Shift: 9PM - 8AM
2–3 waking-night shifts per week (three posts, covering seven nights as a team) 1 hour unpaid break.
Pay: £18.00 per hour/£180 per night , inclusive of the holiday pay element
About the role
We are recruiting experienced waking-night staff to support a young person in our supported accommodation service in Croydon. This is an awake overnight role focused on keeping the young person safe through the night, responding to missing episodes, and supporting them when they return in the early hours. You will need substantial experience in residential or supported settings and confidence managing missing-from-home situations and the risks involved.
Key responsibilities
- Remain awake and alert throughout the shift, maintaining a safe and settled environment overnight.
- Maintain contact with the young person when they are out during the night and have not returned, encouraging a safe return and keeping communication open.
- Follow missing-from-home procedures: monitor, attempt contact, report the young person missing to police, liaise with on-call management and the emergency duty team, and record accurately throughout.
- Support the young person on their return, often late and in the early hours, including when they are upset, distressed or under the influence of substances, responding calmly and in a trauma-informed way.
- Carry out dynamic risk assessment and risk management throughout the shift, escalating concerns to on-call management as needed.
- Promote the young person's safety, welfare and wellbeing, providing practical and emotional support.
- Keep clear, accurate, contemporaneous records and complete a full handover to day staff.
- Work within safeguarding, contextual safeguarding and child exploitation (CSE/CCE) awareness frameworks, maintaining professional boundaries and confidentiality.
Essential
- Enhanced DBS on Update System
- Substantial experience working with young people in residential childcare or supported accommodation.
- Experience managing missing episodes and following missing-from-home procedures.
- Experience supporting young people at risk of exploitation (CSE/CCE).
- Strong understanding of safeguarding and risk management, with sound overnight decision-making.
- Ability to stay calm, contain distress and respond well to challenging situations in the early hours.
- Excellent record-keeping and communication.
- Reliable and available for 2–3 waking nights per week.
- Enhanced DBS on the child workforce on the update system is a must
Desirable
- Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People's Workforce (or equivalent), or working towards it.
- Trauma-informed practice, de-escalation or positive behaviour support training.
- First aid.
Pay: £180.00 per day
Benefits:
Application question(s):
- Do you have Enhanced DBS on the update system?
Work Location: In person
