Supporting Statement for a Support Worker
Support worker adverts (in supported housing, learning disability, mental health or domiciliary care) are shortlisted against a person specification that usually asks for values as much as experience. Shortlisters look for real examples of supporting people to be independent, keeping them safe and working with others.
Criteria you will usually see, and the evidence for each
Typical of care, housing and mental health services adverts; always work from the person specification of the job you apply for.
| Criterion | What counts as evidence |
|---|---|
| Experience of supporting people (paid or unpaid) | Who you supported, with what, and how you encouraged independence rather than doing things for them. |
| Understanding of person-centred support | A time you changed how you supported someone because of what mattered to them. |
| Awareness of safeguarding | A concern you noticed and how you reported it, or what you would do and why. |
| Recording and reporting | The records you keep (daily notes, incident forms) and why accuracy matters. |
| Working as part of a team and alone | Handovers, lone working, asking for help appropriately. |
| Flexibility to work shifts | One line: which patterns you can work. |
Example: one criterion done well
One of the men I support at a supported living service wanted to do his own food shopping again after a hospital stay. Instead of shopping for him, I agreed a plan with him: we wrote a list together, I went with him for the first three weeks, and then waited outside while he paid. By the second month he was shopping on his own once a week, and he told his social worker it was the thing he was proudest of.
Why it works: It shows the person's choice driving the support, a step-by-step plan, and a result for the person, not for the service.
Written by us to show what evidence looks like. Panels want your own experience, in your own words.
Tips
- Use "I" and say what you did, not what the service does.
- Values-based criteria still need examples.
- If you are new to care, use family caring, volunteering or customer-facing work, and say how it applies.