Night Support Worker

Staffordshire County Council; Burton upon Trent; On-site; GBP 12,000 - 17,000; Part time

Job summary

Staffordshire County Council in Burton Upon Trent is seeking a Night Support Worker to join our in-house short break service for children and young people with disabilities. The role is 20 hours per week with evening, weekend and bank holiday shifts, based in a residential setting.

You will support children aged 8–17, helping them enjoy a positive, home-like short break while promoting independence and personal development.

Qualifications

• Minimum Level 3 diploma in Children & Young People or equivalent.
• Relevant experience of working with children in a care setting or equivalent.
• Ability to work in partnership with the young person, their Social Worker, family and relevant agencies to meet needs.

Responsibilities

• Work within the children's home, supporting young people aged 8 to 17.
• Provide care and support so that our young people experience a positive short break in a homely environment.
• Be part of individualised activities to develop targeted skills and promote independence.

Education

Level 3 diploma in Children & Young People or equivalent

Job description

Join us in Staffordshire to work with our children, young people, and families.

We are committed to providing the best care and support, fostering lifelong relationships with our children. Creativity and fun are at the core of our approach, both inside and outside the homes. Our specialist teams support children and young people across Staffordshire, with numerous vacancies available.

As we continue to develop and enhance our in-house short break services for young people with disabilities, we currently have roles in Burton Upon Trent.

Night Support Worker - 20 Hours per week

This post is to meet the needs of the young people currently using the service and will include evening, weekend and bank holiday working.

Due to recent changes in legislation (effective 22 July 2025) please be aware that unfortunately, this role is not eligible for sponsorship.

Main Responsibilities

As a Night Support worker, you’ll:

• work within the children's home, supporting young people aged 8 to 17.
• provide care and support so that our young people experience a positive short break in a homely environment.
• be part of individualised activities to develop targeted skills and promote independence.

What you can expect from us

We have:

• a detailed induction programme specifically designed to cover all elements of the role, so that you have all the tools and knowledge ready to get going.
• an ambitious, confident, and motivated management team who are experienced, supportive, and keen to help you learn and grow.
• a selection of training courses to support your development, and even have funded qualifications we can support you with obtaining.

You will have:

• a monthly 1:1 reflective space with managers,
• a comprehensive employee support offer,
• and lots of opportunity to network with other professionals that support children.

We embrace strength-based approaches and offer a rewarding work-life balance.

The Ideal Candidate

For the purpose of shortlisting, the minimum criteria for this role are:

• Level 3 diploma in Children & Young People or equivalent
• Relevant experience of working with children in a care setting or equivalent
• Ability to work in partnership, collaboratively with the young person, their Social Worker, family and relevant agencies in order to ensure that their physical, emotional, social, health and educational needs are met.

In addition, we are looking for:

• Passion– Thinking creatively to ensure that our children are supported to achieve their aspirations (no matter how big or small) will need to be top of your list! We are looking for passionate practitioners (irrelevant of length of experience) who truly care and want to make a difference to children, young people and families.
• Challenge – Some days will be tough, for our children, for you, and for your colleagues - we're after someone who is dedicated and committed, and who will always go that extra mile for our children (even on the bad days). Working as part of a close professional team is really important and you will need to be a team player to get through those tough times.
• Forward thinking – We are an expanding service with big ideas and aspirational views. We are looking for workers who can join our team and join us on this exciting journey, making contributions to help shape and inform the future of the service for our children
• Values – We are looking for someone who has values aligned to those that are integral to our service and our organisation - supportive, innovative, respectful and collaborative

Interview dates: Week Commencing 16th November 2026

When applying please ensure your supporting statement shows evidence of how you meet the criteria for the role. We may be unable to shortlist you for interview without this evidence.

We encourage our children to participate and get involved in all decisions, and recruitment is no different. It is really important to us that anyone joining the residential team has the skills, abilities, and outlook that our children tell us they need from us.

What our children want from you

• "I would like someone like me who has time to listen instead of being behind a locked door"
• I would like someone who listens to me but also takes action and who I can have a laugh with – they also need to be able to make nice food
• I would like someone who spends time with me

Are you interested?

Don’t feel you meet all the requirements? We value transferable skills, experiences, and qualifications so consider applying anyway or for an informal chat about the role please contact:

Lindsey Saunders- Registered Manager [e-mail] or Mark Jarvis Deputy Manager [e-mail]

In line with Schedule 2 this role is regulated by Ofsted so it a requirement that we obtain FULL employment history, from leaving secondary school. Please ensure that this is completed on your application as this will be discussed with you should you be invited to interview.

Our Recruitment Process

We anonymise applications during shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered. Please complete your application fully, especially the supporting statement, to highlight what you’ll bring to the role.

Please note: The minimum criteria in the ideal candidate section detailed above will be used if you are applying under one of our Interview Guarantee Schemes detailed below.

About Staffordshire County Council

We are no ordinary county council:

Our Values

The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.

We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future.

We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too.

Our benefits

We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.

In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to Our rewards and benefits - Careers at Staffordshire

Our recruitment process

As an Authority we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all background and communities

As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

As you’ll know safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children and young people/vulnerable adults is important to us and that’s why this position is subject to a criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service. If applicable you should disclose details of unspent and unfiltered spent reprimands, formal warnings, cautions and convictions in your application form.