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Youth & Family Support Apprentice (Prefer Homes)
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We’re recruiting a Children, Young People & Families Practitioner Apprentice to join Prefer Homes
You’ll support young people and families to improve wellbeing and access services, gaining experience in an Ofsted-regulated supported accommodation service for 16-18s and 18+ care leavers.
Wage
- £12,480 for your first year, then could increase depending on your age
- National Minimum Wage rate for apprentices
- Minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)
Please note the hours would be 30-36 hours per week maximum 40 hours per week.
Training Course
- Children, young people and families practitioner (level 4)
Hours
- Working a 7 day rota running Saturday- Friday Shifts TBC including weekends and night shifts, however, can be anytime between 8am- 8pm or 2pm- 10.00pm Inclusive of nights shifts 7pm- 7am and sleep ins
- 30 hours a week
Start Date
- Monday 7 September 2026
Duration
- 2 years
Positions Available
- 1
What you'll do at work
As a Children, Young People & Families Practitioner Apprentice, you will join the team at Prefer Homes, supporting children, young people, and families within a housing and community setting while working towards your Level 4 Apprenticeship. This role offers valuable hands-on experience, enabling you to develop the skills, knowledge, and behaviours required to deliver effective early intervention, promote wellbeing, and help families sustain stable move on tenancies and independent living.
You will play a key role in building trusted, meaningful relationships with children and families, ensuring that safeguarding remains a top priority in all aspects of your work.
Key duties include, but are not limited to:
- Supporting the day-to-day delivery of family support services to create a safe, inclusive, and nurturing environment
- Working directly with children, young people, and families to assess needs and set realistic, achievable goals
- Providing daily practical support and helping individuals develop essential life skills to promote independence
- Supporting young adults to gain and sustain their move on tenancies, improve stability, and enhance their quality of life
- Encouraging positive parenting, strong family relationships, and healthy routines
- Assisting with early intervention activities that build resilience, confidence, and overall wellbeing
- Signposting and facilitating access to external services, including education, health, and community support
- Using ClearCare systems to accurately document and maintain support plans, risk assessments, and key working sessions
- Maintaining detailed and accurate records in line with organisational policies and procedures
- Communicating effectively with families, colleagues, and external partner agencies
- Promoting safeguarding, equality, diversity, and inclusion always
- Ensuring all health and safety standards are met within the buildings, including adherence to HMO regulations and maintaining clean, safe environments
- Complying with all data protection, confidentiality, and organisational procedures
Throughout your apprenticeship, you will receive structured training, mentoring, and ongoing support to help you build confidence, enhance your professional practice, and progress within the children, young people, and family support sector.
Where you'll work
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This apprenticeship is available in these locations:
- 54 YARM ROAD, STOCKTON ON TEES, TS18 3PQ
- Fairway, Spring Street, Stockton-On-Tees, TS18 3NR
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training Provider
- DARLINGTON BOROUGH COUNCIL
Training Course
- Children, young people and families practitioner (level 4)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Communicates in way that enables the voice of the child, young person or family members to be heard
- Encourages individuals to engage positively with their community and relevant agencies and actively participate in the way their care and support is delivered
- Actively promotes respect, equality, diversity and inclusion
- Works together with children, young people and families to keep them safe and manage risk and promoting the development of skills the family need to successfully manage risk themselves
- Works with and supports other professionals to respond to safeguarding concerns
- Identifies the influences on the individual and the family and supports them to make informed choices
- Leads on the development and recording of holistic plans, delivery of interventions and evaluates their effectiveness
- Identifies and addresses barriers to accessing resources
- Identifies and manages evidence-based approaches and evaluates their effectiveness
- Contributes to the development of a resilient, consistent and persistent approach to practice
- Models clarity of purpose, clear expectations and a professional approach to decision making
- Appropriately challenges and/or offers alternative perspectives with the children, young person or family
- Contributes to own professional development
- Applies knowledge of legal, economic and social justice systems and implements policy frameworks in support of positive outcomes for children, young people and families
- Demonstrates critical evaluation of practice and insight into own emotions, behaviour and feelings, and uses these insights to challenge own practice
- Takes an active part in continuous professional development
- Sharing and agreeing goals and outcomes when building relationships with partner organisations, other workers, children, young people and families, to ensure appropriate and timely support
- Assumes the role of professional parent
- Contributes to creating and reviewing placement plans based on individual need
- Is able to support traumatised children and young people to live together and make progress
- Develops and promotes the ethos of the home
- Models collaborative team working and the ability to support and appropriately challenge each other
- Engages effectively with child, young person and/or family members
- Supports children, young people or vulnerable adults to identify and take action to deal with safeguarding risk
Training schedule
You will be completing the Level 4 Children, Young People & Families Practitioner Apprenticeship Standard with Darlington Borough Council Learning & Skills, Darlington.
This apprenticeship is designed to equip you with the essential skills, knowledge, and behaviours required to support children, young people, and families effectively within community and housing settings. The programme is delivered through a blended approach, combining online flexible learning, expert-led classroom sessions, and workplace-based training covering key areas such as safeguarding, early intervention, and family support.
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Throughout the apprenticeship, you will be supported by experienced tutors with extensive backgrounds in children’s services and family support. They will help you develop the confidence, competence, and professional practice needed to work effectively with children, young people, and families, promoting positive outcomes and long-term wellbeing.
More training information
Training will be provided to achieve the following qualifications:
- Children, Young People and Families Practitioner Level 4 Apprenticeship Standard
Drop-in training sessions will be take place at the workplace, where you will develop the knowledge, skills, and behaviours to ensure these exceed the minimum requirements for the Children, Young People and Families Practitioner Level 4 Apprenticeship Standards.
Requirements
Essential qualifications
- GCSE in:
- English (grade 4+/ C+)
- maths (grade 4+ (C+))
Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Communication skills
- IT skills
- Attention to detail
- Organisation skills
- Customer care skills
- Problem solving skills
- Presentation skills
- Administrative skills
- Number skills
- Analytical skills
- Logical
- Team working
- Creative
- Initiative
- Non judgemental
- Patience
Other requirements
- Travel to and from the employer, based at Fairway Spring Street Stockton-On-Tees TS18 3NR and 54 Yarm Road, Stockton on Tees, TS18 3PQ
- Business insurance needed if a car driver
- Fully enhanced DBS preferably on the update service to adhere to Ofsted Safer Recruitment Practices
- Due to the shifts, only applicants aged 18+ would be suitable
About this employer
Prefer Homes is a supported accommodation Ofsted Regulated provider based in Stockton-on-Tees, delivering safe, high-quality accommodation and tailored support for young people aged 16–18 in the care of local authorities LAC Children. The organisation specialises in helping individuals develop the life skills, confidence, and resilience needed to live independently, through person-centred support, education engagement, and wellbeing-focused services. With a dedicated and experienced staff team, Prefer Homes creates a nurturing environment where young people can feel secure, achieve their goals, and successfully transition into adulthood.
http://www.preferhomes.co.uk (opens in new tab)
After this apprenticeship
Your earnings can increase over time with an apprenticeship. Find out about potential future pay (opens in new tab).
Possible employment and progression on to further training upon completion of apprenticeship
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
- DARLINGTON BOROUGH COUNCIL
- Graham Curry
- graham.curry@Darlington.gov.uk
- 07949845325
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000035410.
Apply now
Closes in 23 days (Friday 28 August 2026 at 11:59pm)
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