Barnardo's are recruiting Senior Practitioner (Project Worker 3) to be involved in the delivery of our Residential Service, to support children and young people in a therapeutic and trauma enhanced approach in a residential child care setting. This position is based in our Residential Home and candidate will be expected to be part of the rota system of working including sleepover and evening shifts.
We are looking for a committed practitioner with experience of working with young people and their families preferably within the context of care experienced. They should be passionate about improving outcomes for young people who are accommodated through a child-centred therapeutic approach underpinned by Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy principles.
At Barnardo's we believe every child has the right to a fulfilling life, to realise their potential and to have a positive future. Working in partnerships, we focus on building stronger families and improving family bonds.
When completing your application please refer to your skills, knowledge, and experience in relation to the Person Specification, Job Description and Additional Information document (if applicable). This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described.
Pay & Reward Framework
We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values. We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people.
For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay.
Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band – this ensures that pay steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours. More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application.
Workplace Offer: What it means for you
The world of work has changed. We are understanding of what works best for our colleagues both current and future as we look to embrace this new way of working. Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility, and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or any combination of these.
* Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
* 26 days annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing after 5 years service.
* The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our HolidayPlus scheme.
* A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity, Paternity, and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options.
* Service related sick pay from day 1.
* Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution.
* Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension.
* Interest free season ticket loans.
* Discounts and cashback from high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal.
* 20% discount at Barnardo's stores.
* Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc.
* Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support.
* Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer.
*T&C's apply based on contract.
About Barnardo's
We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.
Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible.
A bit about the role
Our Residential Support Worker opportunities are a great opportunity for those experienced working in a care setting and looking to implement those skills with an aim to progress to the next stage of their career with our help. You'll manage risk in a way which empowers young people and builds resilience, whilst at the same time ensuring their safety. You'll demonstrate a high standard of person-centred practice, have good social care values and be a strong role model to our children and young people.
In return we'll offer you amazing opportunities to progress within our organisation.
We offer an in-depth induction process and training.
Alongside this, we'll enrol you in the qualifications which you need to work in the industry.
Regular supervision with your line manager, team meetings etc. will ensure you feel part of our team.
Once you've gained the relevant experience and qualifications you'll be ready to progress to the next step in your career with us.
About the service
At Woodburn, we understand how important it is to replicate a warm home environment for young people. We provide full-time care and support for two young people with learning disabilities who at times present behaviour that challenges and are unable to live with their own families. We focus on building meaningful relationships with children and young people and being able to support them achieving outcomes and gaining new skills and independence (whether that's making their own toast or independently accessing the community).
You’ll care for our young people by assisting with their daily routines, providing personal care, and administering medication after appropriate training. You’ll collaborate with the team to create and implement individualised plans tailored to each young person’s needs.
Additionally, you’ll engage our young people in activities they enjoy, such as arts and crafts, puzzles, X-Box, walks, swimming, and more!
We firmly believe that behaviour is communication and work to identify what the young people are trying to tell us through their behaviour and support them to communicate that in a positive way.
How you'll help to create brighter futures
Some key responsibilities of the Residential Support Worker roles are;
* Providing lead case/care planning management, including assessing, reviewing and managing risk.
* Co-ordinating responsibilities within the service, with multi-agency and producing family information, including analysis and written reports.
* Supporting children and young people with medical needs.
* Assisting the children and young people in all aspects of their care, supporting their health and wellbeing where you'll significantly improve their lives.
* Being a creative thinker and having a solution focused approach.
Let's talk about you
Are you resilient and have a positive approach to change and challenge? We're looking for someone with a ‘can-do' attitude to join our team. Ideally you'll have:
* Demonstrable experience of working in a care setting and developing positive relationships through trust.
* Application of a range of techniques to co-ordinate and communicate with service users and their families.
* Demonstrate a solution focused approach to address problems, individually and in a team setting.
* Demonstrate emotional resilience to respond to the challenging nature of the role.
* Possess a Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare (or recognised equivalent) or if you do not possess this you must be prepared to complete this within 2 years of commencing employment with us, full support will be provided.
We are seeking to recruit an enthusiastic and committed Project Worker to join our Pentland Way Residential Service working on a rota basis (including weekend).
Barnardo's Caern Disability Services consists of three unique Projects who deliver a variety of quality services for young people with learning disabilities and/or autism. We have done this for over forty years.
Our Pentland Way service supports up to 3 young people in a residential setting. Our staff play an active role in supporting the young people and their families/carers to achieve positive outcomes, as identified in the Young People's Individual Support Plans.
About You
Ideally you will have experience in working directly with children and young people in a similar setting. Experience in supporting children and young people with a learning disability and/or Autism would be an advantage. Communication with the young people is paramount - the key is time tabling; structure; reliability and consistency. You will be faced with behaviours that challenge, including physical.
The staff team across Caern Services must be fully accepting of our children and be prepared to offer them a professional relationship based on acceptance and informed by our understanding of their individual needs, wishes and experiences. We are passionate about the children and young people that we care for, showing understanding, empathy and consistency in our approach.
You will hold (or be willing to work towards) a relevant professional qualification at SCQF level 7 or above (for example SVQ3 children and young people) plus an HNC in social services. These qualifications are required to register with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) as part of your employment. There may be external grants available to partly fund this.
For an informal chat about this role – please call Ronnie on 01968 664792.
Although this contract has a permanent status, please be aware that this post is subject to funding currently to March 2026 with possible extension and therefore should this funding not be extended further, you may be subject to a redundancy consultation or a TUPE arrangement.
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