Personal Assistant for a Disabled Child

We are looking for a calm and compassionate Personal Assistant to support our bright, creative, imaginative and funny 11-year-old daughter.

Our daughter is gentle, loves animals and nature, and enjoys crafts and creative play. She is autistic and has a speech and language disorder alongside a learning disability.

We are looking for someone patient, kind, calm and positive who can build a supportive and trusting relationship with her through one-to-one support. A gentle approach, sense of humour and understanding are essential.

The ideal candidate will enjoy sharing interests such as animals, nature, creative activities and outdoor adventures, while supporting her confidence, independence and enjoyment of new experiences.

We are based in central Truro, and initially the time is likely to be spent in the family home getting to know our daughter and building a relationship with her.

We have a friendly family home with a dog and cats, so being comfortable around animals is important. Our daughter also has two older siblings as part of a busy and caring family environment.

Our daughter can take a long time to build trust and feel comfortable with new people, so we are looking for someone calm, emotionally intuitive and able to work at her pace while building a consistent and supportive relationship over time.

We hope to find someone who will become an important and positive part of our daughter's world - someone who genuinely enjoys spending time with children and can bring warmth, creativity, kindness and fun to the role. Experience working with autistic children or young people with additional needs is advantageous, but we are less focused on extensive experience and more on finding the right person.

This role may particularly suit someone studying or working in areas such as psychology, education, speech and language, occupational therapy, health and social care, SEND support or the creative arts. It would also suit someone with experience as a PA, support worker, teaching assistant or youth worker. However, personality, warmth and the ability to build a positive relationship are more important to us than formal qualifications.

Rate of Pay: £15 per hour. A travel allowance of 45p per mile is provided for any journeys made while transporting her in your vehicle.

Hours: Up to 6 hours per week available, although this is likely to be less in the first instance. Flexible scheduling to suit the candidate's availability, including weekends and school holidays.

A full driving licence is desirable but not essential.

The successful applicant will be employed under a private arrangement with the family and not employed or carry out work for Cornwall Council.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All offers of employment will be subject to the successful candidate undertaking an enhanced DBS check. The administration process will be undertaken by Cornwall Council.