Priory, the UK’s largest independent provider of mental health and adult social care services, has announced the launch of a pioneering autism specialist career pathway designed for healthcare assistants and support workers.
The initiative reflects Priory’s commitment to championing “care as a career” and supporting professional development across the workforce.
The new pathway offers colleagues in existing roles the chance to specialise in autism care, equipping them with expert knowledge and practical tools to deliver high quality, person-centred support for autistic individuals.
Participants will follow a dedicated learning programme in collaboration with the National Autistic Society and, upon completion, will receive a £1,000 annual salary top-up in recognition of their advanced skills.
Autism specialists will play a key role in enhancing the quality of autism support across Priory sites, delivering essential training to colleagues, contributing to internal accreditation and peer review processes and supporting the delivery of Priory’s wider autism strategy.
They will work closely with professionals such as occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and psychologists, maintain specialist knowledge through ongoing training and continuous professional development and support with the creation of personalised autism profiles which reflect the unique needs of individuals.
“I talk consistently about how we believe in care as a career and we are always looking at ways to further enhance learning and skills to improve career prospects while simultaneously benefitting our patients and residents,” explained Rebekah Cresswell, chief executive of Priory.
“We are extremely excited and proud of the development of this pioneering pathway, which will improve person-centred care for autistic individuals and help them to live their lives to the full under our care – through support, understanding and empowerment.”
The autism specialist role will also act as a stepping stone into a wide range of career pathways within Priory, including roles in therapy (occupational therapy, psychology, speech and language therapy), nursing, positive behaviour support (PBS) and quality improvement.
Ms Cresswell added: “Introducing initiatives that allow support staff to deepen their expertise and grow within their current positions helps fuel the desire to constantly strive to do better and to deliver the highest standards of care.
“It also ensures there are future opportunities for colleagues who have ambitions to go further in their careers, and it is hugely important to me that we provide the platform for them to do so.”
Michelle Armstrong-Surgenor, head of commercial development, Autism Know How at the National Autistic Society, said: “We are delighted to work with Priory on this programme, which includes our Autism Specialist Training at the heart of the project.
“It will enable support workers and a mental health workforce to gain a deeper understanding of autism in order to better support autistic people across the UK.
“It’s really important that organisations, businesses and care providers like Priory commit to the small changes that can make a huge difference. Together we can work towards our mission of helping to create a society that works for autistic people.”
