Residential Care Support Workers - Casual

In Sutton, there is much for us to be proud of both as a council and as a borough. This includes high levels of resident satisfaction, the quality of our services, our success in addressing our financial challenges to date, the way that we involve and engage with residents on key issues facing the borough, and the enthusiastic and motivated staff that we employ. 

Looking ahead, there are plans for the delivery of new homes and new schools and the London Cancer Hub is being developed, while the Council is also seen as a driving force within the South London Partnership of five outer south west London boroughs focused on strategic growth, regeneration and investment.

All of this demonstrates a good track record and an authority that is ambitious and set to deliver more improvements for the borough. We've set out our vision for the future of Sutton in our corporate plan - Ambitious for Sutton. This strategic plan will shape the outcomes we achieve, the services we provide, and the impact we have on residents, to make Sutton a great place to live, work and raise a family.

Situated in Zone 5, Sutton is less than 30 minutes by train from central London, and south and south west London are easily accessible by public transport. There are 10 train stations which serve key neighbourhoods within the borough providing direct connections to London Victoria, London Bridge, London Blackfriars and St Pancras International. Sutton also has direct rail connections with Epsom, Dorking, Guildford and Horsham, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and West Croydon for the London Overground. There’s also an extensive road network which provides close and easy access to the M25 and M23.

Residential Care Support Worker - Flexible Hours Contract (hours may vary depending on demand)

Salary - £30,585 to £36,708 equivalent to £17.76 - £22.26 per hour (£38,883 unconsolidated maximum based through performance-related progression)

This opportunity is open to current employees and locum/contracted staff of the London Borough of Sutton

Our Residential Care Support Workers transform lives. Our objective is to apply a restorative approach to achieving the best outcomes for children in our care.

Following significant Council investment and the continued growth and success of our Residential Services, we  are proud to announce new and exciting opportunities to join us as a Residential Care Support Worker on a flexible hours contract. Working across 3 homes in the locality of Sutton, you will form part of a dedicated, supportive team responsible for providing the day-to-day safe and secure care of the children at our residential homes. Keeping the children engaged and occupied, you’ll encourage and participate in fun, enriching activities with the young people in a safe and inclusive environment.

Our Residential Care Support Workers understand the importance of getting it right for our young people and offering them the best we can by applying knowledge and research into practice and working innovatively to understand the impact of trauma, we are committed to the highest quality of care.  We believe in nurturing positive relationships and are wholly dedicated to never giving up on a child. 

Our new Residential Strategy seeks to bring children closer to families and the communities that they know, living in high quality provision designed around them. We are looking for Residential Care Support Workers who will be fully supported by hands on and committed managers, great access to training and a support network including our integrated youth services. 

We work within children’s social care's well-established Restorative practice and trauma informed model. Sutton is fully committed to training which fosters skills and expertise around therapeutically working with and supporting children who have experienced developmental trauma. All staff will be required to undertake Restorative Practice and Trauma Informed practice training.

We expect our Residential Care Support workers to offer dynamic evening routines and activities to holistic support the needs of the young people at Willow Rise.

We are a registered provision and we expect to achieve outstanding status.

Our Residential Care Homes

We offer those young people that have experienced traumatic life events a home where they can be nurtured and supported with a shared vision of determination for a positive future. Supported by a multi-agency team who are passionate about helping these young people find their strengths and explore what they want to achieve with their lives, our homes are a uniquely dynamic and supportive place to be. 

• We are looking for compassionate individuals with the capacity to connect with teenagers. While you will bring plenty of empathy to the role, you will also be able to set boundaries – so you will need to demonstrate patience and resilience. 
• It would be ideal if you have experience of working with children or young people in a residential setting.
• Ability to find and use creative ways to communicate with children, you will also be quick to learn, and willing to work flexibly and innovatively to meet the changing and challenging needs of the children. 
• Ability to form trusted relationships with young people in your care by supporting them with their social and emotional development, educational achievement, whilst setting boundaries and bringing consistency to their lives as any good parent would. 
• Applying a restorative practice and trauma informed model as a therapeutic form of intervention you will help teenagers make sense of their backgrounds and find a positive way forward. Full training is given which fosters skills and expertise around therapeutically working with and supporting children who have experienced developmental trauma. 
• Must be willing to work flexibly as part of a varied shift pattern which will be late afternoon, evenings and weekends
• Must be willing to be innovative and creative in your practice and approach and continually explore new ways of engaging and achieving positive outcomes for young people.

These roles will provide you with the opportunity to study for a fully-funded NVQ level 3 health and social care in a residential setting. You will also be expected to work shifts including evenings, weekends, bank holidays and sleep-in duties. Additional payments are paid for out-of-hours work.

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across - however big or small - will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

In addition, we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff, supported by our IT infrastructure, including Google Chromebooks and Google Apps.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
• Flexi-time (Please note, this applies to roles at grades 1-9 only)
• Comprehensive learning and development programme
• Local and national discounts for shopping, eating out and leisure activities
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Car parking scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Zip car scheme
• Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
• Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
• Subsidised gym membership

Please apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.

To support our diversity agenda and reduce the risk of bias in our recruitment activities, our short listing process completely anonymises personal information that can identify job applicants e.g. name, title etc. Our hiring managers review and short list applications based on the information provided as part of your application as to how well you meet the requirements and criteria for the role, as outlined in the job profile.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

We pride ourselves on being a diverse, inclusive and welcoming Borough and we aim to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve - the key highlights from our recent Equalities Workforce Report can be seen here. We are respectful of difference and realise the positive value of diversity in our workforce. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and disabled candidates, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce. As part of our Disability Confident Committed status, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role.

We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.

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