Park Blue Homes has an exciting opportunity for a Therapeutic Care Coordinator to join our growing therapeutic team. Based at our Malmesbury office and working across our homes in the South West, North East and Doncaster, this is a unique opportunity to become an important part of a progressive, trauma-informed organisation providing therapeutic residential care to children.
Park Blue Homes operates a group of children’s homes with a strong focus on relationships, emotional warmth, trauma-informed practice and the principles of therapeutic communities.
This is a combined coordination and therapeutic-support role. You will be supervised, supported and line-managed by Anna Yarker, Therapeutic Care Manager (a registered psychotherapist). You will provide the organisation, coordination and administrative backbone that enables our therapeutic services to operate effectively across our homes — and, as therapeutic practitioner, you will support our staff teams through reflective practice discussion and debriefs, and offer informal therapeutic engagement to children in line with their therapeutic plans. This is not a traditional administration role: we are looking for someone who is highly organised, warm, proactive and committed to the best possible outcomes for children and young people. The role focuses on our therapeutic provision; general HR and onboarding administration sits elsewhere in the organisation.
The position can be offered on a full-time or part-time basis (4 days per week), and we are happy to discuss working arrangements with the successful applicant.
Why choose Park Blue Homes?
Park Blue Homes are proud members of The Consortium of Therapeutic Communities and pride ourselves on providing bespoke, trauma-informed and loving care to the children living within our homes. We believe relationships are central to everything we do, and that the adults caring for children need to feel supported, valued and able to reflect on their practice. Our therapeutic approach includes:
- Comprehensive, trauma-informed training for our staff teams, including opportunities to develop an understanding of therapeutic parenting and reflective practice.
- An integrated therapeutic support programme based around the Pillars of Parenting (POP) therapeutic model.
- Beautiful, comfortable and homely children’s homes, with an emphasis on safe environments, strength-based care and meaningful attachments.
- A culture of Emotional Warmth Parenting.
- Reflective and progressive ways of working across our organisation.
- A strong Employee Wellness Programme, with wellbeing initiatives and activities throughout the year.
- A warm, collaborative working environment where departments work together to support our homes and children.
- Support and supervision from experienced therapeutic and senior management colleagues.
- Opportunities for professional development as Park Blue Homes continues to grow.
About the Role
The main purpose of the role is to ensure that the systems surrounding our therapeutic work are organised, responsive and well-maintained, freeing our clinical leads to focus their time on clinical and therapeutic work with our children, homes and staff teams.
You will be confident managing diaries, coordinating meetings and therapeutic appointments, maintaining records, producing reports, and communicating with colleagues across different homes and departments. You will help us evidence the therapeutic work taking place throughout Park Blue Homes by maintaining accurate records relating to training, wellbeing, therapeutic interventions, activities and the environments within our homes.
As a therapeutic practitioner yourself, you will also support our teams therapeutically — supporting reflective practice discussion and debriefs — and offer brief, informal therapeutic engagement to children and young people, all under the supervision of the Therapeutic Care Manager. There is considerable scope to develop your skills toward related pre-clinical and clinical training.
Main Duties
Therapeutic Coordination and Scheduling
- Coordinate and book therapeutic appointments — including POP (Pillars of Parenting) assessments, consultations and reviews — and the monthly group reflective supervisions across the homes.
- Coordinate recurring therapeutic meetings and the meeting structure that supports the clinical leads.
- Manage cancellations, rearrange appointments and follow up attendance where required.
- Support home-visit and travel planning across the South West, North East and Doncaster so visits cluster sensibly.
- Act as a key point of contact for home managers and staff on therapeutic scheduling and administrative queries, ensuring clinical or therapeutic queries are directed to the appropriate Therapeutic Care Manager or clinical lead (for example, Nitisha Jiwa in the North East and Doncaster).
- Book meeting rooms, training venues and facilities for therapeutic training, meetings and team activities.
Therapeutic Support (under clinical supervision)
- Support reflective practice discussion sessions and support with team debriefs, under the supervision of the Therapeutic Practice Manager(s).
- In time, offer informal therapeutic engagement and brief psychological-education support to children and young people, in line with their bespoke therapeutic plans and under supervision.
- Develop your skills in therapeutic work with children and young people, with support toward pre-clinical and clinical training.
Reports and Recording
- Complete the monthly therapeutic overview reports for each region using established company templates, working in conjunction with the clinical leads.
- Liaise with the Training Lead in regards to the training matrix, including the therapeutic training session, so the therapeutic offer can be evidenced to Ofsted and commissioners.
- Liaise with the Training Lead on allocation of Training Hub and POP modules to all staff
- Maintain therapeutic records and administrative systems across the service.
- Ensure relevant therapeutic evidence and information is available for quality assurance, inspection and commissioning.
Activities, Environment and Well-Being
- Support the oversight and coordination of the programme of adventurous activities across the homes, chasing engagement and booking the larger activities, venues and events (homes book their own routine activities).
- Complete the environmental assessments of each home every six months, producing the report with improvement suggestions and communicating actions to managers and finance.
- Support the recording and coordination of the Employee Wellness activities.
- Contribute to the company newsletter, celebrating positive developments across our homes.
What This Role does not Include
- POP assessment analysis and clinical formulation, and clinical oversight of care plans — these sit with the Therapeutic Care Manager / clinical lead.
- Therapy audits — these now sit entirely with the Quality Assurance function.
- General HR and onboarding administration — outside the scope of this role.
Person Specification
Essential
- Experience and skills in working therapeutically with children and young people
- Enthusiasm and ability to support staff teams in their therapeutic practice with children and young people, through reflective practice discussion and debriefs.
- Excellent organisational and administrative skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, and confidence communicating with managers, professionals and staff at all levels.
- Excellent attention to detail.
- Good IT skills, confident with Microsoft Office and able to learn new systems.
- Ability to work independently, use initiative and identify when something needs following up.
- An appreciation of confidentiality, professional boundaries and the handling of sensitive information within children’s social care.
- A genuine interest in trauma-informed practice and improving outcomes for children.
- Enhanced DBS clearance (or willingness to obtain one).
Desirable
- Experience within children’s social care, education, health, therapy, psychology or a similar care environment.
- Knowledge of therapeutic parenting approaches such as PACE or Pillars of Parenting (POP).
- Experience of working directly with children and young people in informal or formal settings.
- An interest in progressing toward further pre-clinical or clinical training.
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for someone who understands that excellent therapeutic care relies on excellent organisation behind the scenes, and who shares our passion and commitment to our children and young people. You may already work within children’s social care, health, education or a therapeutic service, or you may be a counselling practitioner looking for a role with greater purpose and variety.
You will enjoy creating order, keeping people organised and making sure that important things do not get missed — and you will understand that behind every appointment, report, assessment and training record is a child, a staff member or a home that relies on our therapeutic service. We want someone who approaches their work with warmth, curiosity, professionalism and compassion.
Pay: £28,000.00-£33,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company events
- Company pension
- Health & wellbeing programme
- On-site parking
Application question(s):
Work Location: In person
