Children's Residential Senior Practitioner

Surrey County Council; Reigate; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority in Reigate is seeking a Senior Practitioner for its residential children's care team. This role involves leading the operations of short breaks and providing intensive support for children with complex needs. Candidates should possess a Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare and have experience in multi-agency collaboration. Responsibilities include ensuring compliance with national standards and promoting positive outcomes for children. The position offers excellent benefits, including generous annual leave and development opportunities.

Benefits

26 days' holiday

Local government pension

Learning and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Ability to establish and maintain positive relationships with children and families.
• Applied knowledge of children's safeguarding and associated issues.
• Proven experience of multi-agency working.

Responsibilities

• Support the smooth running of short-breaks.
• Lead and coordinate the running of the Solo Placement.
• Facilitate out-of-hours placements.

Skills

Establishing positive relationships

Multi-agency working

Effective assessment

Risk management

Strengths-based care planning

Education

A Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare or equivalent

Job description

The starting salary for this role is 36,873 per annum for working 36 hours per week plus enhanced rates of pay for weekends, bank holidays and sleep in duties.

Are you ready to take the next step in your career in residential children's care?

We are excited to be hiring a Senior Practitioner to join our fantastic team in Tadworth. This is a great opportunity for a Senior Residential Worker to further enhance their knowledge and leadership skills, working alongside the team and fully supported by management.

This is a 12-month secondment opportunity. Please discuss with your current Line Manager before submitting your application.

Our Offer to You

• 26 days' holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
• A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents

About the Role

Our home provides specialist care and support for children and young people who access the home for short breaks.

The Senior Practitioner will work with colleagues to deliver a multi-agency intensive support service for all our children and young people who access short breaks at the home.

As a Senior Practitioner you will be involved in the following:

• Supporting the smooth running of short-breaks
• Leading and co-ordinating the running of the Solo Placement
• Facilitating the provision of planned and emergency placements, out of hours
• Bespoke placement arrangements
• Direct work with children and young people with complex and demanding needs
• Shift-leading and promoting positive outcomes for all 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.

This is one of the best roles in our homes - offering a balance between direct work with our children and young people and the opportunity to contribute to the development of your team.

Your Application

In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills and align with our behaviours:

• A Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare, or equivalent
• 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
• To apply, we request that you submit a CV and you will be asked the following 4 questions:

1. Please tell us what has motivated you to apply for this role?
2. Please tell us about the skills and experience you have of providing children's residential care?
3. 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 workforce 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. Reasonable adjustments where needed will be made for successful applicants who have a disability or long-term health condition to enable them to fulfil the requirements of the job.

Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description & Our Life at Surrey handbook to get an insight into working at Surrey.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 11.01.2026

An enhanced DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) 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. You can find out more about what information you will be asked to provide HERE.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation, moving from a two-tier system to two new unitary councils in April 2027. If you are employed by Surrey on 1st April 2027, your role will transfer with current terms and conditions to one of the new organisations, supporting local devolution and greater powers for our communities.

Join our dynamic team and shape the future of local government. Make a lasting impact with innovative solutions and improved services for our community. Help us build a brighter future for our residents!

Our Commitment

We are a disability confident employer which means if you have shared a disability on your application form and have evidenced you meet the minimum criteria, we guarantee you an interview.

Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we're committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need, we value inclusion and warmly welcome you to join and help build a workplace where everyone belongs.