Work in social care

Social care services provide support to people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and physical illnesses.

If you would like to interview for a role in social care, we will ask you which section of social care you would prefer. There are seven different sections to choose from. These are listed below.

Children and Young People

Children and young people care involves supporting families and young people in all day-to-day activities and education.  This may include:

  • working with schools and partner organisations to ensure that children and young people are supported to achieve, attain and be prepared for adulthood
  • helping children and young people make positive and healthy choices
  • supporting a range of intervention and prevention services to improve outcomes for families

Domiciliary care

Domiciliary care workers providing care for clients in the clients’ own homes. Because domiciliary care is tailored to support each individual client’s own needs, tasks can vary between clients.

Common household tasks that a domiciliary carer may provide include cleaning, laundering clothing and cooking. Outside of the home, carers may help their clients to access the local community by taking them to the shops, or attending appointments. Personal support may include helping clients to take medication, wash and dressing or prepare meals.

Home First

Home First provides reablement support on behalf of Suffolk County Council. Reablement support workers are trained to stand back and observe their clients, and then encourage them to learn new skills or re-learn skills they may have lost, for example, due to a brain injury. Reablement support workers help their clients to rebuild confidence and help to boost their physical and mental wellbeing.

Learning Disability Support

Learning Disability care homes are often small in size, as residents’ needs are often high. This means that they require frequent care, support and supervision. They are often purpose-designed for disabled people and have specialised facilities such as sensory rooms. They also give people with disabilities opportunities to socialise and form friendships.

Live-in care

Live-in carers provide care in the client’s own home, and provide support for a wide range of daily living activities, including:

  • household tasks such as cleaning, laundering clothing and cooking
  • help accessing the local community, for example taking them to the shops, or attending appointments
  • personal medical support, including washing, dressing and taking medication

Nursing and residential homes

Both nursing homes and residential care homes provide care and support 24 hours a day. However, nursing homes are equipped to provide a higher level of care and carers work alongside qualified nurses to support the wellbeing of their residents.

Carers provide all personal care for each resident and help them to carry out daily activities, in accordance with planned care.

Supported Living

Supported Living helps younger adults who are capable of being more independent but still need some form of support. Clients of Supported Living reside in their own homes as tenants. This could be a flat, house or a bedroom in a shares house. The aim of Supported Living is to enable residents to live as they choose, including making their own decisions about day-to-day activities and their home, while being part of a community.


What kind of work will you be doing?

The roles that will be open to you will depend on which section of social care you choose from the list above. Some sections will employ people to all of these roles, whereas other sections of social care are more specialist, and may only need people to carry out one or two of the roles described below.

If you have any questions about this, please do raise them at your recruitment day.

Activities workers are usually based in care homes, day centres, or in private homes. This role is ideal if you think you’re good at motivating people and organising events, are digitally competent and can manage your time well.

This role is ideal for you if you have the ability to work on your own initiative and prioritise your workload.

Support an individual to live as independently as possible, usually in their own home or in the community.

Support people to live independently, often following an illness or accident, and help them access support with housing, finance, social activities and life skills such as cooking or budgeting.

Open up your home and family life to include someone who needs care and support. They might come and live with you all the time or be a daytime visitor for a few hours a week.

Support vulnerable people to have their voice heard and ensure that their best interests are taken into consideration when decisions are being made about their lives.


Our social care providers

We are recruiting on behalf of a wide variety of social care employers. If you are successful, you will receive an offer letter from the most suitable employer. This will be based on the section of social care you have chosen to interview for (please see a description of all seven sections at the top of this page) as well as your location.

The employers we are recruiting on behalf of include (but are not limited to) the following:

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Page last modified: 10 October 2023
Next review due: 10 April 2024