Full job descriptionSenior Residential Support Worker
Residential Children’s Home
Salary: £34,000 plus £70 per sleep in – up to 8 sleep ins per month
Hours: Shift work – mixed if long days and sleep ins
Job Purpose
As a Senior Residential Support Worker, you will play a key role in providing safe, consistent and nurturing care to children and young people living within a residential children’s home.
Alongside providing direct care and support, you will take additional responsibility for leading shifts, supporting less experienced members of the team and helping to ensure that the home operates in accordance with its Statement of Purpose, safeguarding procedures and the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015.
The role requires someone who can build positive relationships with young people while maintaining professional boundaries, providing structure and responding calmly and confidently to challenging situations.
Key Responsibilities
*Provide high-quality, child-centred care and support to children and young people within the home.
*Build positive, trusting and professional relationships with young people.
*Lead shifts and provide guidance and direction to Residential Support Workers.
*Ensure young people are safeguarded and that any concerns are identified, recorded and escalated appropriately.
*Support young people with their emotional, social, educational and practical needs.
*Encourage independence, confidence and the development of life skills.
*Support young people to attend education, appointments, activities and family contact where appropriate.
*Contribute to individual care plans, placement plans, risk assessments and behaviour support strategies.
*Maintain accurate, clear and timely records in accordance with the home’s procedures.
*Support the management of challenging behaviour using approved positive behaviour-support approaches.
*Promote a positive culture within the home where children and young people feel listened to, respected and valued.
*Act as a positive role model to both young people and colleagues.
*Support and mentor less experienced members of the residential team.
*Assist with the induction of new employees.
*Participate in handovers, team meetings, supervision and training.
*Ensure medication procedures, health and safety requirements and safeguarding processes are followed correctly.
*Work collaboratively with families, social workers, education professionals and other agencies involved in a young person’s care.
*Support the Registered Manager and Deputy Manager in maintaining high standards throughout the home.
*Contribute positively to Ofsted inspections and the continuous development of the service.
*Undertake sleep-in duties, waking nights, weekends and bank holidays where required by the home’s rota.
Qualifications
Candidates should hold:
*Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England)
*or another qualification accepted as equivalent/relevant for the purposes of working within a children’s residential care setting.
*Where the required qualification has not yet been achieved, the successful candidate must be willing and eligible to undertake the appropriate residential childcare qualification within the required timeframe.
Experience
The successful candidate will have:
*Previous experience working within a residential children’s home.
*Experience supporting children or young people with emotional and behavioural needs and/or complex needs.
*Experience of taking additional responsibility within a residential setting.
*The confidence and experience to lead a shift.
*A good understanding of safeguarding and safer working practices.
*An understanding of the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and Quality Standards.
*Experience of completing accurate care records, incident reports and other residential documentation.
Personal Qualities
We are looking for someone who is:
*Child-focused and genuinely committed to improving outcomes for young people.
*Calm and resilient when dealing with challenging situations.
*Confident enough to lead a shift while remaining approachable and supportive.
*Reliable and consistent.
*Emotionally intelligent and able to maintain professional boundaries.
*A strong communicator.
*Able to work effectively as part of a team.
*Reflective and willing to learn.
*Comfortable taking responsibility and making appropriate decisions.
*Able to provide young people with both warmth and clear boundaries.
Additional Requirements
The successful candidate will be subject to safer recruitment checks appropriate to working with children and young people, including:
*Enhanced DBS check, including the appropriate barred-list check.
*Verification of identity and right to work in the UK.
*Full employment history with satisfactory explanations for any gaps.
*Satisfactory references.
*Verification of relevant qualifications.
*Appropriate health and suitability checks.
*A full UK driving licence may be required depending upon the needs and location of the home.
Important InformationInterested? Please apply with an up-to-date CV. Successful candidates will be subject to relevant safer recruitment and pre-employment checks, including DBS, references, employment history, qualification, identity and Right to Work checks.
Right to Work: Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK. Sponsorship is not available.
Safeguarding: YourRecruit is committed to safeguarding children and young people and follows all relevant safer recruitment requirements.
Referral Scheme: Know someone suitable? We offer a paid referral scheme — please get in touch.
Due to application volumes, we may only contact shortlisted candidates. If you haven’t heard from us within 7 days, unfortunately you have not been shortlisted for this role, but we may consider you for future opportunities.
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