Casual Residential Child Care Practitioners - All Locations

1. We are actively looking for individuals to join our dedicated teams in our Children's Residential Care Homes.
2. Successful applicants will be committed to improving the lives of children with complex needs and those who have experienced childhood trauma.
3. Successful applicants will be fully funded to receive the necessary training and support required to undertake the role.

Casual Residential Child Care Practitioners – all Children's Residential Care Homes

Salary: £28,770 FTE per annum Pro Rata for Part Time £14.91 per hour

Do you have what it takes to make a positive difference in the lives of children and young people?

Are you a hardworking and resilient individual who is able to engage with and emotionally support children and young people?

We are actively looking for individuals to join our dedicated teams in our Children's Residential Care Homes.

Locations: Beddau (Beddau, Pontypridd), Bryndar (Aberdare), Carn Ingli (Aberdare) Ty Brynna (Llanharan), Willowford House (Gwaelod Y Garth), Ystradfechan (Treorchy), Cartref Mynydd (Wattstown), Ty Ni (Llanharan).

As a Casual Residential Child Care Practitioner, you will be part of a caring team, that provides a safe, nurturing home, led and supported by an experienced Registered Manager, and Senior staff.

Successful applicants will be committed to improving the lives of children with complex needs and those who have experienced childhood trauma. You will need to work creatively with a high level of active engagement in activities and direct work. You will be supported and trained to practice in a therapeutic environment, utilising the Trauma Recovery Model of care.

Much of your role will be spent supporting individuals to work through their individual experiences, with the goal of aiding recovery and building resilience, to achieve their personal goals. This work will support the assessment of the ongoing care and support needs of the individual to ensure positive future planning.

This will involve you providing emotional, physical and personal care and support to enable children and young people to reach their full potential, sometimes in challenging situations. This will include working actively with families and professionals to ensure care and support is personalised to meet individual needs, and that children and young people can move on positively from placement.

To succeed in the role, you must be passionate, patient and committed to those you work with, and the professional standards of the role.

Candidates will need to demonstrate:

• Excellent communication skills
• Positivity and resilience
• A commitment to providing safe and caring environments for children and young people to learn and grow
• Compassion and Empathy, and an enthusiasm to promote individual choice
• The ability to invest in developing trusting relationships.
• An enthusiasm and commitment to learning
• An ability to work flexibly

Shifts are inclusive of bank holidays and weekends and are typically worked from 7.30am – 3.30pm and 3pm -11pm. Sleep-ins duties and occasional nights are also required. You may occasionally be required to work in other residential locations to support our other homes within the local authority, to meet the needs of the service.

You will be expected to hold or be prepared to work towards the QCF Level 3 Diploma in Health and Social Care (Children and Young People) or predecessor qualification NVQ Level 3 (Children and Young People). You will be registered with Social Care Wales, either on appointment, or following completion of the Induction Framework.

Our Offer to you…

We recognise that working in Social Care is professionally and personally challenging and demands considerable levels of skill, commitment, and enthusiasm. We offer a dedicated in-house Learning and Development Centre which actively supports our staff to maintain their skills and Continuous Professional Development. Successful applicants will be fully funded to receive the necessary training and support required to undertake the role. Successful applicants who do not hold the relevant qualification will be supported to achieve the QCF Level 3 Diploma in Health and Social Care (Children and Young People) within 2 years of appointment.

RCT Council employees also have access to a wide range of staff benefits which include:

• 26 days Annual Leave, rising to 31 days after 5 years’ service. There is also an option to purchase additional annual leave to a maximum of 10 days (pro rata) per year.
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Discounted LeisureForLife Membership
• Vectis Card (staff discount)
• Technology Purchase Scheme
• Access to our Occupational Health Unit and CARI, our new digital confidential wellbeing tool.

In addition to this safeguarding responsibility, the successful applicant for this role will also be subject to an enhanced disclosure and barring service check.

The Council values diversity in its workforce. We are committed to ensuring that no unlawful discrimination occurs in the recruitment and selection process on the grounds of age, sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, transgender, including those with non-binary identities, religion or belief or pregnancy and maternity. We offer a number of staff networks for employees including the Allies Network, a Disability and Carers Network and Perthyn our LGBTQ+ Network.

An application submitted for this post in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application made in English.

In view of the large number of Application Forms which are currently being submitted individual applications are not acknowledged. Consequently if you do not hear from us within four weeks of the closing date, please assume that your application is unsuccessful on this occasion. In which case you are thanked for the interest you have shown in applying for a position within the Council.

In support of the Council’s voluntary pledge to support the Armed Forces, the recruiter must always be prepared to ensure that applicants who have identified themselves as members of the Armed Forces including Service Leavers, Veterans or Reservists and who meet the essential criteria of the person specification, are offered an interview.