Residential Childrens Worker

A fantastic opportunity to join the team at Linden House Children’s Home, providing therapeutically informed residential care for up to Four Derbyshire children, aged between 8 – 18yrs.

Applicants must be able to work in partnership with parents and other professionals and have the skills in communicating with children and young people in residential care, as well as working as part of a team. This will involve a combination of day, evening, night, weekend and bank holiday working.

NVQ/Diploma Level 3 Health and Social Care (Children) qualification or equivalent is desirable, and candidates without the qualification must undertake this when in post, this is time limited and will involve monthly classroom based sessions and ongoing coursework up to the end of the award.

Linden House is situated in Swadlincote.

Our Commitment

Derbyshire provides consistent, good quality care through twelve children’s homes across the County. Our homes provide an environment where young people feel happy to live.

Under-pinned by Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy (PACE), trauma informed practice, social pedagogy and person-centred approach to inform practice, we work continuously to improve the quality of our Children’s homes, ensuring our young people have every opportunity to thrive and develop.

About the role

Our Residential Children's Workers provide a service to Children in accordance with legislative and policy requirements. Working as part of a small staff team who provide support and a person-centred service to children and young people, they are responsible for the holistic care and safety needs of the children.

They work in close collaboration with partner services to support children and their families in accessing additional services, which may help address any unmet developmental needs. They embed the therapeutic ethos of Derbyshire Residential Services within the Homes, to ensure that all areas of a child’s care address their physical, emotional, and social development.

As an RCW, you will need to have an openness to and an aptitude for relationship focused and psychologically informed working practices. You must have the appropriate skills and experience to perform and work within an environment that can, at times, require using your own initiative along with an understanding of the children act, the quality care standards and Children’s Homes (England) regulations 2015.

You must hold, be working towards, or be willing to undertake and complete within 2 years of starting work at the home, the Level 3 Children and Young people’s Workforce Diploma and Social Care Pathway (England) 2015. OR you should hold an equivalent qualification such as The NVQ 3 caring for children & young people and be prepared to complete any additional work to meet the required level. More information on the role can be found within the Job and Person profile.

Residential Children's Worker roles attract the following additional payments. This Residential Children's Worker role is shift based (earlies, lates and sleep in’s) to provide 24hr care.

Childrens Worker role is shift based (earlies, late’s and sleep in’s) to provide 24hr care.

Sleep-in duty, you will be paid a basic duty payment rate of £32.86. Any additional time worked as a result of being called to work when sleeping in will be paid at the appropriate rate for the day/time of day. Bank holidays: sleep-in duties that span into or out of a bank holiday will be enhanced to double the basic duty payment rate.

For more information on our residential children’s service please visit https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/social-health/children-and-families/children-we-look-after/residential-care/young-people-who-need-residential-care.aspx

For more information on our residential children’s service please visit https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/social-health/children-and-families/children-we-look-after/residential-care/young-people-who-need-residential-care.aspx

Working for Derbyshire

Derbyshire is also a great place to live and work. It's only a short drive to Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield, and Manchester but is also home to miles of beautiful countryside and has the Peak District National Park on its doorstep. The county enjoys house prices below the UK average and has great road and rail links. In addition to location, there are several perks to being a Derbyshire County Council employee:

• Local Government Pension Scheme


• generous annual leave and flexi-time scheme


• travel expenses


• discount on leisure centre memberships


• free car parking at most sites


• an in-house counselling services


• occupational health service


• access to sessions with a trained physiotherapist


• cycle to work scheme

Provisional Interview Date: Week commencing 2nd December 2024