Residential Child Care Worker

Darlington; Tees Valley; On-site; GBP 17,000 - 20,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual Leave 32d

LGPS pension scheme

Training & development

Counselling service

Cycle to Work

Job summary

Darlington Borough Council is seeking a part-time Residential Child Care Worker to support looked-after children across local authority residential homes and disability short breaks services.

The post involves shift work, sleepovers, and weekend work. Salary bands start around £16,500 and rise with Band 9 up to around £19,700, with pro-rata leave and generous benefits on top.

Qualifications

• Experience of working with children and young people in residential care or similar setting.
• Band 8: willing to work towards Level 3 Diploma; Band 9: Level 3 Diploma or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Act as a corporate parent and champion for Children in Need.
• Ensure looked-after children are nurtured, happy, healthy and safe.
• Work with families, carers and professionals to support young people.

Skills

Experience with children/young people

Ability to work shifts including sleep

Education

Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare

Job description

Residential Child Care Worker (Ref: TBC)

Salary Band 8- £16,559.50 - £17,785 Band 9- £18,290.50 - £19,740.50 Salary Band £10,001 to £20,000 Post Type Permanent Hours Per Week Part time

Job and Application details

Categories Social Care - Children Service
Directorate N/A Published Date 05/10/2026 Closing Date 01/11/2026

The ideal candidates must also be able to effectively extend these skills to the young people's families/carers and professionals.

The Residential Homes care for children who are looked after by the local authority we also have a short breaks Service for children with a disability. This post covers all of our local authority Residential Homes and short breaks service for children with disabilities.

The overall aims as a Residential Child Care Worker are to act as a corporate parent for Children Looked After and be an assertive champion for Children in Need in accordance with the Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards. To ensure young people are nurtured, happy, healthy and safe from harm, able to develop, thrive and fulfil their full potential.

Applicants should have experience of working with children and young people either in a residential care or related setting.

Band 8- Must be willing to work towards a Level 3 Diploma for Residential Child Care.

Band 9- Applicants should hold a Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare or equivalent.

This post involves shift work, sleep overs, bank holidays and weekend working.

The rewards for working at Darlington Borough Council go beyond the salary you will receive; we have numerous additional benefits such as:

• 32 days Annual Leave, plus Bank Holidays, with option to purchase additional Annual Leave (pro-rata for part time working)
• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme with option to make Additional Voluntary Contributions
• Generous Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Leave schemes
• Staff equality forums
• Green Car Leasing Scheme
• Access to a wide range of training, learning and development
• Physiotherapy service
• Confidential counselling service
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Dolphin Centre Fit for Life Discounts
• Local and National retailer discounts
• Vivup employee benefit app and Lifestyle Savings
• Arriva Employee Travel Club

The successful applicants will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check.

General Information for Applicants:

All applicant email correspondence will come from [e-mail] and may be directed to your Junk folder depending on the settings of your email account. Please check both your email and Junk folder as all applicants will be notified whether they have been shortlisted.

We aim to interview any applicant who declares a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job.