Children's Residential Practitioners

NHS; Rotherham; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking dedicated Children's Residential Practitioners to join their team in Rotherham. This role focuses on providing outstanding care and support to children and young people with complex needs, ensuring their safety and wellbeing. You will be part of a committed team, working in a nurturing environment that prioritizes child-focused practices. With extensive training and development opportunities, this position offers a chance to make a real difference in the lives of vulnerable children while enjoying a supportive and dynamic work atmosphere. Join us in shaping a brighter future for our community's children.

Benefits

Local Government Pension Scheme

30 days annual leave

Extensive training program

Support for professional development

Health and wellbeing benefits

Qualifications

• Experience working with children with complex emotional and behavioral needs.
• Level 6 qualification or equivalent experience is required.

Responsibilities

• Promote and safeguard the welfare of looked after children.
• Key work individual children, providing consistency and support.
• Engage in home activities, meals, and personal care.

Skills

Experience with complex needs children

Ability to work in multi-agency settings

Emotional regulation support

Child safeguarding

Therapeutic approaches

Education

Level 6 qualification (e.g., Bachelor's Degree)

Level 3 Diploma in Residential Child Care

Job description

RMBC has made a strategic decision to make a significant investment in children's residential services. This will ensure more of our looked after children are placed in Rotherham, close to their local communities, family and schools.

We are particularly looking for practitioners who have previous experience of working in specialist solo provision, mental health residential settings, crisis accommodation and with children and young people with sensory, ASD, mental health needs and who have suffered significant trauma.

This new residential provision will be part of a Children and Young People Service judged as 'Good' by Ofsted in January 2018 and build on practice from our short break residential home judged as 'Outstanding' in February 2020.

Main duties of the job

Seeking inspirational, resilient and child focused practitioners who are committed to:

• Developing their skills/practices to provide an outstanding residential service
• Support/caring for complex children and young people, at times in solo provision
• Working evening, weekend and sleep in shifts as part of the residential team

Our vision is for children and families to experience and describe the services they received, as outstanding - by putting the child first in everything we do.

By being part of our residential teams, you will play a crucial role in developing our collective commitment to an ethos of excellence, integrity, trust and transparency. Joining us at a time of change with regard to developing our provision provides you an opportunity to be involved and influence the service design and development of practice in line with best practice and evidence-based approaches.

About us

This is an excellent time to work within Rotherham. We are passionate about the place and the people who live, work and visit here. We are delivering major regeneration and housing, as well as creating new jobs and opportunities for our residents. Rotherham is a real 'central UK' location with excellent road and rail links and is ideally placed near the scenic countryside of the Peak District, whilst also being conveniently located next to the vibrant city of Sheffield.

Our vision for Rotherham is that we come together as a community, where we seek to draw on our proud history to build a future we can all share. We respect decency, dignity and seek to build a town where opportunity is extended to everyone, where people can grow, flourish and prosper, and where no one is left behind.

We offer an excellent pay and benefits package which includes membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme, as well as a range of health and wellbeing and other benefits.

Job responsibilities

The Childrens Residential Practitioner posts will play a key role in the delivery of a range of in-house residential provision for Rotherham looked after children.

We are using current best practice and evidence-based models to develop a range of new children's homes including 2 and 4 bed EBD, emergency accommodation and solo provision for some of our most complex children and young people.

Childrens Residential Practitioners in Rotherham will:

• Promote, safeguard and protect the welfare of looked after children across the borough
• Key work individual children and young people, building effective relationships, being a positive role model and providing consistency of support
• Apply agreed evidence based therapeutic and behavioural management approaches and practice models
• Provide opportunities for children and young people to influence the decisions that affect them and the service they receive
• Work systemically and as part of team to ensure a joined-up service centred on the child
• Engage in the running of the home including activities, meals, personal care, recording, report writing and administration of medication in line with the councils policy
• Undertake staff training, attend staff meetings and formal supervision sessions
• Provide and promote a safe, stimulating and nurturing physical environment
• Hold a full valid UK driving license and be willing to transport children

Key benefits of working at Rotherham Councils Children and Young Peoples service are:

• Strong support and clear direction from Managers
• Extensive training programme, to develop and professionalise our residential practitioners. This includes the Rotherham Family Approach incorporating Signs of Safety and Restorative Practice
• Residential services that have access to and work closely with our high quality in house therapeutic service
• Innovative Edge of Care Services and a strong Early Help offer which is reducing demand and supporting professionals to think systemically and develop creative options to support children and young people
• The prioritisation of Looked After Children for CAMHS assessment and intervention
• The opportunity to make a real difference to the children, young people and families
• Investment in you as a practitioner involving support, supervision, training and opportunity for professional development and progression.
• Local Authority pension and 30 days annual leave, to be taken in line with the agreed weekend annual leave allocation as detailed in employer handbook.

About you

• We are seeking inspirational, resilient and child focused practitioners who are committed to:
• Developing their skills and practices in order to provide an outstanding residential service to children and young people
• Supporting and caring for some of our most complex children and young people, at times in solo provision
• Working evening, weekend and sleep in shifts as part of the residential team

If you have any questions regarding these opportunities, and/or would like a conversation about these new roles, please email [e-mail].

These posts involve working with children and therefore if successful you will be required to apply for a disclosure of criminal records check at an enhanced level. Further information about the Disclosure Scheme can be found at www.gov.uk/disclosure-barring-service-check

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council is committed to encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion among our workforce, and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative of all sections of society and our customers, and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best.

Person Specification

Experience

• Experience of working in a service or provision designed to support children and young people with complex needs, such as difficulties in regulating their emotions and behaviours due to past experiences.
• Experience of working directly with children and families in a multi-agency setting and knowledge of the roles of other agencies and professionals.

Qualifications

• Level 6 qualification e.g. Bachelor Degrees, Graduate Certificates and Diplomas, or Level 5 qualification e.g. Diplomas of HE and FE, foundation degrees and HNDs, plus experience in relevant areas of work over a period of years Or Evidence of the equivalent level of knowledge gained through work experience.
• Level 3 Diploma in Residential Child Care or the equivalent. Or will have completed within 2 years of starting work in the role. Failure to complete the Level 3 Diploma or equivalent within 2 years will prevent the post holder from assuming this post, with immediate effect. Therefore, may result in your contract of employment being terminated.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.