Experienced Practitioners- Waking Night Childrens Home - London

Visionary Solutions; City Of London; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 31,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading charity for children and young people is seeking an experienced practitioner to provide direct support for youth with complex emotional challenges. Responsibilities include developing supportive programs and ensuring safety. Applicants should hold a Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare or equivalent and have a strong commitment to fostering trusted relationships with young people. This full-time role is based in the UK and offers competitive salary and development opportunities.

Benefits

25 days holiday

Contributory pension scheme

Industry-leading training programme

BUPA employee assistance programme

Cycle-to-work scheme

Qualifications

• Minimum of 1 year’s experience working with children and young people.
• Genuine commitment to supporting young people.
• Basic understanding of safeguarding regulations.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct support for young people with emotional difficulties.
• Develop programs to build relationships with children ages 12-17.
• Ensure residents are safe and document support information.

Skills

Communication skills

Teamwork

Ability to cope with challenging behavior

Flexibility to work shifts

Creativity

Education

Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare

Equivalent qualification in children's social care

Job description

Starting Salary

£28,912 per annum, with potential to rise to £30,682 incrementally based on performance.

Working Hours

Full‑time: 40 hours per week shift work.

Part‑time: 20 hours per week shift work - both including weekends and bank holidays.

Overtime / bank holidays paid at time‑and‑a‑half and 2 weekends off per month.

Contract Type

Permanent.

Location

Balham, SW12.

About Us

St Christopher's is a leading charity for children and young people. We are proud of our history of providing fostering, children’s homes and innovative leaving‑care services across the UK & Isle of Man. We have a passionate commitment to our young people, placing them at the centre of everything we do. We provide positive life experiences for young people who are unable to sustain a placement in their parental or foster home.

We are an equal‑opportunity employer keen to develop an inclusive workforce where people feel they belong. We hope to attract applications from under‑represented groups, including people from different cultures, nationalities, socioeconomic backgrounds, ages, disabilities, religions, faith, sex, orientation, childcare responsibilities and gender‑diverse identities.

St Christopher’s Academy: where you can develop your skills and knowledge while making a difference to young people’s lives. When you join, we will set you up with a tailored development plan. Whether you want to move across to a different service, become a manager or just explore further your current role, we will support you to map out your career trajectory and help you achieve your professional ambitions.

We are proud that 84% of all our Team Leaders, Deputies and Managers are internal promotions.

About the Role

As an experienced practitioner you will provide direct support and care for our young people who have complex emotional and mental health difficulties (such as trauma and loss) and can struggle to regulate their emotions. Working within a therapeutic framework, you will develop a direct programme of work aimed at building authentic relationships with children and young people (aged 12‑17 years old). You will also have responsibility for ensuring residents are safe, providing support, liaising with other professionals and completing support documents to record information.

If applying for the Waking Night role, you will have the additional support of an on‑call manager should there be any emergencies. You will also be involved in monthly team meetings and receive monthly supervision.

Applicants should have

• Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare or equivalent (i.e. Level 3 Diploma Children and Young People Workforce with the children’s social care pathway) or be willing to achieve the Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare within 2 years as per Children’s Homes Regulations 2015 (England).
• Minimum of 1 year’s experience working and supporting children and young people to achieve their full potential.
• Genuine commitment to working with and supporting children and young people to achieve their full potential, with the ability to build and promote trusted relationships while maintaining professional boundaries.
• An understanding of the issues facing children and young people and a basic understanding of safeguarding regulations and procedures.
• The ability to cope effectively with challenging behaviour.
• Good communication and team‑working skills.
• Flexibility to work shifts, including weekends and bank holidays.
• Commitment to undertake any mandatory training (outside of working hours) and continuous learning to ensure a high level of service.
• Creativity, enthusiasm and energy to inspire and encourage young people to achieve their goals.

What you should expect from us

• Salary: £28,912 per annum with potential to rise to £30,682 incrementally based on performance.
• Overtime / bank holidays paid at time‑and‑a‑half and 2 weekends off per month.
• A friendly working environment, a fun, open and honest culture.
• 25 days holiday rising to 27 days after 3 years service, plus Bank Holidays, pro‑ratio.
• Industry‑leading training programme including access to level 3 qualifications, children’s rights and participation, CSE, empowerment, mental health and social pedagogy.
• Contributory pension scheme, enhanced maternity and company sick scheme.
• UK Life Assurance (Death in service) to the value of 3 times your annual salary.
• BUPA employee assistance programme, offering counselling, financial advice and legal support.
• Cycle‑to‑work scheme.
• Bluelight card; discount shopping scheme at hundreds of retailers across the UK.
• Discretionary funded training programmes.
• Employee awards based on performance and length of service.
• Fantastic opportunities to develop your career within our range of services.

Recruitment Process

At St Christopher’s we are committed to the safeguarding of all children and young people in our care. During the recruitment process you will be expected to complete an online application form to ensure we capture essential information to meet legislation, best practice and vetting requirements.

Applicants will ideally already be on the DBS Update Service; if this is not the case St Christopher’s will carry out a DBS (police) check prior to starting.

Your online application must include a supporting statement addressing the criteria stated in the Person Specification.

Visit our website for the full Job Description and Person Specification. CVs will not be accepted.

For more information or assistance during the application process, please contact us.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an interview at our Head Office.

Successful candidates will then attend the second stage interview at the home they have applied for.

We advise you to apply as soon as possible as applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Please Note

• This post has a minimum age restriction of 21 years for roles working directly with children and young people in our residential and supported accommodation Homes in line with the Equality Act occupational requirement.
• It is illegal to apply for any role that involves working with children and young people under the age of 18, if you know you are barred from working with children.
• All shortlisted candidates invited to interview will be asked to submit a Self‑Declaration and Disclosure form which will need to be returned prior to an interview being booked.