Practitioners, Days - Children's Home

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames; City Of London; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 31,000; Full time

Job summary

A local authority in London is seeking an Experienced Practitioner to provide direct support to children with complex emotional needs. The role involves developing authentic relationships and ensuring safety for young residents. Ideal candidates will possess a Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare and at least one year of relevant experience. Join us to make a difference in the lives of young people and enjoy competitive benefits including a salary starting at £27,248 per annum.

Benefits

25 days holiday plus Bank Holidays

Industry leading training programme

Contributory pension scheme

Cycle to work scheme

Employee assistance programme

Qualifications

• Minimum of 1 year’s experience working and supporting children and young people.
• Ability to build and promote trusted relationships while maintaining professional boundaries.
• Understanding of safeguarding regulations.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct support and care for young people with complex emotional difficulties.
• Develop authentic relationships and programmes of work for children aged 12-17.
• Ensure safety of residents and completion of support documents.

Skills

Good communication

Team working

Flexibility

Ability to cope with challenging behaviour

Creativity

Enthusiasm

Education

Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare

Equivalent qualification in Children's Social Care

Job description

Overview

Experienced Practitioners, Days - Children\'s Home - London. Location: Balham. Contract Type: Permanent. Closing Date: 15 October 2025. Salary: £27,248 per annum, with potential to rise to £30,682 incrementally based on performance. Overtime / bank holidays paid time-and-a-half and 2 weekends off per month. Specific Hours: 40 hours per week shift work, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays.

About Us

Our vision is for every child and young person to be safe, loved and happy, to achieve their potential and have a bright future. 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: At St Christopher\'s we can provide more than just a care job. We can offer you a career where you can develop your skills and knowledge while making a difference to young people\'s lives. When you join St Christopher\'s, we will set you up in your career 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. If you want to learn more about St Christopher\'s Academy, please click here. We are proud that 84% of all our Team Leaders, Deputies and Managers are internal promotions.

Role and Responsibilities

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 developing authentic relationships with our children and young people (aged 12 - 17 years old). You will also have responsibility for making sure our residents are safe, providing support, liaison with other professionals and completion of support documents to record information.

Qualifications and Experience

• 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: £27,248 per annum with potential to rise to £30,682 incrementally based on performance.
• Overtime / bank holidays paid 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-rata.
• Industry leading training programme including access to level 3 qualifications, children\'s right 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 programs.
• 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. Click here for the full Job Description and Person Specification. CVs will not be accepted. For more information or assistance during the application process, please contact. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an interview at our Head Office. Second Stage: Successful candidates will then attend the second stage interview at the home they have applied for.

Our Children and Young People are looking forward to hearing from you. For more information or assistance during the application process, please contact. 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 year 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.