Intensive Support Practitioner (Band 5)NHS

Job summary

We are recruiting Intensive Support Practitioners to join a new Intensive Community Support Service supporting young people aged 10 - 25 with complex developmental trauma, significant risk, and a history of placement instability.

This is a relationship-first, formulation-led role. You will work as part of a small, dedicated team providing consistent, trauma-informed support to help young people who have often been let down by services that moved too fast, moved them too often, or never fully understood their needs.

You will be supported by a clinical wraparound team including psychology, mental health nursing, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy, and will work within a structured framework of formulation, supervision and reflective practice from day one.

Important Location Information

This role is based in Peterborough. The advert may be posted across Cambridgeshire and surrounding county areas for recruitment reach only. Candidates must be able to work from Peterborough and travel locally where required.

Safer Recruitment

Appointment will be subject to satisfactory references, enhanced DBS clearance, right-to-work checks and completion of pre-employment requirements.

Main duties of the job

• Provide direct, relationship-based support to young people with complex needs and significant risk, as part of a consistent named team.
• Apply a structured formulation-based approach to understand and respond to distress and behaviour
• Support young people's daily living, activity, education engagement and emotional regulation.
• Recognise and respond safely to escalating risk, using de-escalation and trauma-informed approaches in preference to restrictive intervention.
• Maintain accurate, timely records in line with safeguarding and information governance requirements.
• Contribute to team debriefs, reflective practice and clinical supervision.
• Support younger or newer team members and trainees as your experience develops.

Job description

Care Support Worker- Intensive Support Practitioner (ISP)

Intensive Community Support Service Peterborough. Supporting Young People from Puberty to 25 Years

Reports To:

Senior Intensive Support Practitioner

Professional Support:

Registered Manager

Professional Development:

Principal Therapeutic Practice Lead

Professional Accountability:

Head of Service

Location:

Peterborough

Hours:

36 hours per week (3 x 12-hour day and night shifts per week including weekends and bank holidays) as part of 24/7 rota.

Salary:

£32,073 annual salary, dependent on experience and contracted hours

Contract:

Permanent, Full-time roles

Part-time roles: flexible contracted hours, subject to service need.

Purpose:

Working alongside children and young people to create safe, stable, nurturing and therapeutic everyday experiences.

About Nurture

Nurture Health and Care believes relationships are the primary therapeutic intervention. Every interaction has the potential to increase safety, stability, trust and hope. Our purpose is simple: 'Nurturing you to nurture others.'

About the Role

We are recruiting caring, resilient and relationship-focused people to join our Intensive Community Support Service for young people and young adults aged from puberty to 25. This is an opportunity for individuals with relevant experience in roles such as care work, support work, residential childcare, youth work, SEND support, teaching assistance, mental health support, or community-based services.

You do not need to hold a formal qualification before joining us. As this is a new and developing service, we are looking for people with the right values, transferable experience and commitment to making a genuine difference. Full competency-based training, structured induction and ongoing professional development are built into the role. You will be supported to develop specialist skills in trauma-informed care, attachment, neurodiversity, emotional regulation, safeguarding, therapeutic practice and positive behaviour support.

This is not a traditional care role. You will become a consistent, trusted adult in a young persons life, helping them to feel safe, understood and supported to build confidence, independence, stability and positive relationships

Job Purpose

The Intensive Support Practitioner is a new Care Worker role which works alongside children and young people during ordinary everyday life, recognising that ordinary moments create extraordinary opportunities for healing, learning and recovery. Guided by each young person's formulation, EHCP and therapeutic goals, the post holder supports children and young people to develop emotional regulation, independence, health, education and community participation through consistent therapeutic relationships.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop trusting therapeutic relationships built on compassion, consistency and professional curiosity.
• Support morning and evening routines, meals, shopping, cooking, budgeting and everyday living skills.
• Promote emotional regulation using co-regulation and relationship-based approaches.
• Support attendance at education, health appointments, activities and community engagement.
• Promote healthy lifestyles including sleep, nutrition, exercise and personal care.
• Recognise behaviour as communication and implement formulation-led responses.
• Maintain safe environments and contribute to safeguarding and risk management.
• Complete accurate documentation and contribute to handovers and reflective practice.
• Work collaboratively with families and the multidisciplinary team.
• Model Nurture values in every interaction.

Pay and Benefits

In addition to your salary, Nurture offers:

• A structured induction and full competency-based training programme.
• Paid safeguarding, trauma-informed care and specialist practice training.
• Monthly protected development time.
• Regular supervision, reflective practice and professional support.
• Access to a competency passport and professional development portfolio.
• Opportunities for progression into senior practitioner, therapeutic practice, leadership and specialist roles.
• Annual leave entitlement of 5.6 weeks per annum (pro-rata for part time).
• Pension contributions in line with statutory and organisational arrangements.
• Employee wellbeing support and access to a supportive, values-led team culture.

Start Date

We are aiming for successful candidates to ideally commence training from the beginning of September 2026, subject to satisfactory references, enhanced DBS clearance, right-to-work checks and completion of pre-employment requirements.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, and early applications are encouraged.

Nurture Professional Formation Programme

Following appointment every Intensive Support Practitioner completes the Nurture Ripple Programme.

Four-week foundation programme including the Care Certificate (where required), safeguarding, attachment, developmental trauma, neurodiversity, formulation-led practice, health promotion, relational care, communication, human rights and simulation.

One protected professional development day each month for six months to consolidate learning and complete competency assessment.

Competency passport and reflective portfolio mapped to the Care Certificate, Skills for Care standards and relevant Level 3 professional pathways.

Success in the First 12 Months

• Successfully complete the Nurture Ripple Programme.
• Build trusting therapeutic relationships.
• Demonstrate formulation-led practice.
• Promote stability, wellbeing and independence.
• Contribute positively to a psychologically safe team culture.

Our Promise to You

Nurture is committed to developing specialist practitioners. You will receive structured induction, monthly protected development, supervision, reflective practice, coaching from the Principal Therapeutic Practice Lead and ongoing career development.

About us

Nurture Health and Care Ltd is building a workforce-led model of care for some of the most complex and highest-risk young people in the system, people who have often exhausted mainstream provision. Our model is built on relational continuity, structured formulation, and genuine investment in staff wellbeing and development, not just rota-filling.

We deliberately recruit beyond the traditional care workforce, and we invest heavily in training: every practitioner completes a structured 4-week induction before working unsupervised, backed by ongoing supervision, reflective practice and career development. Our Senior and Lead Practitioner roles are recruited from within our own ISP team, not brought in externally, so there is a genuine, fast route into leadership for practitioners who develop with us.

Detailed Job Description and Main Responsibilities

Please see the attached job description and person specification for full details of duties, responsibilities and the skills and experience required for this role.

Please note: we are not currently able to offer visa sponsorship for this role. Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK.

We welcome applications from candidates with experience outside traditional care settings, youth work, youth justice, outreach, education, therapeutic mentoring and activity-based youth work are all highly relevant backgrounds for this role.