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.

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