Senior Residential Support Worker

LLOYD'S REGISTER INTERNATIONAL; Leicester; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 39,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave 26–30 days depending on长度

Group Personal Pension with matched 4%

Cycle to work scheme

Discounts and cashback via Barnardo's

Family-friendly leave options

Job summary

Barnardo's is seeking a Senior Residential Children & Young People’s Worker in Leicestershire to lead shifts and support a small group of children and young people aged 8–18 in residential care. You will work within a trauma-informed framework to provide safe, nurturing care and strong safeguarding.

The role involves collaboration with families, social workers and education providers, and may include responsibilities across multiple sites.

Qualifications

• Experience working with children and young people in residential care settings.
• Ability to lead shifts and support colleagues within a care environment.
• Strong safeguarding knowledge and professional boundaries.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong organisational and recording skills.

Responsibilities

• Build positive relationships with children and young people.
• Support emotional wellbeing, education, routines and personal development.
• Lead shifts and supervise Residential Support Workers.
• Promote high standards of care and safeguarding.
• Support care planning, reviews and outcomes.
• Develop partnerships with parents, social workers and schools.
• Ensure accurate reporting and recording.
• Support household tasks and community activities.
• Foster reflective practice and continuous improvement.

Skills

Residential care

Leadership

Safeguarding

Communication

Organisational skills

Education

Level 3 qualification in Residential Childcare

Job description

Ready for Your Next Leadership Challenge?

Do you have experience working with children and young people in residential care? Are you passionate about helping young people overcome adversity and achieve positive outcomes? Do you enjoy supporting colleagues, leading by example, and making a lasting difference?

If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you to join our Emotional Well-being Home in Leicestershire as a Senior Residential Children & Young People's Worker on a full-time, permanent basis.

About the Service

Barnardo's, the UK's largest children's charity, works in partnership with Leicestershire County Council to provide high-quality residential care for some of the county's most vulnerable children and young people.

Our homes provide safe, stable and nurturing environments for children and young people aged 8–18 who may have experienced trauma, disrupted attachments, loss, neglect, or other complex life experiences. We support a small number of young people at any one time, enabling us to provide highly individualised care and build meaningful relationships that promote emotional wellbeing, resilience, confidence and independence.

Our practice is rooted in trauma-informed, attachment-aware and relationship-based approaches. We believe every child deserves to feel safe, valued, listened to and supported to achieve their full potential.

Whilst this home will be your primary base, flexibility is required as there may occasionally be opportunities to support other residential services across Leicestershire.

About the Role

As a Senior Residential Children & Young People's Worker, you will play a key role in supporting the day-to-day operation of the home and providing leadership during shifts.

Working alongside the management team, you will help create a safe, nurturing and structured environment where children and young people can thrive. You will act as a positive role model, supporting colleagues to deliver high-quality care and ensuring that safeguarding remains at the centre of practice.

Key Responsibilities

You will:

• Build positive, trusting and nurturing relationships with children and young people.
• Support children and young people with their emotional wellbeing, education, daily routines, independence skills and personal development.
• Lead shifts and provide guidance and support to Residential Support Workers.
• Promote high standards of care, safeguarding and professional practice.
• Support key-working, care planning, reviews and outcome-focused interventions.
• Develop effective partnerships with parents, carers, social workers, education providers and other professionals.
• Ensure accurate, timely and professional recording and reporting.
• Contribute to the smooth running of the home, including household responsibilities and community activities.
• Promote a positive team culture that supports reflective practice and continuous improvement.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for people who are compassionate, resilient, emotionally intelligent and committed to achieving positive outcomes for children and young people.

To be successful in this role, you will be able to demonstrate:

• Experience working with children and young people within a residential care setting.
• Experience of leading shifts and supporting colleagues within a care environment.
• A strong understanding of safeguarding, child protection and professional boundaries.
• Excellent communication, leadership and interpersonal skills.
• The ability to remain calm and effective in challenging situations.
• Strong organisational and recording skills.
• A commitment to reflective practice, learning and professional development.
• A Level 3 qualification relevant to Residential Childcare, or a commitment to achieving this within the required timeframe.

Why Join Barnardo's?

Working for Barnardo's offers the opportunity to:

• Make a genuine difference to children's lives every day.
• Receive ongoing training, development and professional support.
• Develop your leadership skills within a supportive environment.
• Access opportunities for career progression into Deputy Manager and Registered Manager roles.
• Be part of a values-led organisation that places children, safeguarding and positive outcomes at the heart of everything we do.

No two days are the same. You will have the opportunity to celebrate achievements, support children and young people through challenges, and play an important role in helping them build confidence, resilience and hope for the future.

For more information about this role, please contact Elisha Shamba – [e-mail]

We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values. We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people.

For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay.

Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band – this ensures that pay steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours. More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application.

Workplace Offer: What it means for you

Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, in the community, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or depending on the role any combination of these. Please read through the advert carefully to understand the remits of hybrid working that will be specific to the role.

Barnardo's require colleagues to be UK residents, based in the UK and to complete their roles from within the UK (with the exception of colleagues providing Barnardo's services in Jersey and colleagues who live in the Republic of Ireland providing services in Northern Ireland)

• Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
• Annual Leave entitlement for full-time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days per annum, after 3 years Barnardo's service, 29 days per annum, after 5 years Barnardo's service and 30 days per annum, after 7 years Barnardo's service. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata
• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our Buy Your Leave scheme
• A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options
• Service related sick pay from day 1
• Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution
• Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension
• Cycle2work scheme
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal
• 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
• Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
• Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer

*T&C's apply based on contract

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

• Reference number:23584
• Job Title:Senior Residential Support Worker
• Location:Leicester
• Locality:Leicestershire
• Contract type:Permanent
• Hours:37
• Salary:£29,507 - £39,048 (FTE)
• Closing Date:31 October 2026
• Interview Date:TBC

Additional Info

• Information Sheet for Applicants Applying for Positions Working with Children and Vulnerable Adults (updated July 2021).pdf (107.00 KB)
• Barnardo's Workplace Offer Visual Summary.pdf (27.58 KB)
• Recruitment of Ex-Offenders Policy Dec 2024.pdf (164.07 KB)
• Senior Residential Children & Young People's Worker - Leicestershire Residential Services - Job Description and Person Specification.pdf (236.00 KB)