Young Persons' Social Prescriber

Job responsibilities

The following are the core responsibilities of the Young Persons' Social Prescriber. There may be on occasion a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent on factors such as workload and staffing levels.

1. Building Connections and Supporting Referrals

• Promote social prescribing, self-care, and overall wellbeing, helping young people take control of their health.
• Build strong relationships with key staff in GP practices within the local Primary Care Network (PCN), attending relevant meetings, integrating with the network team, and providing feedback on social prescribing.
• Connect with local services and groups to create referral pathways and build trust in the social prescribing service.
• Work closely with schools, youth services, sports clubs, creative groups, charities and other community resources to raise awareness of social prescribing and how it can improve young peoples' lives.
• Share useful resources and updates with partner organisations and offer training when needed, gathering ongoing feedback about the quality and impact of social prescribing.
• Encourage self-referrals across all communities and reach out to young people who may be harder to engage.

2. Providing Tailored Support

• Meet young people one-on-one, in person, over the phone, or at home if needed, to understand what matters most to them.
• Create a safe, friendly space where young people feel listened to and supported without judgment.
• Help identify key challenges, like stress, money worries, family issues, carer responsibilities, school pressure, loneliness, or housing concerns.
• Work with young people and their families to explore different ways to improve wellbeing through social prescribing.
• Support young people in building confidence, independence, and life skills to navigate challenges.
• Develop personalised action plans, signposting to groups, activities, and services that fit their interests and goals.
• Where needed, personally introduce young people to community services, making sure they feel welcome, included and supported.
• Help them explore funding options, including personal health budgets, for further support, training, or work opportunities.

3. Working with the Community

• Be confident in sourcing information about local youth-friendly services and support networks.
• Check organisations' safeguarding, safety, and data protection measures before making referrals.
• Work closely with community groups to make sure referrals are handled smoothly and young people get the right support.
• Champion the benefits of spending time outdoors and using nature-based activities to support mental and physical health. To include (but not limited to): Leading group activities such as, nature walks (in a range of settings), allotments etc.
• Using personal and social skills to enhance young peoples' lives through coping mechanisms.

4. Strengthening Local Support Networks

• Work with local partners to identify gaps in youth services and help develop new projects where needed.
• Support the growth of community-led initiatives by helping groups apply for funding or training.
• Encourage young people who have benefited from social prescribing to volunteer, get involved, and support others.
• Develop a peer-support network where young people can connect, share experiences and help each other.
• Help families and carers set up their own support groups or community activities.
• Regularly check in with community groups to ensure they continue to provide safe, high-quality and sustainable support.

5. Tracking Progress and Sharing Impact

• Work sensitively with young people and their families to collect feedback and measure the impact of social prescribing.
• Encourage young people to share their experiences to improve service and highlight success stories.
• Ensure all referrals are recorded correctly and track progress through the case management system.
• Work closely with GP practices to ensure social prescribing referrals are correctly recorded in EMIS clinical systems and contribute to tracking NHS service use while adhering to data protection laws.

6. General Responsibilities

• Attend relevant Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) meetings to share updates and insights on social prescribing.
• Use strong IT skills to record organised case notes and produce efficient reports.
• Uphold patient confidentiality, dignity, and respect at all times for every young person.
• Access to personal transport for travelling within the locality and on home visits.
• Participate in service reviews and learning sessions to improve how the team works.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• NVQ Level 3, Advanced level or equivalent qualifications or working towards.
• Demonstrable commitment to professional and personal development.

Desirable

• Training in motivational coaching and interviewing or equivalent experience.

Other Requirements

Essential

• Flexibility to work outside core office hours.
• Occupational Health clearance.
• Possess a valid driving licence and transport for home visits.

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Knowledge of, and ability to work to, policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety.
• Have awareness and understanding of when it is appropriate or necessary to refer people back to other health professionals/agencies, when the person's needs are beyond the scope of the role for example, when there is a mental health need requiring a qualified practitioner.
• Knowledge of the personalised care approach. Utilises the evidence base for social prescribing interventions and activities.
• Understanding of the wider determinants of health, including social, economic and environmental factors and their impact on communities, individuals, their families and carers.
• Understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Knowledge of community development approaches including asset-based community development and community resilience.
• Knowledge of IT systems, including ability to use word processing skills, emails, and the internet to create simple plans and reports.
• Able to work from an asset-based approach, building on existing community and personal assets.
• Understanding of the needs of small volunteer-led community groups and ability to contribute to supporting their development.
• Ability to organise, plan and prioritise on own initiative, including when under pressure and meeting deadlines.
• High level of written and oral communication skills.
• Confidently approaches difficult conversations.

Desirable

• Local knowledge of VCSE (Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector) and community services.
• Able to provide motivational coaching to support people's behaviour change.
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