Horizons Residential Childcare UK Limited | BERWICK UPON TWEED
Team Leader
Hourly Pay: £14.75 - £17.00| Full-time, Shift Rota | Ofsted Regulated | DBS Required
We are looking to appoint as soon as possible. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, please send through your application at the earliest opportunity.
Job details at a glance
Job title: Team Leader — Children's Residential Care Home
Location: Berwick upon Tweed (North East England)
Hourly Pay: £14.75-£17.00 per hour, depending on experience
Sleep-in allowance: Paid separately, £50 per sleep-in duty
Contract type: Permanent, full-time
Approximate annual salary: £36,080 – £39,720 including sleepover allowance
Hours: Average 40 hours per week on a rolling shift rota including evenings, weekends, and bank holidays
Setting: Children's residential care home (Ofsted registered)
Regulated by: Ofsted- Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015
DBS requirement: Enhanced DBS check with children's and adults' barred list - required before start date
Reports to: Deputy Manager and Registered Manager
Start date: As soon as possible- negotiable for the right candidate
About the role
We are seeking a committed and experienced Team Leader to join our children's residential care home in Berwick upon Tweed. This is an opportunity to make a genuine, lasting difference in the lives of children and young people who have experienced trauma, loss, and significant adversity.
As Team Leader you will occupy a pivotal position in the home, providing direct, hands-on care to children whilst simultaneously leading your shift team, mentoring residential childcare workers, and maintaining the standards of practice that keep children safe and help them thrive. You will be accountable to the Deputy Manager and Registered Manager, and will act as a consistent, reliable presence for the children in your care.
We are a home with a deeply held commitment to trauma-informed, relationship-based care. We invest heavily in our staff through support for qualifications, regular supervision, and genuine career development pathways. We believe that supported staff deliver better outcomes for children, and we are looking for someone who shares that belief.
This role involves working shifts including days, evenings, weekends, sleepovers, and bank holidays on a rolling rota. Sleep-in duties are also required and are paid separately. The right candidate will be someone who sees shift work as an opportunity to provide consistency and stability for children, not simply a scheduling arrangement.
What you will be doing
Shift leadership & team management
- Lead each shift as the senior person in charge, ensuring consistent, high-quality, safe care is delivered throughout
- Conduct thorough, structured shift handovers, ensuring the oncoming team is fully briefed on each child's status, risks, and any outstanding actions
- Act as the first point of escalation for residential childcare workers on shift, providing real-time guidance and decision-making support
- Mentor, guide, and develop workers through direct feedback, role modelling, and reflective conversation
- Monitor staff practice during shifts, providing immediate feedback where practice falls below the required standard
- Brief staff fully on each child's individual needs, risk assessments, and the home's procedures before they begin work
Safeguarding & child protection
- Ensure safeguarding on shift, identifying risks, responding calmly to disclosures, and escalating concerns to the manager or the designated safeguarding lead promptly and without delay
- Lead the home's immediate operational response to missing from care episodes: initiate search and notification protocols, complete required records, and facilitate warm non-judgemental welcomes on return
- Maintain current, detailed knowledge of each child's safeguarding risk profile, contextual risks (county lines, CSE, online), and child protection plans
- Manage the immediate response to peer-on-peer harm, self-harm incidents, and mental health crises on shift, escalating appropriately
- Ensure safeguarding training is current for yourself and monitor this across the staff team
Direct care & Case Management
- Deliver warm, consistent, trauma-informed direct care across all aspects of daily living, mornings, mealtimes, activities, bedtimes, and everything in between
- Through case management, support the keyworkers for allocated children: plan and quality assure keyworker sessions, conduct care plan reviews, and advocate for each child's wishes, feelings, and individual identity.
- Ensure plans and documentation is aligned to the young person's needs and goals.
- Know each child's care plan, placement plan, risk assessments, and behaviour support plan thoroughly and ensure this knowledge shapes team practice.
- Support children's education engagement: ensure attendance, maintain school relationships, and foster a learning-positive culture in the home. Create plans to increase children and young people’s engagement and promote positive outcomes.
- Administer medication safely in line with the home's medication policy, completing MAR sheets accurately and reporting any errors immediately. Carry out medication audits and ensure accurate records are maintained.
- Ensure Children and young people are supported to access health appointments, therapeutic services, leisure activities, and positive relationships with family and significant others
Records, quality, and compliance
- Ensure all records produced during your shift, daily logs, incident reports, medication records, keyworker notes, are accurate, professional, detailed, trauma informed, and completed before you leave
- Review and quality-check records written by support workers on your shift; return any that are incomplete or not completed to the right standard, for revision
- Contribute to the home's internal quality assurance programme, self-evaluation activity, and inspection readiness
- Maintain your own evidence file demonstrating your contribution to the Quality Standards and your ongoing professional development
Requirements
Essential requirements
✓ Level 4 Diploma in Children's Residential Care (or equivalent)- must be held at the point of application
✓ 2 years' experience working in a children's residential care home
✓ Demonstrable experience of leading shifts or holding senior responsibility within a children's home
✓ Current safeguarding training at Level 3 minimum (or commitment to achieve within 3 months)
✓ Current approved physical intervention training (CALM, PRICE, Studio3, PROACT-SCIPr, or equivalent)- or willingness to obtain within 3 months of start
✓ Working knowledge of the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015, Quality Standards QS1–QS8, and safeguarding legislation
✓ Ability to write accurate, professional, and contemporaneous records under pressure
✓ Enhanced DBS check on the Update Service (children's and adults' barred list)- satisfactory outcome required before start date
✓ Full UK driving licence
Desirable requirements
★ Experience with trauma-informed or therapeutic care models (PACE, DDP, Therapeutic Crisis Intervention, or similar)
★ Working towards or holding Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care (Children and Young People’s Residential Management)
★ Experience of Ofsted inspections or contributing to self-evaluation and quality assurance activity
★ Familiarity with the Northumberland local authority and local LSCP safeguarding arrangements
★ Knowledge of contextual safeguarding, county lines indicators, or CSE risk management
★ Experience of case management, keyworking, care planning, and contributing to LAC reviews
What we offer
Competitive salary: Approx. £36,080 – £39,720 including sleepover allowance
Qualifications and training: Support for Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care (provided level 3 is already in place), and all mandatory training including physical intervention, safeguarding, and first aid
Annual leave: 28 days per year (including bank holidays), increasing with length of service
Regular supervision: Monthly 1:1 supervision with your line manager plus access to group reflective practice sessions
Staff wellbeing: Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) providing free confidential counselling and wellbeing support
Career progression: A clear, supported career pathway to Senior Support Worker, Deputy Manager, and ultimately Registered Manager based on performance
Pension: Workplace pension scheme (auto-enrolment)
Meaningful work: The chance to make a lasting, positive difference in the lives of children and young people who need you most
If you are considering relocating to take up this role, we encourage you to get in touch before applying. We are happy to discuss the area, the home, and any support we can offer to make a move to Berwick possible.
How to apply
To apply, please send your CV along with a completed application form.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should a suitable candidate be appointed. Early applications are strongly encouraged.
For an informal conversation about the role before applying, please contact the Head Office.
Safeguarding & equal opportunities statement
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All posts are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check with barred list checks, satisfactory references, and verification of right to work in the UK. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all backgrounds, regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation. We particularly welcome applications from individuals with lived experience relevant to the children we support.
Pay: £14.75-£17.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Company pension
- Discounted or free food
- Employee discount
- Paid training
- Referral programme
Work Location: In person
