Advice needed on becoming a casual care provider/babysitter for children/teens with SN

[YanknCock]

Hope I'm posting this in the right place. For a while now I've been thinking about going back to doing care work, which I used to do in the U.S. Please please please forgive me if I get terminology wrong, I know there are lots of differences and things have probably changed since I was doing this type of work a decade ago!

Basically, I have about 6 years experience working with mainly adults, but also some teens and children with disabilities. I worked for a few different agencies and a respite camp, and was a supervisor and trainer for a lot of that. At the start I worked with people who needed a lot of physical care (toileting, bathing, feeding tubes) but later starting working with people with challenging behaviours. I've worked with several children and adults with ASDs, and have had training in managing threatening situations.

I was thinking of offering myself as a casual sitter for children with special needs. I figure I have the experience, but am not sure if I need to register somewhere, should I get myself CRB checked?

I just think it would be nice to have something I could do to earn a bit of money in the evening/on the weekend, and be there for parents who have trouble finding a casual sitter.

Any advice you could give me would be helpful, thanks in advance.

Get in contact with your local Social Services office - this is where we look for carers. Sounds like you have great experience.

Good Luck!

are there babysitting agencies for you area? you could sign up with them, and see if they would be happy to take you on/market you. I know I have struggled finding care at times (not on SS books)

are you up to doing your own website? I have cpme across a couple of people doing this (and believe nannynick form MN does this too)

I have very successfully used a SN care/babysitter who advertised here on MN, and would do so again on the rare occasions we get it together enough to go out.

I wouild also mkae sure you are clear about what you can/want to cope with.

for eg, we went out a few months ago, and got back at midnight to a dd1 who was exhausted but had just refused to go to bed (5, ASD). Our babysitter had been brilliant (experienced with ASD) and handled it well, but now knowing this may happen has left us reluctant to use anyone agian, as they may well not be prepared for it, iyswim?

Thanks for responding, I have contacted Warrington's children's service, and they gave me a list of agencies, but only one listed children/adults with special needs. SafeHands Network, anyone heard of them? www.safehandscare.com I have phoned and left a message.

Also noticed on the council website they list short term care for children with disabilities under the fostering system--registering seems quite lengthy and involved, but would be willing to do it.

silverfrog, sorry I'm not near Surrey, your family sounds like exactly the type I am trying to reach. I'm no stranger to biting and hair pulling either. Some of my favourite past clients have been the ones who left scars.

I suppose I could advertise on MN, and I've done websites in the past so could have a go at it. Great ideas, thank you!

I used to use safehands when dd1 was a baby.

they are a bit like Sitters (who do not do SN) - an agency network, where you subscribe, and then if you go for a weekend away you can still call and get a registered sitter. they were fine, and the people we had were good, although this was when dd1 was under 2, so whilst obv still ASD, she was no more trouble than a "normal" 2 year old?

we stopped using them because we were in an area where they didn't have many people registered, and so more often than not couldn't help us, so it was a pointless subscription.

Contacted the fostering people, and despite what it says on the council website, they don't really offer a service like what I am willing to do. The lady is still trying to get me to think about being a foster carer though! They do have something for doing short breaks, but I would have to do it in my home and we'd be scrutinised within an inch of our lives (and what she described is pretty invasive). Plus you don't get paid as such, you get an allowance, which the lady said is not really enough to supplement an income--just enough to care for the child.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to be in a financial position where I could afford to do foster care like that, but part of the reason I want to do this is to earn a bit of money (and do it at times where DH isn't working so he can look after DS). I don't expect to earn loads, and I don't want to gouge parents who are having a hard time finding sitters with experience of special needs. I really would be happy with whatever the going rate is for 'regular' sitters.

Are you in Warrington, Cheshire? Are you willing to travel into West Lancs? I know lots of parents in this area who would love to be able to use an experienced babysitter. My DS is 8 and has ASD, I have lots of friends in the Burscough, Ormskirk and Skelmersdale areas who also have children with ASD. We gave up looking for decent babysitters years ago!!!

Is there a Carers Resource locally ours runs a SN sitter service.

Tipsy, yes, I'm in Warrington near junction 11 of M62. Have had a look on google maps and it reckons Skelmersdale would be 20 miles and about 30 minutes drive for me (with the other areas you mentioned being not too much further). I'm fine with that amount of driving, my only concern would be if I was sitting on a weeknight, getting through the rush hour traffic on the M6 can be quite bad.

Would love your thoughts on what a fair rate would be. Would £5/hour be too much? That's what I gave my friend's daughter when she babysat my DS, but am honestly not sure what the 'usual' around here is.

If you like maybe you could try me out, and if you're happy then give my name to your friends? I was CRB checked years ago when I briefly worked for Mencap (managerial post--hated it), but it will have expired. I could give you the name and number of my friend in the U.S. who still works for the agency I used to be with. She'd be very happy to give a reference! I do know a few people locally who could at least vouch that I'm an ok person too, but they wouldn't know about my previous experience.

grumpy, have looked up Carer's Resource and there isn't one near here. I did find www.starssittingservice.co.uk/ which is a register of sitters for children with special needs. Unfortunately I don't qualify to join them due to not currently working in the field.

Please email me [email protected] and I'll contact you. £5 per hour sounds very reasonable, maybe not enough. Please tell me what availabilty you have. Thank you.

tipsycat, thanks, have emailed you.