Support with confidence FAQs

Personal Assistants who apply to join the scheme receive training through an e-learning module “Becoming a Personal Assistant.” Appropriate background checks are carried out which includes an Enhanced Disclosure and relevant Barring Service (DBS) check and two references.

The scheme is free and open to all existing and prospective Personal Assistants wanting to work within Nottinghamshire and Nottingham City.

As part of Support with Confidence, Personal Assistants will register on Nottinghamshire Help Yourself PA Finder. This is a register of Personal Assistants who have completed the Support with Confidence scheme and are available for employment. Personal Assistants who are at capacity will be on the register but not viewable on the PA Finder until they are available for employment.

Once the Personal Assistant has successfully completed Support with Confidence their details will go live where people wanting to employ a Personal Assistant can view their details and make contact directly.

Personal Assistants who have successfully completed Support with Confidence will have the Support with Confidence logo with their details.

Registering on Nottinghamshire Help Yourself will also give you access and opportunity to network with Personal Assistants through the provider forum.

Employing a Personal Assistant to help you with your care and support needs can increase the choice and control you have in deciding who cares for you, how your care and support needs are met and what tasks they do.

Personal Assistants who have completed Support with Confidence and been accredited have undertaken training and had background checks carried out through an Enhanced Disclosure and relevant Barring Service (DBS) check and 2 references.

No, for Personal Assistants the Support with Confidence scheme is free of charge, including the training, Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and references.

Registering on Nottinghamshire Help Yourself to source a PA for your needs is also free of charge.

We would expect that your application to join Support with Confidence is completed within three months of the application date. You have up to two months to compete the training although you could complete the training and process in a shorter amount of time.

We require two references. One must be an employer and the other can be a personal reference, so a friend or relative could provide this for you.

You do not need any formal qualifications or experience to join the scheme or become a Personal Assistant. You just need to have the desire to provide care and support for people, helping them to live independently. You will complete online training as part of the scheme.

We are looking for people to be as flexible as possible in order to provide a wide range of care and support. You might have specific skills, experience or training that you can use in your role as a Personal Assistant. Being registered on Nottinghamshire Help Yourself allows you to indicate the tasks and support you can provide as well as other information about yourself. That way the person looking to employ a Personal Assistant will know how you can help them. Later on if you can offer more, having had further training or experience your details can be updated.

You will be paid directly by the person who employs you, normally straight into your bank account. Your employer will be responsible for your employee liabilities such as payments to HM Revenue & Customs such as Income Tax and National Insurance and they might use a Direct Payment Support service to support them with this. You cannot be paid cash in hand. Self-employed PA’s must invoice for their services and can only be paid for the support they individually provide, into their own account.

Working as Personal Assistant can be flexible and you might choose to work around other commitments you have. You can work for more than one employer however you may be paid different rates by different employers. Being registered on Nottinghamshire Help Yourself lets potential employers know which days or parts of days you are available to work.

Note: Once you are no longer available for work because you are working at the hours you want, you can inform Nottinghamshire Help Yourself and your details will no longer be live for people to view. Once your circumstances change if you let us know your details will go live once more.