Full Time / 37 Hours Per Week / Permanent
Are you passionate about providing an effective service to young people in the care of the Local Authority?
Our children's homes teams which are rated as good and outstanding by OFSTED, play a key role in improving the life for families and children in Leicester. As a result of the planned expansion of our residential service, we are advertising for new posts as well as recruiting to current vacancies. We provide care, guidance, and support to the young people with violent and challenging behaviours, disabilities and complex health care needs, and in appropriate cases, to work with their families or carers
We use Signs of Safety, Success, the Secure Base and Lundy Model of Participation as frameworks of intervention to support sound social care practices and our work is underpinned by the principles of trauma informed practice. As an authority we are committed to addressing racial injustice both for the children and families we work with and across the workforce. We are committed to supporting your continual professional development and have a comprehensive training and development programme whatever the stage of your career.
Working as a shift leader and key worker you’ll work in a team of 20 to 30 staff offering care, guidance and support to children and young people who are in the care of the Local Authority. You’ll be based in one of our children’s homes, but you must be prepared to work in a range of locations within the community and across the service. In addition, you must be able to work to a shift rota (early morning, late night and weekends), 365 days per year, recognising that rotas may need to be altered to reflect the needs of the service, including undertaking sleeping in duties.
What you’ll be doing
Day to day activities will include working with our looked after children and young people who may have low self-esteem or challenging behaviours. Considering the young people’s cultural, racial, linguistic background, sexual orientation, religious persuasion, gender, disability, age and understanding. You will support their views and wishes, as well as those of their families and other people of importance to them. Working under the direction of the Team Manager and Assistant Managers, you’ll contribute to the day-to-day work of the home, by providing a safe and stimulating environment that offers care and structure that encourages appropriate social boundaries and is conducive to the total care of young people in which their emotional, social, spiritual, educational, leisure, health (including administering medication & personal care) and physical needs are met. You’ll record accurate observations as well as write letters and reports. Putting into practice your knowledge of legislation and child development you’ll ensure best practice and outcomes for all those who use our service.
What you’ll need
You’ll be expected to demonstrate previous experience in a residential setting with users with low self-esteem and/or challenging behaviours. An understanding of child development and providing practical care of young people is essential in this role. Flexible, resilient, and enthusiastic, you’ll ensure the provision a of high-quality service that takes into account the diverse needs of young people & staff.
You’ll have basic IT skills to include knowledge of using a variety of software packages including work processing, spread sheets and databases.
You’ll have Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare, Level 3 Diploma for Children and Young People’s Workforce (Social Care Pathway) or equivalent qualification or Social Work qualification (DIPSW, CQSW, CSS or equivalent).
Appointment will be subject to an enhanced DBS check.
What we can offer you
As well as the satisfaction of helping to improve thousands of lives across Leicester, you can look forward to a work environment that encourages a healthy work/life balance. You’ll enjoy generous annual leave, membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme. We’ll also give you the chance to develop your skills and expertise with a variety of training and development opportunities. In addition, you can choose from a number of flexible benefits, including childcare vouchers, discounts on city buses and trains and help with relocation to Leicester, where appropriate. For an illustrative value of your benefits package, take a look at our benefits calculator.
Join us
We’re committed to recruiting a diverse and highly talented workforce as we continue to build a council that is fitting and representative of our great city. That’s why we’ve designed our recruitment process to put you at your ease, make you feel welcome and bring the best out of you. We’ll do all we can to make our recruitment process as fair as possible. To help you with your application, take a look at the ‘our approach to recruitment’ page.
For an informal discussion about this post, please contact Mike Evans on 0116 454 4501 or Sue Aldridge on 0116 454 4813.
This is an open advert therefore we will complete the short-listing soon after receiving your application.