Night Residential Child Care Practitioner

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?

An opportunity has arisen to recruit Night Residential Child Care Practitioners (NRCCP) based at Bryndar Children’s Home in Cwmdare Aberdare RCT. As a NRCCP, you will work between the hours of 10:15pm and 07:15am. You will be part of a caring team that provides a safe, nurturing home for up to four children and young people, 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 be committed to understanding individual past experiences of children and young people and show compassion in your approach to the impact of these on the ability to settle and sleep at night. Providing care and support for up to four children and young people, 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 experiences, with the goal of aiding recovery and building resilience, to achieve their personal goals, providing a safe and suitable environment that supports learning and personal growth.

This will involve you providing emotional and physical support to enable children and young people to reach their full potential, sometimes in challenging situations, where you will need to be responsive to issues outside the home. As such, the ability to travel independently is required for this role.

To succeed in the role, you must be passionate, patient and committed to those you work with, and the professional standards of the role. This will include working actively with families and professionals to ensure care and support is personalised to meet individual needs.

Candidates will need to demonstrate:

• Positivity and resilience
• A commitment to providing safe and caring environments for children and young people to learn and grow
• Compassion, Empathy, and an enthusiasm to promote individual choice
• The ability to invest in developing trusting relationships.
• An enthusiasm and commitment to your own learning
• An ability to work flexibly – Work patterns will include working weekends and bank holidays.

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.

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
• Access to our Occupational Health Unit and CARI, our new digital confidential wellbeing tool.

Protecting children and vulnerable adults is a core responsibility of all staff appointed to the Council. 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.

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

As part of the Council’s longer-term objectives in relation to the Welsh language and its Workforce Planning Strategy, it is committed to a guaranteed interview scheme for Welsh-speakers of Level 3 and above. If you meet the essential criteria as identified in the person specification for the job and are a Welsh-speaker of Level 3 and above, you will be invited to interview if you choose to participate in the scheme.

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.

Care Experienced Leavers – Guaranteed Interview Scheme: As part of the Council’s corporate parenting role, it is committed to supporting its care experienced leavers. This means anyone who has spent time within the care system at any point in their life. We encourage applications from individuals who are care experienced to enable them to access employment, education, experiences and volunteering opportunities. The Council will guarantee an interview for any care experienced leavers who wish to take part in the scheme who meet the essential criteria for the role.