Job summary
- Main area
- Health Psychology
- Grade
- Band 5
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 18.75 hours per week (within Monday to Friday 9-5)
- Job ref
- 310-CYPF-8190221
- Employer
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Addenbrookes Hospital
- Town
- Cambridge
- Salary
- £32,073 - £39,043 per annum pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 23/09/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Family Support Worker
Band 5
Job overview
This post is to work as part of a multi-disciplinary healthcare team working into the Complications of Excess Weight (CEW) clinic, based at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. This is a regional service covering East of England. The post involves working alongside Medics, Nurses, Psychologists, Assistant Psychologists, Family therapists and Dietitians. It involves working with children, young people and their families, where there are complex medical needs associated with excessive weight requiring hospital and community-based interventions.
The post holder will be a member of the wider paediatric psychological medicine team and employed by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.
Main duties of the job
The role requires assessment and delivery of care in the community; involving the patient, parents and family systems where there are complex social needs. The intervention level ranges from the specialist tertiary hospital based multidisciplinary team to community teams including: community health teams; social care; education; wellbeing services and primary health care. The main purpose of the role is to liaise with and advocate for services and resources on behalf of families; to provide direct practical support, financial advice, emotional and social support for families; as well as signposting. The role will require a significant amount of liaising with a range of relevant agencies and teams, and where relevant, to make appropriate and timely referrals to appropriate local services.
Interventions routinely cross professional and Acute Health Trust and Community Mental Health Trust boundaries and sometimes involve Child Protection work. The job can be highly distressing, dealing with such issues as chronic illness and family breakdown, and may deal with issues such as acute physical distress or illness, serious mental illness and safeguarding.
The job involves providing home and community support for the child and family to facilitate lifestyle changes and improve health and wellbeing outcomes for children and young people with complications associated with excess weight.
Working for our organisation
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health and social care organisation dedicated to providing high quality care with compassion to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting and empowering them to lead fulfilling lives.
Our clinical teams deliver a wide range of NHS services across inpatient, primary care and community settings, including children’s, adult and older people’s mental health, forensic and specialist mental health, learning disabilities, primary care and liaison psychiatry, substance misuse, social care, and research and development.
To achieve our goals, we recruit high calibre candidates who share our vision and values. As an equal opportunities’ employer, we welcome applications from all sections of the community, particularly under represented groups including people with long term conditions and members of our ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities.
All appointments are subject to the successful completion of a probationary period.
Please note we reserve the right to close adverts early should we receive sufficient applications.
Regrettably, we cannot offer sponsorship for all roles. If you apply for a post that does not attract sponsorship, your application will be withdrawn from the process.
For further information on CPFT, please visit our website at https://www.cpft.nhs.uk
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
1. Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities
Please note for this role you will be required to travel independently around the county meeting strict time deadlines. You will need to hold a full UK driving licence* and have use of a vehicle. You cannot use public transport for this role as this is not a reliable form of transport and will not allow you to meet service needs. Please confirm in your application that you meet the specified criteria.
Work independently/alongside psychology to identify physical and psychosocial needs of the family and contribute to the development of individualised plans of care to address needs.
Encourage and supervise the interaction of young people with activities, using motivational approaches.
To provide education, advice and support the child and family in order to make appropriate lifestyle choices to promote health, well-being and minimise biopsychosocial complications of excess weight.
To support and liaise with external agencies to provide quality care for patients.
Work with external agencies to provide appropriate activities within both hospital and the community to meet the needs of this patient group.
To keep records of the numbers and types of patients receiving recreational services/input and to assess social and emotional capabilities before and after intervention.
To attend and contribute to appropriate multi-disciplinary meetings.
To assist young people to develop links and contacts with other young people with complications of excess weight.
To work collaboratively with other family support workers in the UK, working alongside other professionals to offer an alternative view to working with young people.
Initiate and use risk assessments where required for activities within clinic and in the community.
Initiate, plan, co-ordinate, monitor and evaluate work which broadens access to social activities for young people.
To develop and maintain a close working relationship with people from the community as well as with those involved in other elements of the team’s work.
Empower and support the family to identify a personal health plan with SMART goals and coaching support behavioural changes to achieve and maintain these.
Help individuals identify how their behaviour and context may affect their health and well-being.
Contribute to the reduction of inequalities in health through promoting and supporting people to develop healthier behaviours in the lifestyle in the context of their own and local services.
To account for culture and spiritual requirement needs of the patient and family to promote equity, diversity, privacy and dignity.
Assisting in the support of families in distressing situations
Act as an advocate for child and family. Help parents relatives and friends to communicate their needs and overcome potential language barriers and cultural difference.
Support and empower children, young people, and families to make appropriate choices about their care and ensure that these choices are respected.
*DVLA have a number of reciprocal arrangements with overseas countries, for further information please visit the DVLA website
Person specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Undergraduate Degree in Social Sciences/Psychology or experience in relevant area of work.
Desirable criteria
- Evidence of continual professional development
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of working with sick or disabled children/ young people/families from a variety of backgrounds to improve their social circumstances.
- Experience of advice work/including liaison with statutory and /or volunteer agencies
- Knowledge of policies and legislation relating to welfare benefits, housing rights, and safeguarding
Desirable criteria
- Working in health/social care and multidisciplinary meetings.
Skills and Abilities
Essential criteria
- Ability to assess parenting skills and provide basic support to build physical and emotional caring abilities through practical activities particularly in relation to behaviour, sleep and physical activity.
- High level of communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive.
- Excellent time management and organisational skills.
Desirable criteria
- Genuine interest and enthusiasm in relation to working in the area of family work in Paediatrics
- Must have a positive attitude to disability and understand the impact that this has on a person’s life.
- Experience of conducting audits/service evaluation
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Understanding of the development of children and young people.
- Good knowledge of Child and Adult Social Care Services.
- Good knowledge and understanding of the assessment, support planning and care
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of the impact of health conditions on children, adolescents and their families.
- Proven ability to research e.g. provision of services, medical conditions.
- Awareness and application of diversity issues in clinical practice.
Practical Skills
Essential criteria
- Good interpersonal skills
- Effectively communicate with adolescent and young people, families and team members.
- An understanding of cultural differences
Other Requirements
Essential criteria
- Able to fulfil occupational health requirements for the post
- Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
- Able to tolerate prolonged periods of sitting.
- Ability to travel independently around the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough area meeting required timescales. A full driving licence and access to a vehicle is essential.
Desirable criteria
- An interest in working with children and families.
- An interest in working with children and families with severe obesity and/or complex medical presentations.
- An interest in human nutrition and dietetic interventions.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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Applicant requirements
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Viktoria Cestaro
- Job title
- Lead Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01223 216878
- Additional information
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