Senior care worker
Senior care workers provide physical and emotional support to individuals and supervise teams of care assistants.
Also known as: Senior care assistant, senior adult social care support worker
- Starter salary£24,000 a year
- Experienced£29,000 a year
- Typical hours40 to 45 a week
What you'll do
As a senior care worker, you could:
- develop and review client care plans
- monitor patients' vital signs, like blood pressure and heart rate
- complete patient medication records
- create and lead activities for care service users
- speak with families about their relative's progress
- supervise care workers and train and mentor new starters
- provide emergency cover
- attend team meetings with healthcare professionals and service managers
Working environment
You could work at an adult care home, at a client's home or in an NHS or private hospital.
Your working environment may be emotionally demanding.
Skills and knowledge you'll need
You'll need:
- sensitivity and understanding
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- the ability to work well with others
- the ability to understand people's reactions
- the ability to organise your time and workload
- excellent verbal communication skills
- the ability to motivate and manage staff
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
How to become a senior care worker
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, which may help you when applying for more senior care jobs.
Courses include:
- health and social care
- adult care
- health and social care management
- T Level in Health
Entry requirements
Entry requirements for these courses vary.
Apprenticeship
You could apply to do a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship, such as:
- Lead Adult Care Worker
- Senior Healthcare Support Worker
You might also train by doing a Lead Practitioner in Adult Care Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship.
These apprenticeships can take up to 2 years to complete and are a mix of workplace training and classroom 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
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
Work
You could start as a care support worker or healthcare assistant and move into a senior role through further training and promotion.
Volunteering
Volunteering in the NHS is a good way to get work experience in health and social care. This can be helpful when you apply for jobs or training.
You can also find opportunities through The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and Do it .
Direct application
You can apply directly for senior care jobs if you have skills, experience and a qualification in social care or healthcare.
A caring personality is very important, as is a respectful attitude towards people who need care and support.
Restrictions and requirements
You'll need to:
- pass enhanced background checks
- have a full driving licence
Career path and progression
With experience and training you could specialise in particular areas like:
- dementia care
- stroke rehabilitation
- support for people with learning disabilities
You might progress to become:
- an assistant healthcare practitioner
- a deputy service manager
- a care home manager
You may also wish to go on to train as a nurse or move into social care training in a further education college.
Career tips
Time spent caring for someone you know also counts as having experience in a caring role.
Guides for this industry
Related roles
- Job roleNurse
- Job roleCare worker
- Job roleCare home manager
- Job roleFamily support worker
- Job roleAmbulance care assistant
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0