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Social care

Senior care worker

Senior care workers provide physical and emotional support to individuals and supervise teams of care assistants.

Annual Salary

£17,000 to £27,000

Average UK salary in 2022 was £33,200
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

42 to 44 a week

You could work: on call; on a rota

5.4%
Future employment

There will be 5.4% more Senior care worker jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

In your day-to-day duties you could:

  • supervise a team of care assistants
  • write care plans
  • monitor patients' vital signs, like blood pressure and heart rate
  • complete patient medication records
  • develop and lead activities for service users
  • keep families up to date about their relative's progress
  • train and mentor new staff
  • attend team meetings with service managers
  • provide emergency cover

Working environment

You could work at a client's home, in an NHS or private hospital or at an adult care home.

Your working environment may be emotionally demanding.

You can get into this job through:

  • a college course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role
  • applying directy
College

You could do a college course in care work, for example:

  • Level 3 Diploma in Health and Social Care
  • Level 4 Diploma in Health and Social Care Management

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course
  • 1 or 2 A levels, a level 3 diploma or relevant experience for a level 4 or level 5 course
For more information
Apprenticeship

You could do a lead adult care worker advanced apprenticeship to get into this career and then take further training on the job.

This apprenticeship typically takes 18 months to complete as a mix of workplace learning and study.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
For more information
Work

You could start as a care support worker and move into a senior role through further training and promotion.

Volunteering and work experience

You could gain some of the skills and knowledge you need for this role by volunteering with an organisation that supports vulnerable people.

See Do IT and NCVO for information on voluntary opportunities in your area.

Direct application

You can apply directly for jobs if you've got relevant skills and experience in social care or health.

Employers may also ask for a qualification in care or health.

Requirements and restrictions

You'll need to:

More information

Further information

You can find out more about careers in care from:Think Care Careers; Department of Health & Social Care

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With experience and training you could specialise in particular areas like dementia care, stroke management or in supporting people with learning disabilities.

You could also progress to become an assistant practitioner, deputy service manager or care home manager.

You may want to go into teaching in a further education college.

Find out more about teaching in further education from Teach in further education.

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • sensitivity and understanding
  • customer service skills
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • the ability to work well with others
  • the ability to work on your own
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • business management skills
  • thinking and reasoning skills
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
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