Support worker jobs in Cumbria
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Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Shine supports a community of over 15,000 members living with spina bifida and/or hydrocephalus, including 5,000 children and young people (0–25).
You will be delivering high-quality support and creating opportunities for children and young people living with spina bifida and/or hydrocephalus and their families/carers. Supporting Shine members to lead healthy, independent, and fulfilling lives by improving condition management and fostering connections within the Shine community.
This role will focus on children and young people (0–25), you will be primarily working within the Children, Young People and Families team. However, there will be occasions when you will work across age groups to ensure the best outcomes for our members.
The role is home-based but you will be required to attend regular clinics in London including GOSH (Great Ormond Street Hospital). Other travel across Southern England including Bristol, Devon and Hampshire may be required. There will be occasional travel required across wider areas and nationally including attendance at events, conferences and meetings at our head office in Peterborough.
Benefits:
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Competitive salary: Review due April 2027
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Regular working hours, and no shift work (some very occasional weekends or evenings)
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3% pension contribution
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25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, with additional discretionary leave between Christmas and New Year
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Additional annual leave awarded for ‘long service’
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Opportunity to purchase additional annual leave
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Broadband allowance for home-based roles
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Life insurance after 12 months’ employment
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Access to our Employee Support Programme and Mental Health First Aiders
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Support to learn and develop
How to apply
Shine is a Disability Confident employer and will offer guaranteed interviews if a disabled applicant meets the minimum criteria for the job.
If you would like to discuss the role please email Gill Valentine, Deputy CEO, to arrange a convenient time for a call.
To apply please submit your CV and supporting statement, which should outline your interest and explain how you meet the role criteria.
*Please note applications without a supporting statement will not be accepted*
We understand that you may wish to use AI tools to help you with some aspects of your application, but we do expect tailored applications which are personalised to your experiences and not generic applications which are completely AI generated. We encourage candidates to be transparent about AI usage in their applications.
Closing date: Monday 17th May 2026 at 11pm
Interviews: Tuesday 26th May 2026 (Virtual)
Please note: we reserve the right to interview suitable candidates before the closing date, therefore we encourage applications as soon as possible.
Please see full details on the Job Description and Person Specification document below and on our website.
Providing specialist advice and support for spina bifida and hydrocephalus



The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Kentown Family Support Worker
£24,000 annual salary plus Company Car (additional benefit of approx. £5K), 5% employers pension contribution and 25 days annual leave.
To Cover East Lancashire
Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity is going through an exciting time where we are growing, with the aim of reaching more families in need.
About the role:
We are looking to appoint a Family Support Worker to deliver a high-quality family support service as part of our Kentown Team.
Reporting to the Family Support Manager of the Kentown Team and working in partnership with health, education and social care professionals, you will take responsibility for providing needs-led emotional, social and practical support to families where a child/young person has a life threatening or terminal illness.
Having worked in a demanding and emotional environment you have a genuine interest in building supportive relationships and helping people; and having provided bereavement support to families, you understand processes of grief, loss and change - and how best to help others deal with its impact.
What we’re looking for:
·An experienced child health, education or social care professional - applications will be particularly welcome from those who have worked in a community environment and those with a recognised qualification in education, health or social care.
·A warm, inclusive approach to achieving goals quickly and correctly.
·Practiced in child protection, information sharing and the rules around data protection - you lead by example, drawing on your own professional experience and working within established guidelines.
·Practical and people-oriented - you will thrive working at a fast pace whilst maintaining accuracy and be a confident user of IT (including MSOffice)
·A persuasive and open communicator, you will work collaboratively with your team and volunteers to ensure delivery of a high-quality service and support fundraising colleagues by writing case studies and family updates
·A practical knowledge of diversity issues affecting children, young people, and their families – aware that being responsive to others needs and concerns, is essential.
What we offer:
We have a range of fantastic benefits that we offer our employees, this includes.
· Flexible working hours to balance home and working life
· 25 days of annual leave plus public holidays – rising to 26 days after 1 year, 27 days after 5 years and 30 days after 11 years, with an additional 5 years to use in your 10th or 20th year of service (pro rata for part time)
· Employee Assistance Programme with access to remote GP, counselling, physiotherapy, resources to support your mental health and financial wellbeing, as well as a 24/7 helpline via Help@Hand
· Company car for front line care posts
· Access to the Blue Light Card Scheme, and other rewards and discounts
· Bike to work, season ticket loan and payroll giving schemes, as well as a recommend a friend recruitment bonus
· Family friendly policies, focused on employee wellbeing, and an active cross-organisational wellbeing group running a number of initiatives throughout the year
· Pension scheme where we contribute 5% of your salary and you contribute at least 3%
· The option to buy/sell annual leave, as well as additional leave for your birthday, wedding/civil ceremony and an extra half day off for Christmas shopping
· Robust training and development programmes to support your learning and growth
We have a range of fantastic benefits that we offer our employees. If you’d like to find out more about these benefits and working with us, please visit our website.
We also have a fantastic learning and development programme - the Anne Harris skills development programme - in which we aim to provide a high level of training and development opportunities for all staff, so you are able to perform to the best of your ability, achieve individual and team objectives aligned to Rainbow Trusts strategic plan, supporting staff to be the best they can be, and feel a valued member of a high performing organisation.
Our Family Support Workers are given the opportunity to complete a number of diverse training courses in their first 12 months, including but not limited to: Mental Health First Aid, Makaton, counselling skills, and Introduction to Play.
The programme aims to provide a building block for you to individually tailor your own learning and development needs, with all family support workers having a foundation level of skills within their first year.
About us:
Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity enables families who have a child with a life-threatening or terminal illness to make the most of their time together, providing expert practical and emotional support where they need, it for as long as it is needed. For families living with childhood illness, time is everything. Right now, there are too many families coping alone with no support, no time to think, no time to make memories and no time for each other. We believe that no family should go through this alone, so we are here to change that.
How to apply:
To apply please visit our website via the link and apply online.
Interviews will take place via Teams or in person with a date to be confirmed. We will only contact those applicants who have been successful.
There will be a requirement for flexible working and a full current driver’s licence to accommodate the team and family need. An enhanced DBS disclosure will be required for this post.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and we expect all employees to share this commitment.
Rainbow Trust is an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from all backgrounds. We are a Best Companies One-Star rated organisation.
Kentown Family Support Worker
Maternity Cover up to 12 months
£24,000 pa + Company Car and benefits (including 25 days annual leave, reward scheme and pension)
To Cover Kentown and East Lancashire
Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity is going through an exciting time where we are growing, with the aim of reaching more families in need.
About the role:
We are looking to appoint a Family Support Worker for a fixed term period of up to 12 months, on a full-time basis (35 hours per week) to deliver a high-quality family support service as part of our Kentown Team.
Reporting to the Family Support Manager of the Kentown Team and working in partnership with health, education and social care professionals, you will take responsibility for providing needs-led emotional, social and practical support to families where a child/young person has a life threatening or terminal illness.
Having worked in a demanding and emotional environment you have a genuine interest in building supportive relationships and helping people; and having provided bereavement support to families, you understand processes of grief, loss and change - and how best to help others deal with its impact.
What we’re looking for:
· An experienced child health, education or social care professional - applications will be particularly welcome from those who have worked in a community environment and those with a recognised qualification in education, health or social care.
· A warm, inclusive approach to achieving goals quickly and correctly.
· Practiced in child protection, information sharing and the rules around data protection - you lead by example, drawing on your own professional experience and working within established guidelines.
· Practical and people-oriented - you will thrive working at a fast pace whilst maintaining accuracy and be a confident user of IT (including MSOffice)
· A persuasive and open communicator, you will work collaboratively with your team and volunteers to ensure delivery of a high-quality service and support fundraising colleagues by writing case studies and family updates
· A practical knowledge of diversity issues affecting children, young people, and their families – aware that being responsive to others needs and concerns, is essential.
What we offer:
We have a range of fantastic benefits that we offer our employees, this includes.
· Flexible working hours to balance home and working life
· 25 days of annual leave plus public holidays – rising to 26 days after 1 year, 27 days after 5 years and 30 days after 11 years, with an additional 5 years to use in your 10th or 20th year of service (pro rata for part time)
· Employee Assistance Programme with access to remote GP, counselling, physiotherapy, resources to support your mental health and financial wellbeing, as well as a 24/7 helpline via Help@Hand
· Company car for front line care posts
· Access to the Blue Light Card Scheme, and other rewards and discounts
· Bike to work, season ticket loan and payroll giving schemes, as well as a recommend a friend recruitment bonus
· Family friendly policies, focused on employee wellbeing, and an active cross-organisational wellbeing group running a number of initiatives throughout the year
· Pension scheme where we contribute 5% of your salary and you contribute at least 3%
· The option to buy/sell annual leave, as well as additional leave for your birthday, wedding/civil ceremony and an extra half day off for Christmas shopping
· Robust training and development programmes to support your learning and growth
We have a range of fantastic benefits that we offer our employees. If you’d like to find out more about these benefits and working with us, please visit our website.
We also have a fantastic learning and development programme - the Anne Harris skills development programme - in which we aim to provide a high level of training and development opportunities for all staff, so you are able to perform to the best of your ability, achieve individual and team objectives aligned to Rainbow Trusts strategic plan, supporting staff to be the best they can be, and feel a valued member of a high performing organisation.
Our Family Support Workers are given the opportunity to complete a number of diverse training courses in their first 12 months, including but not limited to: Mental Health First Aid, Makaton, counselling skills, and Introduction to Play.
The programme aims to provide a building block for you to individually tailor your own learning and development needs, with all family support workers having a foundation level of skills within their first year.
About us:
Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity enables families who have a child with a life-threatening or terminal illness to make the most of their time together, providing expert practical and emotional support where they need, it for as long as it is needed. For families living with childhood illness, time is everything. Right now, there are too many families coping alone with no support, no time to think, no time to make memories and no time for each other. We believe that no family should go through this alone, so we are here to change that.
How to apply:
To apply please visit our website via the link and apply online.
Interviews will take place via Teams or in person with a date to be confirmed. We will only contact those applicants who have been successful.
There will be a requirement for flexible working and a full current driver’s licence to accommodate the team and family need. An enhanced DBS disclosure will be required for this post.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and we expect all employees to share this commitment.
Rainbow Trust is an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from all backgrounds. We are a Best Companies One-Star rated organisation.