Ormiston Families
Family Support Worker - Prisoner Family Services - HMP Chelmsford
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About Ormiston Families
At Ormiston Families, we believe everyone in the East of England deserves to feel happier, stronger, and understood. For more than 45 years, we've been supporting children, young people, and families to overcome challenges, improve emotional wellbeing, and build brighter futures. Everything we do is rooted in our values of collaboration, compassion, and effectiveness, and we're proud to work alongside people rather than simply for them, creating lasting change through trusted relationships, early intervention, and evidence-based support.
Our people are at the heart of our success. We know that when our colleagues feel valued, supported, and empowered, they can make the greatest difference to the lives of others. That's why we're committed to creating an inclusive, welcoming workplace where everyone can thrive, develop, and feel proud of the impact they make. Whether you're working directly with families or supporting our services behind the scenes, you'll be part of a dedicated team that shares a common purpose: helping children, young people, and families build resilience, strengthen connections, and create positive, lasting change in their communities. If you're looking for a rewarding career where your skills, ideas, and compassion can genuinely transform lives, we'd love you to join us.
Role Overview
In 2023/24, Ormiston Families’ Prisoner Family Services provided expert support, advice, and guidance to over 60,000 visitors at eight prisons across the East of England, including HMP Chelmsford, helping them deal with a whole range of emotions, including sadness, fear, anxiety, anger, shame, and embarrassment.
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We have opportunities to join our experienced and dedicated Family Services team working within the visitors’ centre at HMP Chelmsford, providing a personal welcome to first-time and returning visitors, helping them access the services available to them.
Responsibilities
HMP Chelmsford, part of the main HMP Estate, offers a varied and exciting opportunity to work in a busy yet rewarding environment where no two days are the same. You will be required to obtain and retain enhanced security vetting for this role.
We are seeking a Family Support Worker to join the team in providing effective and efficient running of the Visitor Centre, Tea Bar, and Play Area in the Prison Visits Hall, assisting on Family Days to ensure prisoners and their families have a valuable visiting experience, improving the quality of visits for children, young people, and families, and helping to maintain positive, healthy, and supportive family relationships.
Ideal Candidate
Ideally, you will have experience of dealing with people in a customer service-based role and be able to demonstrate excellent communication and problem-solving skills, sometimes under challenging circumstances, whilst embracing a non-judgemental and empathetic work ethic.
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Salary
The salary for this post is £3,322 (based on the Real Living Wage of £24,479 FTE per annum or £13.45 per hour).
Location
Based: HMP Chelmsford Visitors’ Centre
Working Pattern
We run the visit centre on Mondays/Tuesdays/Wednesdays/Thursdays/Saturdays & Sundays and have a rota-based shift pattern available as below:
- Based on a rota working 4.75 hours average per week, working every other weekend (both Saturday and Sunday) 4.75 hours (11.30am-4.15pm), plus various ‘as and when’ weekday shifts when required.
- For all options, a degree of flexibility will be required at times to meet operational demand.
Application Details
For further information and to apply, please visit our website.
Closing Date
Closing date for applications: 9am, Monday 27th July 2026
Safeguarding and DBS Requirements
Ormiston Families is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and adults at risk and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts. We are an equal opportunities employer; we value diversity and welcome applications from all sections of the community.
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