Autism Family Support Practitioner

Professional Partnership Working

• Work closely with Hackney Disabled Children's Service and other professionals.
• Attend multi-agency meetings as required.
• Contribute observations and recommendations to support planning and decision-making.
• Signpost and connect families to local community services, support groups and universal provision.
• Promote smooth step-downs into lower-level or community-based support.

Recording & Outcome Measurement

• Maintain accurate and timely case records.
• Use agreed outcome-monitoring tools to evidence progress.
• Complete intervention plans, reviews and closure reports.
• Gather family feedback and outcome data.
• Contribute to service monitoring and evaluation requirements.

Safeguarding & Risk Management

• Safeguard children, young people and vulnerable adults in accordance with organisational policies.
• Recognise and respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns.
• Report concerns immediately through established procedures.
• Undertake risk assessments and contribute to risk management plans.
• Maintain professional boundaries and confidentiality.

Quality & Professional Development

• Participate in supervision, reflective practice and team meetings.
• Attend mandatory training and continuous professional development activities.
• Contribute to service development and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Keep up to date with developments in autism practice and neurodiversity.

General

• Uphold and adhere to the values of RfA at all times
• Ensure there is always compliance with RfA’s safeguarding policies and procedures
• All staff are expected to promote equality in the workplace and in our services
• Undertake any other duties asked of you that are commensurate with your grade

Flexible working:

This role may require occasional out of hours working at evenings, however this would be planned ahead.

Person Specification

Essential skills

• Relevant qualification in social care, youth work, education, psychology, health, family support or related field, or equivalent experience.
• Good understanding of autism and Neurodivergence.
• Understanding of behaviour as communication.
• Knowledge of safeguarding children and young people.
• Understanding of strengths-based and person-centred practice.
• Awareness of the challenges experienced by families of autistic children and young people.
• Experience supporting autistic children, young people and/or their families.
• Experience delivering direct support in family homes, schools or community settings.
• Experience building positive relationships with parents and carers.
• Experience managing challenging situations and supporting emotional regulation.
• Experience maintaining case records and reports.
• Ability to work independently and manage a caseload.
• Ability to balance empathy with a clear focus on outcomes.

Desirable Skills

• Knowledge of PDA, ADHD and sensory processing differences.
• Understanding of local authority pathways and disabled children's services.
• Experience supporting families in crisis or at risk of breakdown.

Standard skills

• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal) adaptable to different populations including: colleagues, external professionals, service users, families, volunteers, donors
• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills
• Good understanding of Safeguarding
• IT skills: proficient with Office 365
• Self-starter and able to work independently, using own initiative
• Non-judgemental, compassionate

Confidentiality and safeguarding

You will have access to confidential information concerning families and other service users and will be required to maintain confidentiality at all times.
All staff have the following safeguarding responsibilities:

• Actively promote the safety, wellbeing and inclusion of all children, young people and vulnerable adults accessing our services.
• Follow organisational safeguarding policies, procedures and codes of conduct at all times.
• Maintaining clear professional boundaries and model safe, respectful and appropriate behaviour.
• Recognise and respond appropriately to safeguarding, welfare or behaviour-related concerns, reporting these promptly and in line with organisational procedures.
• Work in a way that reduces risk and supports positive behaviour, emotional regulation and individual communication needs.
• Contribute to a culture where safeguarding concerns are shared appropriately, listened to, and taken seriously.

Staff Benefits

90% of our staff say that Resources for Autism is “a great place to work”.
Not only will the work you do ensure we are making vital differences and inspiring others, but our other benefits also include:

• flexible working patterns with the option to work in a hybrid way (only available for some roles)
• 25 days of leave (pro rata for part time roles) each year plus 8 bank holidays and an additional 3 Celebration days that could be used between Christmas and new year, but may be used for other religious days or significant days such as your birthday
• access to ongoing training and progress in the areas that interest you
• access to our wellbeing initiatives and an Employee Assistance Programme
• enrolment on to our pension scheme
• a supportive, warm and fun working environment made up of values driven people who are passionate about changing the world for autistic people

Application process:

In order that we adhere to Safer Recruitment processes, all applicants are required to complete an application form which must include your full employment history with clear details, any gaps in employment need to be outlined and explained. You are also required to provide details of your full education history.

We particularly welcome applications from global majority candidates, LGBTQIA+ candidates and disabled candidates, because we would like to increase the representation of these groups at RFA. We want to do this because we know greater diversity will lead to even greater results for our community.

As you would expect, we are a neuro-affirming employer, with a strengths and rights based approach to neurodiversity which affirms neurodivergent identity – we don’t want to “fix” or “cure” autism, and we don’t see it as a “disability” however we do recognise it can be “disabling”. We are working to improve the ways in which we recruit and support neurodiverse employees and those with lived experience of neurodiversity.

RfA is a Disability Confidant employer and candidates who meet the minimum essential criteria, that have a disability will be guaranteed an interview.