Support Worker

**The Role - Support Worker (Residential children's home)**

**Location: Southeast London**

**Salary: £25,300 - £28,000 (depending on experience)**

**The Role**

Do you possess a Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (or equivalent) or working towards it? Do you have experience of working with children and young people? If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you.

OwnLife Group is looking to appoint a **Residential Practitioner / Support Worker** to join our team. Reporting to the manager, you will be responsible for safeguarding and promoting young people’s welfare in accordance with the Children’s Homes Regulations (2015) and Quality Standards. This role is offered on a full time and permanent contract or bank (zero hours) contract.

**Key Responsibilities**:
The key responsibilities of a Residential Practitioner / Support Worker, but are not limited to:

- Ensure the Home is safe and secure (safeguarding children)
- Ensure that the environment is homely, welcoming, clean, tidy and well maintained. Share responsibility with colleagues for the practical and domestic tasks necessary for the effective operation of the Home, including shopping, cleaning, laundry and food preparation
- Work within the code of confidentiality and ensure that records in the Home are stored in a manner which is compliant with regulations
- Understand and proactively respond to each young person’s needs and requirements. Ensuring that there are clear, consistent and appropriate boundaries for young people
- Place the well-being of individual young people at the centre of their practice, irrespective of the challenges they may present
- Act as a designated keyworker/co-keyworker. This includes completing detailed records and reports as required; presenting these in writing or verbally to other relevant professionals. Undertake all other associated keyworker duties
- Undertake administrative duties to support the residents of the Home, using the company’s electronic systems
- Demonstrate commitment to continuous professional development through attendance and participation in team meetings, supervision, training and conferences etc.
- Consistently promote the professional image of the Home through positive contact with external professionals, young people’s families and other relevant persons
- Liaise with the young person’s family and social worker and other relevant professionals, and work in partnership to fulfil the requirements of relevant plans.

**The Company**

OwnLife Group is an independent organisation committed to providing children and young people with a caring environment in which they can achieve independence and fulfil their personal goals. We have a number of **residential homes**, **semi-independent** and **outreach** units across South East London. Our name reflects our aim which is to inspire the children and young people placed in our care to “own” and take control of their “own lives”. Young people are most likely to realise these goals if they are treated with respect and dignity and share with their carers, high expectations for the future.

We believe our staff deserve the same quality of life and we ensure this by supporting them so that they, in turn, can support the young people in their care and their own families at the same time.

**The Person**

The key skills and qualities of a Residential Practitioner / Support Worker:

- Experience of working with children and young people
- Ability to engage young people, meet their physical and psychological needs
- Ability to work in partnership with other professionals and with the parent(s) carer(s) of the young people in our care
- Understanding of professional boundaries with young people
- Ability to work in a team.
- Good numeracy and literacy skills

**Job Types**: Full-time, Part-time, Permanent, Zero hours contract

**Salary**: £25,300.00-£28,000.00 per year

**Benefits**:

- Casual dress
- Company pension
- Free parking

Schedule:

- Day shift
- Overtime

Application question(s):

- Have you worked in a children's home before?
- Do you have the right to work in the UK?
- Do you have an NVQ Level 3 in Children and Young People?

**Experience**:

- working with young children/people (11 - 18 yr olds)?: 1 year (required)

Work Location: In person