Secure Children's Home Support Worker

Hampshire County Council; Winchester; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

Hampshire County Council is offering a rewarding role at Swanwick Lodge, a secure residential home for children with complex needs. Ideal candidates are compassionate and resilient individuals willing to form trusting relationships with children and support them through challenging times. The role includes shift work with ongoing training and support.

Qualifications

• Passionate about helping children.
• Emotionally intelligent and physically able.
• Experience with vulnerable populations is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Act as a ‘therapeutic parent’ and role-model for children.
• Form positive, trusting relationships to ensure safety and care.
• Engage in activities that cater to the interests of children.

Skills

Empathy

Patience

Resilience

Job description

Swanwick Lodge is a specialist, secure residential home looking after up to ten children with complex attachment, mental health and behavioural needs. Rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted in 2024 it provides a safe, secure and therapeutic environment for some our most vulnerable young people.

The Opportunity:

This is an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling role where you can help children recover from difficult life experiences. You will be joining an exceptional team of dedicated and supportive professional carers, working together to provide a highly structured, stimulating and caring environment within our well-appointed home.

Your focus will be to act as a ‘therapeutic parent’ and a role-model to our children, forming positive, trusting relationships that enable them to feel safe and cared for. Working with our diverse on-site education and health and wellbeing team, there’s also the opportunity to engage in fun activities that interest both the children and the staff. You will need to have a great deal of patience, empathy and understanding, with the ability to be consistent, kind and respectful, even in the face of extremely challenging behaviour.

You will have the opportunity to work a shift pattern of alternate weekends with a mixture of early and late shifts and sleep-in duties, to suit your home-life balance. Flexible working requests can be considered.

When you start your job with us, the first four weeks of the role will see you complete a thorough induction programme that includes mandatory training

About You:

We are looking for people who are passionate about helping children. Emotionally intelligent and resilient, you will also need to be physically able to undertake the role and the training. Experience of working with children, young people or adults within a residential, secure or similar setting it is an advantage but not essential.

You will be provided with all the training you need as well as our regular ongoing training and support to develop both your personal and professional skills.