the health and social care sector, or for those looking for a change of career.

Service-specific induction programmes are provided to all new staff, who complete a process which is tailored to the role being undertaken. This is aimed at ensuring the highest levels of quality to those we support. We do this by ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and meeting national legislation, guidance and standards such as the Care Certificate, Level 2 Diploma in Health and Social Care, Level 3 Diploma in Health and Social Care, Level 3 diploma Children’s and Young People’s Workforce (as applicable to the setting). You will have an on-going training plan which will support you and the service to deliver the high quality of care that the individuals in our care deserve.

All employees will receive an initial two-week induction then ongoing on-site induction and support from their colleagues and line manager.

We constantly encourage people to progress within Kisimul. This might be progressing to a senior support worker or you may have aspirations to progress further, for example into a deputy manager role. You may choose to continue in a home-based role, or there may be opportunities to move into an education or training post or a quality assurance role for example. Whichever path you choose, you will be given the support to make as much progress as you can within your chosen field (subject to relevant vacancies).

Internal career progression is always promoted at Kisimul. All vacancies are advertised internally in the first instance, which creates opportunities for employees to learn and develop within their posts and the wider organisation.

Additional training such as leadership and management programmes are offered to ensure managers have the knowledge, skills and abilities to lead and manage effectively. This includes relevant qualifications such as, Level 5 in Care, or Leadership and Management.

 Children: The age of the young people in our care ranges from eight to 19. There are some services which are predominantly made up of teenagers, as appropriate peer groups are an important part of development. It is important that we all have a plan in life which gives us the best opportunities to be well educated and live in an environment which is conducive to a continuous development of skills. Individuals can be admitted into our services as young as young as eight, and can remain within the children’s home until they complete their statutory education at 19. This means that the children’s homes have a variety of age ranges and peer matching is important, it can therefore mean that some of the services predominantly support teenagers. This is an exciting time as you prepare the young people to live a more independent life as an adult and is hugely rewarding.

Adults: In our residential care and supported living services for adults, ages range from 18 to 65. At the current time, most of the people we support are under the age of 40, with a large proportion in their early 20s.

Behaviour of concern is not a learning disability. However, people with a learning disability are more likely to show behaviours of concern; this is a form of communication for people who have difficulty communicating – for example, it may be a sign that something is wrong, like pain or discomfort, or that an individual is frustrated of concerned about something.

A learning disability is defined as ‘a significant reduced ability to understand new or complex information, to learn new skills (impaired intelligence), with a reduced ability to cope independently (impaired social functioning) which started before adulthood’ (DoH). This can present as, for example, difficulty with everyday activities such as household tasks, socialising or managing money – therefore, individuals often need support in an environment which is conducive to developing their skills and abilities in order to fulfil potential, whatever that potential may be.

The individuals we support have a variety of methods of communicating, and some are not able to communicate verbally, but may use other methods to communicate. This can include communicating via Picture Exchange Communication system (PECS™), Makaton (a form of sign language), objects of reference and information technology aids such as programmes on tablets.

Training is provided to ensure that staff are able to effectively communicate with the individuals we support and it is hugely rewarding as you observe people being able to communicate more effectively with the support from the staff.

This is dependent on the needs of the individual, but is commonly a ratio of 1:1. Some individuals will require additional support, for example when accessing community activities. This is reviewed in line with the needs of the individual being supported through a package tailored specifically to them.

As a care and education provider, we are required to apply for a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) for all employees. It has three key purposes:

• Preventing (and keeping records of) unsuitable individuals from working with vulnerable groups
• Checking if there’s any reason a potential employee is inappropriate for the role for which they’ve applied
• To respond to referrals from organisations that are concerned that a candidate may not be suitable for a job because of the reasons above

An employer usually requests these checks so that they can ensure safer recruitment decisions.

Yes, if you work in our registered adult services.  From November 11, 2021 anyone working in a CQC regulated care home, providing nursing or personal care, will need to be fully vaccinated, unless they are exempt. We will be unable, by law, to allow any individual who has not received a complete course of the vaccine to enter a CQC registered location.  Whilst this isn’t the case in our supported living services or our children’s services, we would always encourage our staff to have the vaccinations as part of our duty of care to each other and the people we support.

We have a Covid-19 policy and risk assessment in place. All staff are provided with required PPE and everyone is required to LFT Covid-19 test, currently this is twice a week. All staff members have been able to have access to Covid-19 injection because of the nature of their jobs.

The safety of our staff and the people we support is of paramount importance. We have robust policies and procedures in place to ensure the highest levels of safety are maintained at all times. Employees also have access to an employee handbook.

We provide on-going training to all staff throughout their career at Kisimul, and have a designated safeguarding lead at each site.  We also provide ongoing training through our own personal behavioural support programme, which has been designed specifically for Kisimul and the people we support and is accredited by the British Institute for Learning Disabilities (BILD).