Children's Residential Senior Practitioner

SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL; Dorking; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Join SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL as a Senior Practitioner in Dorking, supporting children's welfare in a residential setting. You will lead a dedicated team, enhancing care for young people with complex needs while ensuring compliance with national standards. This role offers a competitive salary and the opportunity for personal and professional growth.

Benefits

26 days' holiday, increasing with service

Employee Assistance Programme

Generous pension scheme

Lifestyle discounts

Training and development opportunities

Paid volunteering days

Qualifications

• Experience of multi-agency working in childcare.
• Knowledge of the Children's Homes Regulations 2015.
• Ability to provide statutory childcare services.

Responsibilities

• Support young people in a safe and nurturing environment.
• Lead improvements in care and outcomes.
• Ensure compliance with national regulations and guidelines.

Skills

Establishing relationships

Risk management

Strengths-based care planning

Education

Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare

Job description

The starting salary for this role is £35,730 per annum for working 36 hours per week.

We are delighted to be offering an opportunity for a Senior Practitioner to join our new Children's Residential Home in Dorking. This is a fantastic opportunity for a qualified Residential Worker to join our ambitious service, where they will be well supported to develop their career in care and further enhance their knowledge and leadership skills, as part of a well-established and caring service.

Rewards and Benefits

• 26 days' holiday rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 30 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme to support health and wellbeing
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependants leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Refer a friend payment of £750 as a thank you for finding the right residential worker

The Role

Our home in Dorking will be the 4th new home we have brought online to provide safe spaces for children and young people to remain, or return to live, in Surrey. Dorking compromises of a four bed home providing care and support for children and young people presenting with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties.

In this role, you will be part of a dedicated team supporting young people to ensure their safety and well-being. Our young people often have complex needs, making the work both challenging and rewarding, with no two days being the same. As a committed provider, we are steadfast in our belief that working alongside children and young people, regardless of the challenges they face, is invaluable. We are dedicated to providing consistent care and support, even during tough times, knowing the positive impact it can have.

As a Senior Practitioner you will provide pivotal support to our Deputy Home Managers, staff and team around the children and young people we support. You will lead the way in improving outcomes and ensuring that our home is a safe and nurturing environment where our children and young people can thrive.

You will support the home by providing expert advice and creative opportunities to access resources that enhance the purpose and well-being of our children and young people.

In all that you do, you will ensure our services are compliant with national good practice, guidance, regulations and legislation, including Ofsted frameworks. You will also contribute to regular audits and inspections to ensure that we are effective and delivering key outcomes.

In return for your expertise, commitment and experience we will enable your ongoing learning and development through a culture of high support and high challenge, and access to a range of learning and development activities.

Shortlisting Criteria

To be considered for shortlisting for this position your CV and answers to the questions below will clearly evidence:

• A Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare, or equivalent, with the expectation to work towards completing level 5 in Management and Leadership
• Your ability to establish and maintain positive relationships with children, adolescents, their families and professionals
• An applied knowledge of contextual children's safeguarding and associated issues
• Proven experience of multi-agency working
• Demonstrable competence in effective assessment, risk management and strengths-based care planning
• Experience of delivering statutory childcare services including the residential care of children and knowledge of the Children's Homes Regulations 2015 and Quality Standards

As part of your application, you will be asked to submit a CV and answer the following questions:

• Please tell us what has motivated you to apply for this role?
• Please tell us about the skills and experience you have of providing children's residential care?
• Please tell us about any experience you have of multiagency working and why this is important.
• The work we do is very challenging (but rewarding). Using an example tell us about a time when you dealt with a challenging work situation effectively. What was the outcome and what did you learn from it?

Working in our homes represents a unique opportunity to support our children and young people with their everyday lives. To do this safely you will be asked to tell us about any allergies you have that may need to be reasonably managed to ensure your safety and wellbeing with minimal impact to the children and young people we care for.

Our Requirements

Due to our legal obligations, we can only accept applications from people 22 years old and above.

Surrey has both urban and rural areas and our residential workers will be expected to have a valid driving licence to drive in the UK and access to a vehicle, to support our young people to attend appointments, activities or trips as agreed.

This advert closes at 23:59 on the 8th July 2025 with interviews to follow.

An enhanced DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check for regulated activity and the Children's and Adults' Barred List checks will be required for this role.

We are committed to the safe recruitment of staff in our Residential homes across Surrey therefore if you are successful in being offered a role within our service, we will work with you to collect all required checks in line with government guidance.