We live by our values

We live by our values

First for Support

What our values mean to us, how they influence the way we do business and how they benefit our candidates, our customers and our clients.

Our three core values – People Focused, Responsive and Empowering – are always front of mind and they impact everything we do: 

People focused 

Social Care is obviously a people-driven business. We feel strongly that ‘care’ means ‘caring’ and that a recruitment business matching the right people to the right care-giving roles can’t be about the money, it has to be about the people. Our candidates are supporting clients who have various disabilities and a wide range of challenges, which is our priority. That’s what makes First for Support stand out – we put people at the heart of everything that we do.

Responsive

We support the needs of our clients whenever they need us, whether it’s 10 o’clock at night or 6 o’clock in the morning. We communicate quickly, clearly and efficiently with our customers and our candidates. We are always ready to deal with any problem that crops up, for example if one of our Support Workers needs help finding a care home they haven’t been to before. We’re quick to be responsive and resolve any issue. Fast.

Empowering

We respect and champion every individual’s right to be empowered to live as independently as they can, no matter what their circumstances are. We do this by providing well-trained and well-qualified Support Workers to specifically suit each and every one of our clients.

Questions that candidates interested in working for First for Support often ask us…

How much is the pay?

The pay varies, depending on the particular client you are looking after. Every client has different needs. Our customers will offer a higher rate if a client has more difficult or challenging needs, or if they need night shifts and weekend shifts. 

What are the assignments?

We provide Support Workers for a variety of placements and assignments across a range of different places – residential SEN schools, care homes for young adults with learning difficulties or autism, adult residential, secure, educational, post-16 supported and independent living environments.

Ideally, we try to provide continuity of care so, if you are happy with a particular placement, we will do our best to make sure you keep working there, where you feel confident and deliver the best service.

What is the recruitment process?

Candidates usually apply through the recruitment website, Indeed, or they often apply through a referral from someone who already works with us. First, you send your CV over and, if it looks promising, we will get in touch and have a ‘pre-select call’. We use this call to assess whether we feel you are the right fit. If so, we then invite you for a face to face interview, having asked you to bring along certain documents we require, in line with Ofsted and CQC, depending on if you are applying to work with adults or children.

Then, we will apply for your DBS check and, if you haven’t lived in the UK for at least five years, we ask you to supply an Overseas Police Check. After these checks have been done, we will ask for references. Only when we have received and verified those references, received your DBS approval and you have completed all your required training, do we send you out on a placement.

What qualifications do I need?

It varies depending on the role and it often helps if you have prior training for some roles. For example, if you were to apply for a senior role, you would need to have a Health and Social Care NVQ Level 2 or Level 3. Sometimes, our customer gives us specific requirements that they are looking for, but mostly we’re just looking for people with experience and a willingness to complete their qualifications.

Why choose to work for First for Support?

I would say that, as cliched as it sounds, we’re like a big family. We are small enough to keep that personal touch. Our candidates and Support Workers aren’t just numbers to us, swallowed up in a big corporate environment. We know all our candidates and Support Workers by name, we understand them and where they are best suited. We know their preferences for placements and shift patterns and we don’t place them where we think they won’t be happy – that wouldn’t be good for them or for our clients. Bea, the founder and director of First for Support, knows the Support Worker’s role inside and out and she makes everyone in her team feel valued and supported.

What sort of shift patterns could I work?

We want you to be happy in your work, so we try our best to be as flexible as possible and work around you. We have a wide range of shifts available, in terms of daytime shifts, night shifts and sleep-ins. We take into account how many hours per week and the number of shifts you would like to work, and when, so that we can do our best to accommodate you.

Will I be working with adults or children?

We provide Support Workers for adults, children and teenagers. We will place you with whatever age group you are comfortable working with. And, if you would like to try working with another age group, as long as our customer is happy working with you being less experienced, we are happy to support that as we want to encourage people broadening their experience. If you are happy and the client is happy, that is all that matters. 

Questions that customers interested in hiring First for Support often ask us…

What is your recruitment procedure?

Safeguarding is at the heart of everything we do, so it is essential that our recruitment processes mirror the same rigorous practices. We recruit our candidates in line with CQC requirements and Ofsted requirements. So, that entails meeting face to face and making sure they’ve got the right eligibility to work in the UK. We check that our candidates have got the right training and qualifications. Most importantly, we check that they’ve got the right skills to work in this sector. 

How do you ensure compliance?

We make sure that all the documents we gather from our candidates meet the industry standards and we keep copies of these documents, their references and their DBS records on our internal system, stored safely and securely. 

Each and every candidate we work with goes through exactly the same thorough process, to ensure that we are consistently providing all our clients with high quality staff.

What information will I get on the candidates?

Once the candidate has completed our recruitment process, we compile a profile that includes their photo, full work history, education, training, references, their DBS info and any information that is provided with the DBS check.

How many hours can you cover?

We cover about 1,000 hours per week across Hampshire and Dorset in a variety of services, across children’s services and adult services with varying levels of needs.

Will I get a dedicated account manager?

All our customers have one point of contact who will really get to know you and support your individual requirements. Ellie looks after our Dorset customers, and Natalie looks after our Hampshire customers. Bea oversees the general running of the whole business on a day-to-day basis.

What areas do you cover?

We cover the counties of Hampshire and Dorset and most of our clients are based around the key towns in those two counties – Bournemouth, Southampton and Portsmouth.

Why should customers choose to hire First for Support?

We are a very responsive business because we understand how much our clients need our support. This conscientiousness is very helpful for our customers as it means that they can get hold of us out of hours, during weekends and bank holidays. 

Also, as we care about our Support Workers’ welfare, and pay them quite well too, they want to work for us which gives us a happy and motivated workforce. A lot of people who work for us have heard about us through referrals, when people they know who already work for us have kindly given us glowing recommendations. We are delighted and humbled to be able to say that our customers say wonderful things about us, too. We strive to be the best in what we do and we offer a top quality service to our clients. Nothing makes us more proud.

Meet the team who passionately deliver the values of First for Support every day

Bea’s story

I’m the founder and director of First for Support. I started my career as a Resource and Compliance Officer in a construction company, before moving on to the corporate recruitment world, working at Hays for nine years. My years of experience in the social care recruitment sector sparked my vision about how social care should be run, so I started First for Support in February 2019 to give me the opportunity to provide care, and back Support Workers, with the values I feel passionately about.

I feel that the work our staff do is incredibly underrated and unappreciated and I just love to show people that it shouldn’t be that way and you can treat Support Workers well and make them feel valued and appreciated. I feel a special affinity for working with children, which is a niche market for us. We support customers who are working with challenging children in residential settings, in schools, in secure settings and in the community, across Hampshire and Dorset.

I am incredibly proud to nurture a fantastic environment for people to work in, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the future brings!

Natalie’s story

I had always wanted to work with children and planned to go to university and become a paediatric nurse, but life went in a different direction and I couldn’t finish my university course. I’ve always loved caring for people so I gravitated towards the care sector. After working in a nursing home, I moved on to a residential home for young adults with learning difficulties, which was a very rewarding experience.

Wanting to further my career, I found the opportunity for an apprenticeship, which happened to be with First for Support. It turned out to be the best thing that could have happened! Bea and I hit it off from the start.

I believe that every person should be treated equally and I believe that everyone should get the best chance in life, especially children. Much of the work that support workers do goes unnoticed but we appreciate them and know how to support them.

Bea, Ellie and I share the same values and we live those values every day. They’re not just words! 

Ellie’s story

I have worked in the care sector for seven years, mostly the elderly with dementia. I met Natalie when we worked together in a nursing home and it’s really special to be in a team with her now, at First for Support, sharing our passion for truly caring about the care we deliver and our Support Workers who are delivering it. And, because we’ve been Support Workers ourselves, before moving into the recruitment side of the care industry, we know the sector really well and can genuinely support our candidates.

First for Support feels like one big family and I really respect how Bea runs the company. The compassionate way that she looks after our candidates and our clients is very inspiring, and the way we have all brought our experience, passion and shared values to the care sector feels very special. I feel lucky to work here.

How can I contact First for Support?

Whether you are looking for a placement in the care sector, or you need Support Workers to look after your clients, we would love to help you. You can call us on 07305 808857 or email us at bea@firstforsupport.co.uk. We look forward to hearing from you!