Residental Support Staff & Senior Support Staff required

Residential Support Workers and Senior Support Workers

Platform Childcare has several exciting vacancies in our childrens home, where you will be required to provide quality care and therapeutic support to children and young people.  Working part of a team, promoting structure, boundaries, domestic routines and independence and a choice to follow individual care plans.

Passionate about working with young people and achieving outcomes, we will provide you with a robust training programme to get started.  In return you will benefit from a competitive salary and genuine career progression.

The successful Support Worker will: -

NVQ Level 3 Diploma in Children and Young People is desirable or willing to complete this qualification (fully funded)

Ability to do shifts
- Ideally have experience working in a residential children's home or with young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties and challenging behaviours. 
- ideally a driver

Duties and Responsibilities:

To provide advice, assistance and support to young people. To attend to their practical, physical and emotional needs. To act as an appropriate role model and to work closely with them to enable them to address their difficulties and achieve their optimum potential.
 

Provide care for young people through:

• Attending to practical matters in relation to childcare (cooking, cleaning etc)
• Establishing positive relationships with young people and always offering them unconditional and positive regard
• Meeting the physical, emotional, behavioural, cultural and educational needs of young people
• Acting as a role model and demonstrating appropriate pro-social ways of dealing with problems
• Ensuring that each young person's care plan is followed and amended as appropriate to reflect their changing needs

To act as a key worker through:

• Taking responsibility for a small number of young people and ensuring that their needs are fully met
• Establishing relationships which young people perceive to be positive, warm and rewarding
• Providing advice, assistance and support on a 1:1 basis to enable young people to address past and present difficulties
• Providing emotional support at times of difficulty or stress
• Being ambitious for young people, helping them achieve their goals and optimise their potential
• Providing support for young people in their education and extra curricular activities
• Keeping accurate records and providing written reports on young people for planning meetings, reviews or any other meetings as directed by the line manager
• Empowering young people and facilitating their active involvement in the decision making about their lives and future
• Acting as an advocate at meetings where the young person is the subject of discussion
• Encouraging the young person to develop links with the community, attend off-site activities and expand their personal social network

To work as part of a team through:
• Being aware of the aims and objectives of the home and working collaboratively with colleagues to achieve them
• Attending team/ staff meetings and making a positive contribution to them
• Actively contributing to the development of the team
• Receiving and storing information to improve communication
• Being willing to give and receive feedback on performance with colleagues and managers
• Being aware of childcare plans for all young people and providing support for colleagues by maintaining consistency in the execution of those plans
• Providing informal practical and emotional support to colleagues experiencing difficulties
• Being familiar with all policies and procedures and adhering to them

Senior Support Workers Applicants :

Responsible for working alongside Manager in childrens home, responsible for the staff group within that unit. Ensuring that our service users receive the highest standard of support/care appropriate to their individual needs.

Main Accountabilities:

• Plan and participate fully in a working rota, this will include evenings, sleep inns and weekends
• Manage a small group of staff to ensure policies, procedures and standards are understood and worked to
• Build and develop relationships with our young people and encourage them to participate fully in the opportunities offered within the home.
• Build strong working relationships with external agencies such as Local Authorities and other Health/Social Care professionals
• Conduct formal key work sessions with young people and produce reports for each session
• Have an understanding of, and to follow the required legislation, policies, processes and procedures set by the home to deliver your role effectively
• Be responsible for the effective Safeguarding of the young people within your care and understand how to raise any concerns
• Support our young people with everyday day tasks such as cooking, cleaning, medical appointments, meetings etc

Experience:

• Experience of working within a residential environment
• An understanding of relevant legislation relating to the care of young people
• Experience of working with young people that have social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties (desirable)

Essential:

• NVQ Level 3 Children & Young People
• Full driving license with access to own transport
• Ability to work shifts and sleepins

Both positions advertised are exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)