Job Title: Activity Support Worker
Agency: South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust
Location: London, United Kingdom
Salary/Rate: 33,094 – 36,195 £ / Year

Job Summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the therapies team at the Shaftesbury clinic, forensic inpatient services. We have a large and supportive therapy team consisting of Occupational therapists, clinical exercise therapists, activity support workers, technical instructors, and an education tutor.

The Forensic Inpatient Service comprises both medium and low secure wards. The service provides treatment under the Mental Health Act for men and women with mental health problems and who are considered to pose a significant risk of harm to themselves or others. The primary aim of the Forensic Inpatient Service is to provide a safe and secure environment in which to support forensic patients to increase occupational participation and develop the skills necessary for a smooth transition into the community. The therapy team works across the four wards within the service. We also have close links with our occupational therapy colleagues in the forensic outreach service.

Occupational therapy interventions encourage the development of skills related to education, creativity, vocation, exercise, and life skills. We support service users to develop their occupational identity through exploring interests and developing a daily routine. We support a graded integration into the community.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will work with the Occupational Therapy team to develop a programme of therapeutic activity for service users with mental health needs, learning disability and autism who have engaged in offending behaviour. They will deliver both individual and group interventions to enable patients to maintain daily activity within the limitations of the secure environment. Under the guidance of an occupational therapist, they will support service users to maintain and develop the skills that allow them to work towards reintegration into the community.

The post holder will collaborate closely with other activity support workers to ensure that service users have access to a centralised programme of activity in the unit, as well as providing activity on individual wards.

The post holder will have experience in creating and delivering groups within a mental health or social care setting. They will have a positive attitude towards teamwork and be self-motivated and innovative. The service runs primarily from Monday to Friday in order to meet the needs of our patients; however, all activity workers are expected to contribute to weekend activities, therefore the post holder will need to be able to work flexibly.

Person Specification

Knowledge & Skills

Essential

• Ability to work independently in ward and community settings
• An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people who experience mental health problems
• Group work skills
• Ability to teach practical skills to service users
• Good verbal and written communication skills

Desirable

• Knowledge of applying Health and Safety and risk awareness procedures and policies

Training & Qualifications

Essential

• Qualification in health and social care, i.e., City & Guilds or Health & Social Care NVQ, Level 2 or equivalent skills acquired through in-service development or experience
• Evidence of continuing professional and personal development

Desirable

• Health and social care-related qualification above basic level e.g., City & Guilds final certificate, NVQ 3 or 4, Diploma or Degree
• PTTLS or equivalent teacher training qualification
• Psychology qualification

Experience

Essential

• Demonstrable experience of working in a health/social care/teaching setting
• Experience in report/letter writing and form filling
• Experience of training others in technical/ leisure skills

Desirable

• Experience of facilitating therapeutic groups in a health and social care setting
• Experience of caring for someone with a mental health difficulty

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Closing Date: 18 January 2026

How to Apply;

Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online for this job

Disclaimer

Author: Simon RobertEasyInfoBlog is a multi-author blog. We have experts and professionals in various fields who share their ideas and expert knowledge to help you with your daily information needs. Thanks for reading!