Casual Residential Childcare Worker

Tameside Council; Greater Manchester; On-site; GBP 23,000 - 25,000; Part time

Job summary

Tameside Council is seeking casual care staff to provide care and support to children and young people with emotional and behavioural needs across the borough.

You will work in children's homes, adopting trauma-informed practice, maintaining records, and completing mandatory online training. Shifts include mornings, evenings, weekends, sleep-ins and bank holidays.

Qualifications

• Be organised and a team player.
• Knowledge of residential children services and experience of managing teams within Children Services.
• Education to a good general standard.
• Professional or vocational qualification for the service area (DipSW, NVQ Level 3, nursing qualifications, RNLD).
• Management qualification (MBA, DMS, NVQ Level 4, Care Management).
• Three years to complete required qualification if not already held.

Responsibilities

• Provide care and support to children and young people with emotional and behavioural needs.
• Adopt trauma-informed approaches to understand behaviours and emotions.
• Maintain support plans and record keeping.
• Shadow shift before commencing role and complete mandatory online training.
• Flexibility to work mornings, evenings, weekends, sleep-in duties, nights and bank holidays.

Skills

Organised

Team player

Trauma-informed approach

Written & IT skills

Education

Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare

DipSW / NVQ Level 3 care for Children and Young People

NVQ Level 4 / Care Management

MBA / DMS (optional management qualification)

Tools

None

Job description

Contract Type: Casual

Salary: Grade F - £17.07 per hour (sleep in payment £44.54 per sleep in shift as and when required)

Hours Per Week: Casual

Base Location: Children's Homes across the borough

Assessment Date: 29th October 2026

Are you passionate about making a real difference in the lives of children and families? Do you bring compassion, curiosity, collaboration, conversation, and courage to your practice? If so, Tameside is looking for you.

The Role

We are looking to recruit experienced and enthusiastic people to join our team proving care and support to children and young people with emotional and behavioural needs.

We believe children who haven't had the best start in life, should be empowered to live full and rewarding lives and have the same experiences for social inclusion as all children. It is our mission to improve the quality of life for children through the provision of high quality services in partnership with the children, their families, carers and other professionals.

You will need to adopt a trauma informed approach and be open minded as to why behaviour's/emotions are displayed, rather than looking at managing those behaviours. You will ensure that the children receive an excellent standard of care and support them to live full, active and meaningful lives.

You must have a professional approach, within this an understanding of the needs of people who have experienced significant trauma is essential. Furthermore, experience of working in a person centred manner including the maintenance of support plans and other associated record keeping. You must be willing to work in a flexible manner which will include morning, evening, weekend, sleep-in duty, night shifts and bank holiday work. You will need excellent written, communication and basic IT skills.

You will have a shadow shift before commencing role to support your understanding of the role. In addition to this, you will need to complete mandatory online training to meet the requirements of the role. There will be on-going training for you to attend to meet the needs of the service.

The level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare, or equivalent is a requirement.

About You

You should be organized and a team player.

Knowledge of residential children services and experience of managing teams within Children Services.

You should be educated to a good general standard of education

Professional or vocational qualification required for service area (DipSW, NVQ Level 3 caring for Children and Young People/Residential Care and Family Support, Nursing qualification, RNLD).

Management qualification (MBA, DMS, NVQ Level 4, Care Management)

(the successful candidate will have three years from commencing the role to complete the qualification in-service if they do not already hold the qualification when appointed)

About Us

Message from Jill Colbert, Director of Children's Services

"I joined the council at the beginning of 2025 and was instantly charmed by the warmth, openness, and energy of colleagues."

"I came to Tameside for one reason; because I know we can do fantastic things for our families here."

"We're a children's service on a significant improvement journey. We know what needs to be different for our children and families and we're ambitious to deliver that change."

"We have a growing range of specialist services for children, where you can test and grow your skills and practice. We have a Social Work Academy that is led by people who bring passion to learning and who know that the DCS' of the future are right in front of them. We are working on our progression pathways so that staying in Tameside is rewarded and recognised. We have investment in innovation and improvement from the council so that we can grow services and support for families that we can sustain, from family hubs through to complex safeguarding."

"I am so certain that we can build a proud, inclusive and safe climate for great practice to flourish in Tameside. I'd love you to join me on the journey here at Team Tameside."

Our Heart of Support Practice Approach

At Tameside, we believe in:

• Compassion - understanding the lived experiences of children and families.
• Curiosity - asking questions that lead to deeper insight and better outcomes for children.
• Collaboration - working together across services to deliver joined-up support.
• Conversation - listening and engaging meaningfully with children, families and professionals.
• Courage - leading with courage, making bold and compassionate decisions that put children first.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults and expect all staff to share this commitment. This position is subject to Enhanced with Barred List Disclosure Procedures.

Unfortunately, at this time we are not able to offer sponsorship.

We are committed to developing a culture which respects individuals, appreciates difference and allows everyone regardless of background to reach their full potential. We are proud to be an accredited disability confident employer. Reasonable Adjustments will be considered in accordance with the Equality Act 2010 in relation to the Job Role Criteria.

We have made a commitment to improve the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, care leavers, carers, and ex-military personnel.

For an informal discussion please contact: David Jones, Deputy Manager on 0161 342 5586.