Secure Residential Support Worker

East Sussex County Council; Hailsham; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 25,000; Full time

Job summary

Lansdowne Secure Children's Home, part of East Sussex County Council, is seeking support workers to join the care team. You will contribute to safe, secure daily care, engage children in diverse activities and support their wellbeing while adhering to safeguarding procedures.

You will work as part of a dedicated team with extensive training and ongoing support, and there may be occasional sleep-ins as part of rota responsibilities. Applications from all community groups are welcome.

Qualifications

• Ability to manage difficult conversations, conflict, and set clear boundaries with young people.
• Understanding of how trauma affects behaviour and how to apply that in daily interactions.
• Ability to lead from the floor, take initiative, escalate concerns and follow safeguarding procedures.
• Strong communication skills to provide clear direction and support to children.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day safe and secure care for children at Lansdowne Secure Home.
• Keep children engaged with activities such as sports, cooking, arts and crafts.
• Occasional sleep-ins as part of rota.

Job description

Job Description

Can you make a difference to the lives of children who need it the most? Lansdowne Secure Children's home is one of only 14 in the England & Wales and is a modern, state of the art building with excellent and diverse facilities.

We are looking for support workers to join our care team. We put children at the heart of everything we do. If this is also you, then you’d likely be a good match for us and we want to hear from you.

You’ll work as part of a dedicated, supportive team, and will be responsible for providing the day-to-day safe and secure care of the children at Lansdowne. Keeping the children engaged and occupied, you’ll encourage and participate in fun, enriching activities with the young people, such as sports, cooking, arts and crafts and many more. As part of the rota you will be required to do sleep-ins in the home on occasion.

We Are Looking For Candidates Who

• Can manage difficult conversations, manage conflict and challenge poor behaviour and/or practice and hold strong, consistent boundaries with young people and isn’t afraid to challenge poor behaviour
• Understand how trauma affects behaviour and uses that understanding in everyday interactions
• Are able to lead from the floor when needed, take initiative and know when to escalat e concerns and how to follow safeguarding procedures
• Have communication skills with the ability to offer clear assertive direction and support to children to ensure they feel safe

It is vital that all staff fully understand and undertake their role with professionalism and in accordance with the safeguarding policy and procedures. We take our safeguarding responsibilities extremely seriously and expect those working with our children to maintain high standards of vigilance, respect, reporting and professional curiosity at all times.

You will be given extensive training and ongoing support to fully undertake this part of your role and as such will be held to high standards to help keep children safe.

Please download the job description & person specification for more information.

We warmly welcome applications from all sections of the community. We particularly encourage those from groups that are underrepresented in our current workforce: Black and ethnic minority backgrounds, those who are disabled, men and those who identify as LGBTQ+. We are working towards recruiting a workforce that reflects our community because we recognise the unique skills, experience and perspective that each individual brings.

Interviews will take place in person within two weeks of the closing date at Lansdowne Secure Unit in Hailsham.

Candidates who meet certain criteria are given priority when we shortlist. See our priority status page for details.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Hannah Jones via [e-mail].

We offer a diverse range of benefits to help and support you during your employment. More information can be found on our benefits page.

A workforce for the community, from the community.

"East Sussex is a very good employer. You're able to work flexibly around childcare and caring responsibilities and that's really helpful." - Charlotte, Social Worker

For flexible working, choose East Sussex!

Please note that unfortunately we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role. If you require sponsorship, we will not be able to progress your application.

About Us

Additional Information

This post is subject to an Enhanced DBS check or Enhanced check for Regulated Activity with the Disclosure & Barring Services (previously the Criminal Records Bureau). For further information about what is required in this process please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-check-applicant-criminal-record . Please note that we require evidence of an overseas police check if you have lived or worked abroad.

Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is part-time or term-time only.

If you require sponsorship to work in the UK please let the hiring manager know this in your application so we can check eligibility for sponsorship for the role. For further information please go to https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas

If you require any reasonable adjustments, due to disability, to enable you to participate fully in the process please contact the hiring manager on the contact details above.