Senior Residential Childcare Worker
Organisation: Positive Futures Support Care Limited
Location: Lillia House, Liverpool
Job Type: Permanent
Salary: £31,200 – £38,400 per year including typical sleep-in payments
Hourly Rate: £15.00 per hour
Sleep-In Rate: £60 per sleep-in
The salary for this role is £31,200 per annum, based on £15.00 per hour, plus £60 for each sleep-in shift, with typical annual earnings of approximately £38,400 based on an average of 10 sleep-ins per month.
About the Role
Positive Futures Support Care Limited is seeking an experienced and committed Senior Residential Childcare Worker to join the team at Positive Futures Support Care Limited, our Ofsted-registered children’s home in Liverpool.
This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced residential childcare professional who is ready to take on additional responsibility, lead shifts and support the wider staff team while continuing to provide high-quality, child-centred care.
As a Senior Residential Childcare Worker, you will play an important role in creating a safe, nurturing, consistent and therapeutic environment for children and young people who may have experienced trauma, adverse childhood experiences, exploitation, family breakdown or other significant challenges.
You will work closely with the Registered Manager, Deputy Manager, senior team and external professionals to ensure that children receive consistent care and support in line with their individual plans.
Key Responsibilities
The successful candidate will:
- Lead shifts and provide clear direction, guidance and support to Residential Childcare Workers.
- Provide high-quality, child-centred care in accordance with the home's Statement of Purpose, policies, procedures and individual care plans.
- Build safe, positive and trusting relationships with children and young people.
- Act as a positive role model for both children and staff.
- Promote a trauma-informed, therapeutic and relationship-based approach to care.
- Support children to understand and manage their emotions, behaviours and relationships.
- Respond appropriately to challenging situations and periods of emotional dysregulation.
- Follow individual risk assessments, behaviour support plans, safeguarding plans and placement plans.
- Recognise and respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns.
- Maintain professional curiosity and escalate concerns appropriately.
- Support children who may be at risk of exploitation, missing episodes, offending behaviour, substance misuse or other safeguarding concerns.
- Support children safely in the community, at appointments, activities, education and family time.
- Participate in missing-from-home procedures where required.
- Complete accurate, professional and child-focused daily records.
- Complete incident reports, key-work records, direct-work records and other documentation to a high standard.
- Undertake meaningful direct work and key-work sessions with children.
- Support children to develop independence, resilience, confidence and life skills.
- Promote positive engagement with education, health services, hobbies and community activities.
- Administer medication in accordance with company policy and relevant training.
- Participate in handovers, team meetings, supervision, reflective practice and training.
- Support the induction and development of new and less experienced members of staff.
- Maintain clear and appropriate professional boundaries.
- Work collaboratively with social workers, education providers, health professionals, police, families and other agencies.
- Contribute to the review of care plans, placement plans, risk assessments and behaviour support plans.
- Ensure the home remains safe, welcoming and well maintained.
- Work flexibly as part of the residential rota, including evenings, weekends, bank holidays and sleep-in duties.
Essential Criteria
Applicants must:
- Hold a Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England), or a recognised equivalent qualification appropriate to working within a children’s residential care setting.
- Have a minimum of 2 years’ experience working with children or young people in residential childcare.
- Have experience working within a children’s residential care environment.
- Have experience supporting children and young people with complex needs, trauma and/or behaviours that can challenge.
- Have a good working knowledge of safeguarding and child protection.
- Understand the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and Quality Standards and how these relate to residential childcare practice.
- Have experience completing professional residential childcare records.
- Be able to lead a shift and provide appropriate guidance and support to other members of staff.
- Be confident making safeguarding decisions and escalating concerns appropriately.
- Understand trauma-informed and relationship-based approaches to supporting children.
- Be able to remain calm, professional and child-focused during challenging situations.
- Have excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Be able to communicate effectively with children, colleagues, families and external professionals.
- Demonstrate strong professional boundaries.
- Be able to work effectively as part of a team while also using initiative and taking responsibility.
- Be reliable, resilient and reflective in their practice.
- Be willing to undertake all mandatory training and ongoing professional development.
- Be willing and able to undertake physical intervention training where required.
- Be committed to equality, diversity and respecting the individual identity, wishes and feelings of each child.
- Be able to provide a full employment history with satisfactory explanations for any gaps.
- Be able to provide satisfactory employment references.
- Be willing to undergo all required safer recruitment checks, including an Enhanced DBS check with appropriate Children's Barred List information.
- Have the right to work in the UK.
A full UK driving licence is desirable, particularly where driving forms part of supporting children within the community.
Desirable Criteria
It would be advantageous for applicants to have:
- Previous experience as a Senior Residential Childcare Worker, Shift Leader or equivalent.
- Experience working within an Ofsted-registered children’s home.
- Experience supporting children at risk of exploitation, missing episodes or offending behaviour.
- Experience contributing to risk assessments, behaviour support plans and placement plans.
- Knowledge of PACE, trauma-informed practice or therapeutic parenting approaches.
- Experience undertaking direct work with children.
- Experience supporting, mentoring or inducting residential childcare staff.
- Relevant training in safeguarding, first aid, medication, behaviour support or physical intervention.
What We Are Looking For
We are looking for someone who is more than simply an experienced support worker.
Our Senior Residential Childcare Workers are expected to lead by example, maintain high standards throughout every shift and understand the responsibility that comes with caring for vulnerable children.
You should be confident enough to lead others, reflective enough to recognise when practice can be improved and compassionate enough to understand the experiences that can sit behind a child’s behaviour.
Above all, you must consistently place the safety, welfare and best interests of the child at the centre of your practice.
Safeguarding
Positive Futures Support Care Limited is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.
Appointment to this position will be subject to robust safer recruitment procedures, including identity verification, employment history checks, references, qualification verification and an Enhanced DBS check with the appropriate Children’s Barred List check.
Applicants must demonstrate throughout the recruitment process that they are suitable to work with children and share our commitment to providing safe, respectful, nurturing and high-quality care.
Work Location: In person
