Senior Residential Childcare Practitioner

Senior
Residential Childcare Practitioner

Hawick, ​Scottish Borders

From £38,543 to £43,136 OTE plus overtime at time and a half

The Greenleaf Team

We’re looking for people
to join our team who share our beliefs. We want team members who'll
never give up on our young people, who are compassionate and who
believe that our young people deserve the best we can give them.

We specialise in solo
placements for young people in care up to the age of 21 and adopt a
therapeutic, trauma -informed approach to care. In our work, we uphold
Greenleaf’s values of Integrity, Compassion, Excellence,
Collaboration, and Respect.

If it’s your ambition to
create a future filled with hope and optimism for our young people, we
would love to hear from you.

Visit our website for
more info: greenleafhouse.co.uk

Role Overview

You will be part of a
unique team who will work together to facilitate excellent practice
and shape the development of our Service. As a Senior practitioner,
you will lead your team to excellence.

Note: This role involves completing 14 -hour shifts followed
by a 10 -hour sleepover. This would be a 2 day on, 3 day off shift pattern.

Our vision is for every
young person who lives with us to experience a safe, happy and
nurturing present and a future that is filled with hope and optimism.
You will contribute to this by ensuring high standards of care and support.

We look after children
and young people from a variety of backgrounds, who have experienced
trauma or adverse life experiences and need specialist therapeutic
support in a small residential setting. To succeed in this role, you
will be compassionate, patient, nurturing, and therapeutic in your
approach to care. You will believe in and strive for continuous
improvement and professional development both for yourself and for
your team.

The young people in our
homes are with us 24/7 and deserve a safe and caring environment where
they can grow and achieve positive outcomes. You will demonstrate a
drive for supporting, motivating, supervising and mentoring high
performing teams to ensure that they achieve good outcomes for young people.

You will demonstrate
excellent prioritisation and allocation of high -level needs, including
involvement in child protection and outcome focused interventions. You
will believe in the benefits of a mindful, team approach placing the
child at the centre of the care plan whilst being committed to
partnership working by practicing this methodology with all stakeholders.

Our progression pathways
allow Senior practitioners to benefit from further training and
opportunities for progressing onto managerial positions within the
company. Through this initiative, progression within Greenleaf can
occur quickly, creating a stepping stone to management roles.

Greenleaf Benefits

With greater
expectations come greater rewards. If you’re selected to become part
of the Greenleaf family, you’ll not only enjoy a salary that’s
higher that the sector average, but you’ll also enjoy a
comprehensive benefits package, including:

• 29 days holiday entitlement, increasing with every two
  years of service
  
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) with a 24/7
  wellbeing line and free counselling
  
• Company -funded qualifications and support from an internal
  assessor – we can deliver SVQ 3 and 4 and HNC in social services
  
• Health Cash Plan, which includes dental and
  optical cover, physio therapies, and a 24/7 GP helpline.
  
• Greenleaf For You platform which offers a range of
  savings including discounts, offers, and money back on vouchers
  
• Progression pathways and opportunities to develop and progress
  in your career
  
• Pension scheme with Nest Pensions
  
• Complementary meals while on shift
  
• Casual dress code
  

The ideal candidate will:

• Possess previous experience of working in a residential
  children’s home and in a supervisory capacity.
  
• Possess an SVQ 3 and HNC in social care or equivalent.
  
• Demonstrate excellent communication, teamwork, and
  leadership skills.
  
• Understand safeguarding and child protection.
  
• Have the ability to work shifts, including weekends,
  sleepovers, and long hours.
  
• Possess a full UK manual driving licence and be a
  confident driver.
  
• Understand the behaviours displayed by children
  and young people and be skilled in a range of
  intervention strategies.
  
• Be aware of relevant legislation.
  
• Be trained in crisis and physical intervention.
  

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide care and support to our children and young
  people in accordance with policies and procedures and
  participate in a mindful, teamwork approach to therapeutic
  childcare practice.
  
• Provide a supervisory and mentoring role to care
  practitioners supporting the young people.
  
• Ensuring that the care team have the skills, knowledge
  and ability to care for children and young people effectively.
  
• Supporting on -call arrangements as a senior member
  of the team.
  
• Assisting with management tasks including finance,
  staffing, recruitment, training and environment.
  
• Contributing to the maintenance and improvement of
  care standards.
  
• Contributing to and completing professional reports
  within agreed timescales.
  
• Contributing to the assessment process for young
  people and the delivery of support programmes,
  working together with your team.
  
• Ensuring quality recording of information in
  accordance with policies and regulations.
  
• Working within a shift system including night or
  sleepover duty.
  
• Undertaking health and safety checks and other
  safety/security checks as necessary.
  
• Participating in on -going training and development to
  maintain and build your professional skills.
  
• Implementing de -escalation and physical
  intervention strategies as necessary and appropriate in
  line with mandatory training.
  
• Promoting young people’s participation, to ensure they
  are actively involved in the environment and day to day
  activities of the home.
  
• Being fully aware of child protection issues and
  understanding the principles of safeguarding
  young people, staff and self.
  
• Fully understanding the emergency call out procedures of
  the house.
  
• Promoting structure, boundaries and domestic
  routines within the house.
  
• Participating in and completing records for
  statutory reviews and meetings concerning the young people.
  
• Contributing to the maintenance of a safe, hygienic and
  clean environment.
  

The nature of
residential work is varied and, in many instances, unpredictable.
All staff are therefore expected to work in a flexible way and tasks
that have not been covered in the job description have to be undertaken.

Senior practitioners are
expected to conduct themselves professionally and adhere to Greenleaf
Policies and Procedures. They must successfully complete induction and
ongoing training.

The Company reserves the
right to vary duties and responsibilities at any time.

Requirements

Minimum Requirements

To be considered for this
position, you must:

• Have significant experience of working in a residential
  children’s home.
  
• Possess an SVQ 3 and HNC in social care or other
  relevant subject.
  
• Be eligible for SSSC registration and PVG membership for
  work with children and adults.
  
• Possess a full manual UK driving licence and be eligible for
  car insurance for company vehicles*.
  
• Be able to work shifts including evenings, sleepovers, and weekends.
  
• Possess excellent communication and teamwork skills.
  
• Understand safeguarding and child protection.
  

Benefits