Apprenticeship training course
Peer worker (level 3)
Work alongside other professionals in hospital, justice and community settings.
- Qualification level
-
3
Equivalent to A level. - Typical duration
- 15 months
- Apprenticeship category
- Health and science
- Maximum funding
-
£5,000
Maximum amount government will fund
for apprenticeship training. - Also known as
-
- Carer Peer Support Worker
- Lived Experience Practitioner
- Peer Care Navigator
- Peer Coach
- Peer Link Worker
- Peer Mentor
- Peer Support Worker
- Skills
-
Skills an apprentice will learn
- Develop and maintain mutual and reciprocal peer relationships
- Mutually establish the purpose and boundaries within the peer relationship
- Engage with and support families and carers
- Manage and prepare for the ending of the peer relationship
- Purposefully share lived experience within the context of the peer relationship
- Establish connections with the individual based on shared understanding of experiences
- Model self-help and self-management approaches for the individual they are supporting
- Support the individual to develop self-management and problem-solving skills
- Support individuals to identify opportunities and overcome setbacks and challenges when trying to achieve self-defined goals
- Support individuals to work toward self-defined goals using peer-based approaches in 1-to-1, drop-in or virtual settings
- Support individual-led activities
- Collaboratively discuss care and support options with the individual
- Actively contributes to an individual’s care and goal plans with the individual
- Sets up and work with groups to facilitate working toward individual or shared goals within the group setting
- Support individuals to safely access support for their goals through digital platforms
- Support the individual during changes in their life circumstances
- Discuss concerns with the individual and when necessary raise any issues with an appropriate colleague or supervisor
- Support the individual to self-advocate and through self-determination, make choices and control the care and support options open to them
- Signpost to advocacy services
- Support the individual to prepare for reviews and complete applications or referrals, e.g. housing, medication review, food bank, benefits
- Identify new resources or community projects that could be accessed by individuals being supported
- Raise awareness and understanding of the opportunities available to the individuals being supported
- Act as a community connector to build links with community resources
- Support individuals to navigate through systems to access support, signposting resources relevant to their circumstances and self-defined goals that they can access independently
- Support co-production and delivery of learning and development activities to raise awareness and understanding of the Peer Worker’s role and remit
- Use service development activities to tackle stigma and labelling to encourage culture change
- Give presentations and deliver training to small groups
- Promote the lived experience perspectives and concerns of the individual being supported across own workplace and other organisations and services
- Promote and embed peer-based approaches in teams and services with which they work
- Use meetings with other multi-disciplinary team members to facilitate understanding of the individual’s perspective and their rights
- Work collaboratively with the multi-disciplinary team and other organisations or services
- Positively challenge low expectations and discriminatory practice to influence system change and enhance services
- Seek advice, support or assistance from the appropriate person when the limits of own responsibility and competence has been reached
- Manage own time and work priorities, using resources effectively
- Develop and maintain peer and professional networks
- Actively participate in team and peer supervision
- Reflect on and applies learning to practice
- Recognise the importance of self-care, taking appropriate action when required
- Participate in appraisal, personal development planning and continuous professional development
- Identify risks and contribute to required risk assessments
- Facilitate discussions with individuals and between the individual and the services they use on potential risks to their health and safety when working toward their self-defined goals
- Promote positive risk taking and different perspectives on risk within the team
- Take action in line with organisational policy where there are safeguarding concerns
- Recognise high-risk situations and takes action in line with organisational policy
- Adapt their communication to meet the needs of others
- Support individual's who are experiencing distress
- Provide relevant and supportive feedback to the individual in the peer relationship
- Actively seek feedback from individuals or groups on the support provided
- Maintain accurate records, ensuring where records are about the individual being supported, these are co-produced
- Follow legal and organisational requirements when dealing with confidentiality, consent and information sharing
Full information on Peer worker (level 3) is available from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.