Residential Childcare Worker

Due to continued growth and success Lily Services is looking for Residential Childcare Workers to join our dedicated and professional team. You will be responsible for ensuring that children and young people are cared for in every element of their lives, whilst working in accordance with the Quality Standards and Children's homes regulations.

Salary: £27,509 per year

The Role

· Provide a caring, supportive and nurturing environment in which children/young people can feel secure and free from harm.

· Establish positive relationships with young people which young people perceive to be positive, warm and rewarding, always offering them unconditional and positive regard.

· Providing support for young people in their education and extracurricular activities, this may include supporting them in the classroom if necessary.

· Encouraging the young person to develop links with the community, attend off-site activities and expand their personal social network.

· Be involved in and organise activities which are in the best interests and meet the needs of the children and young people.

· Providing advice, assistance and support on a 1:1 basis to enable young people to address past and present difficulties.

· Ensure that each young person’s care plan is followed and amended as appropriate to reflect their changing needs and aspirations.

· Maintain accurate records daily, to a high standard. Complete all relevant paperwork paying detailed attention to risk assessments and safeguarding procedures.

· Liaise with other appropriate services, acting as advocate and support for individuals to ensure they receive appropriate support services.

· Attending to practical matters in relation to childcare (cooking, cleaning, general maintenance around the home etc).

· Support children and young people with their morning and evening routines.

· Ensure the emotional health and wellbeing of children and young people are being met and the Health Plan is being followed.

· To report and respond to emergency situations in line with policy and procedures, emergency services, reporting missing children and following PAN Dorset safeguarding procedures.

· Providing emotional support to children and young people at times of difficulty or stress.

· Work with children/young people who may be emotionally or physically demanding with the potential for verbal or physical abuse by helping them to gain self-control by adopting de-escalation techniques, challenging any unacceptable behaviour and rewarding acceptable and positive social conduct.

· Attend professional meetings as required.

· Being aware of childcare plans for all young people and providing support for colleagues by maintaining consistency in the execution of those plans.

· Act as a key worker or secondary keyworker for a young person to ensure that the young person’s care plans are up to date and that all their care needs are being met.

· Contribute to and promote self-empowerment and advocacy for the children and young people by providing information, giving them the opportunity to express their views and developing their skills to make informed choices.

· Be willing to listen to complaints from children and young people or families, learn from complaints and use them to improve the service.

· Assist the Registered Manager in encouraging children and young people to follow their own religion and cultural beliefs.

· Facilitate and supervise contact sessions between children and young people and their families within the agreement and processes of the care planning agenda.

· Providing informal practical and emotional support to colleagues experiencing difficulties.

Staff always have access to advice and guidance from senior staff and team members and are not required to take decisions which fall outside the requirements/ procedures and guidelines of the post. You will Actively contribute to the development of the team. All staff will Receive training appropriate to the role and maintaining an up-to-date training profile. Being familiar with all policies and procedures and adhering to them.

Working circumstances:

· You will be required to work 39 hours per week. 91 Sleep-ins per year.

· £11.28 per hour £50.92 per sleep-in.

· This post requires the holder to do varying shifts, which include early morning and late evening work. The post holder is also required to work weekends as part of a rota and Bank Holidays when required. Sleeping-in duties are also required for which an additional payment is made.

· On occasions you may be requested to change your rota at a given notice as per your contract, to ensure the contingencies of the service are covered. This may also include covering an additional sleep-in duty as an emergency measure.

· Changes to personal circumstances which may affect this must be notified to your line manager immediately.

Knowledge and Skills:

· Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (to have or be committed to work towards and achieve)

· Car user – clean driving license (essential) with access to your own transport and ensure it is insured appropriately for the nature of your work.

· Able to respond calmly / react in a crisis / emergency situation.

· Able to deal with challenging situations.

· Work professionally maintaining confidentiality and professional boundaries.

· Energetic and enthusiastic.

· Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

· Good interpersonal skills.

· Good assessment skills.

· Open, honest and reliable.

· Computer literate and excellent telephone manner.

· Practical skills i.e. cooking and domestic tasks.

· Empathetic and caring outlook.

· Ability to challenge discrimination/ oppression.

We are recruiting for both our Weymouth and Poole homes. Please state which area you are looking to work in. At times, you may be required to work across our homes. Residential Childcare workers at Lily Residential Services are at times required to lone work. This post requires the holder to have a clear Criminal Records Bureau check at all times