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Job Title: Senior Residential Childcare Workers - ay award pending
Starting Salary: £38,220 progressing to £41,771 per annum + 6% market enhancement * - ay award pending
*Sleep In allowances are paid at £40 per night. There are opportunities to work additional hours and overtime across the Service.
Hours: 37 hours per week
Contract Type: Permanent

Directorate: Children's Services

About the team

Hertfordshire county council has its own residential service for children, this consists of 7 homes, including 2 very specialist homes, 1 disability and the rest mainstream multi bedded homes.

All homes are currently sitting on Ofsted ratings of good or outstanding.

As a senior you form part of the leadership of the home and ensure the needs of the home and young people are met and maintained at the highest possible level.

Each home is made up of Registered Manager, Deputy, Senior Residential Childcare Workers, Residential Childcare Workers, cleaners and home administrators.

As a Senior within the residential service there will be times you are asked to support other homes.

About the role

Below are some of the things you could say about your role on a day-to-day basis working in our Residential Care homes:

“It’s the best job in the World”
“The work life balance is brilliant”
“I am at home more than I am at work – both families benefit”
“’Thanks for running me a bath’ – is what made me smile today – win/win”.

If you really want to make a difference to a young person’s life then read on……

It is hard to put a job title on a role where you are mentor, teacher, coach, deliverer of parental guidance, role model, therapist, councillor, and family liaison, often all in the same day.

Daily you will be liaising with a host of individuals and services, from our young person’s family to schools and education authorities, social workers, police and a whole range of other internal and external contacts.

The essence of the role is to support, almost as an extension of the family, one young person to help them develop into adulthood as effectively as possible, establishing routine, boundaries and consistency in a calm, non-judgemental manner. You will work with children and young people who display challenging behaviour due to early life trauma.

No two days are the same in our Residential Service - on your working days you could be taking your young person horse riding, painting, for a drive, for a walk, out shopping, or attending virtual schools. You will support children to achieve and grow through positive experiences.

“You are there when I rise, when I eat, when I play, and you are there to put me to bed at the end of my day”.

Our commitment to young people in our care is to be there around the clock for them. As part of your role you will complete relevant paperwork and work within relevant legislation.

You will be part of a team working on a shift/rota basis; you will work together with the rest of the team, and your senior, to organise this in advance. Due to the nature of our care, there may be occasions where you need to swap shifts and working together with your team we can achieve this flexibility.

As a Senior Residential Childcare Worker, you would need to do the following.

• Shift work including evening weekends, bank holiday and sleep in duties.
• Lead and manage shifts.
• Plan weekly activities for the young people.
• Ensure the home is working to the regulations.
• Line manage and supervise Residential Childcare Workers (RCWs).
• Train and Develop RCWs.
• Report writing.
• Undertaking specialist training for the role
• Oversee the children files, ensuring all documentation is update to date and relevant.
• Manage incidents.
• Maintain the safety of the young people, staff and home.
• Manage and report safeguarding concerns in line with policy and procedure.

About you

Essential:

• Minimum 9-12 month experience of working in residential children’s home.

• Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare or equivalent

• Hold a full driving licence and business insurance.
• Lead and manage shifts.
• Willingness to undertake shift work.

Desirable:

• Staff supervision
• Attending/ leading meetings with key stakeholder
• Working with families

We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.

This job role is within the Health and Social Care, level job profile. Please locate this via:Job profiles - Health and social care

Working for Hertfordshire County council is an excellent opportunity, we are forward thinkers and diverse in the residential services that we offer.

As an employer we offer our staff the opportunity to undertake further training via our apprenticeships to further their careers in social care.

Its an excellent time to join our residential service as we have a strong therapeutic foundation and looking to enhance our service with a core and committed staff group.

To hear more about this opportunity please contact Sabika Sabeen Sabika.Sabeen@hertfordshire.gov.uk - 07515 663033 for an informal discussion about the role.

Benefits of working for us

How to apply

As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps), and including any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert / job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.

Additional information

We are changing

Hertfordshire County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). If you are employed by Hertfordshire County on 1 April 2028, it is expected that most roles will transfer to the newly-created unitary councils on existing terms and conditions under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings – Protection of Employment) principles.

LGR is one of the biggest changes we will face in a generation. It will reshape how we work and how services are organised and gives us a real opportunity to build something better. To find out more, visit https://www.hertfordshire-lgr.co.uk/

Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

Safeguarding
This role has been identified as requiring a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

Driving required
You’ll need to have the ability to drive and/or travel around Hertfordshire, either using your own mode of transport or a company car to travel to other locations.

English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.