Children\'s Home Residential Practitioner, Permanent in England

This is a Gloucestershire County Council job.

Job Location: Shire Hall

Salary: £30,024 - £32,597 per annum (plus enhanced pay for unsociable hours and sleep-in allowance)

Hours per Week: 37

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing Date: 03/05/2026

This post is open to job share on an 18.5 hour a week basis.

Make a Real Difference – Join Us as a Residential Practitioner

Are you driven by purpose? Do you believe every child deserves safety, love, and the chance to thrive? If you’re passionate about transforming lives and want to be part of something truly meaningful, we’d love to hear from you. We’re looking for compassionate, resilient, and dedicated individuals to join our growing team across our newly opened children’s homes. This is more than a job — it’s an opportunity to be a stabilising, trusted adult in a child’s life, every single day.

In accordance with Schedule 9, Part 1, of the Equality Act 2010, this role has a Genuine Occupational Requirement for the postholder to be aged 21 years or above. This is an essential and proportionate requirement to ensure the effective and appropriate delivery of the service due to the nature of the duties of the role and the ages and complex needs of the children and young people in our care.

About us

Right child, right support, right time, every time. Following our June 2025 Ofsted inspection, our Children’s Services were rated 'Good' with 'Outstanding' elements. We are proud to be opening new, purpose-led children’s homes designed around trauma‐informed care, clinical support, and excellent staff development.

What makes us different?

• As a Local Authority children’s home, we are driven by care, not profit. Our focus is firmly on doing what is right for children.
• Being part of a Local Authority service means our homes are fully connected to Gloucestershire’s wider support network, giving children seamless access to education, health, therapeutic input, and community resources.
• You’ll work alongside professionals who share the same values, the same purpose, and the same commitment to children’s futures.

Our homes

• Short‐term home for younger children transitioning to foster care or returning home
• Long‐term home for older children preparing for independence
• Step‐down home supporting older children moving from residential care to fostering or home

About you

We are looking for people who are:

• passionate about helping children flourish
• empathetic, patient, and resilient
• able to build strong, trusting relationships
• good communicators and collaborative team players
• flexible to work shifts, evenings, weekends, and sleep‐ins
• committed to reflection and professional development

Experience is welcomed but not essential — full training is provided.

Requirements

• Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) or an equivalent qualification, or a commitment to achieving the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare within two years of commencing employment at the home if you do not already have this qualification
• Full driving licence and willingness to drive in the job
• Enhanced DBS (Adults & Children)

About the role

As a Residential Practitioner, you will:

• deliver high‐quality, personalised care
• use trauma‐informed approaches to support emotional healing
• encourage independence, life skills, and positive routines
• work closely with a multidisciplinary team
• support children in education, recreation and personal growth
• respond to challenges with confidence and curiosity
• ensure the home meets safeguarding and regulatory standards

Typical shift pattern: Rotas operate over 7 days a week (Monday–Sunday). Staff typically work 2 to 3 long shifts per week, each totalling 16 hours.

Example Long Shift Structure: Day 1: 10:00am – 11:00pm (shift) + sleep in (11:00pm – 7:00am), Day 2 - 7:00am – 10:30am (shift continues). Day 3 Off.

Why join us?

Choosing this role means choosing to make a real and lasting difference. Here’s what you can expect:

• You’ll change lives and see it happen. You’ll witness powerful moments of growth: a child smiling again, trusting again, or feeling safe enough to be themselves.
• You’ll be part of a team that lifts each other up. You won’t face challenges alone. Our teams support one another, reflect together, and celebrate progress, big and small.
• You’ll receive training that builds confidence and skill. With trauma‐informed training, clinical guidance and continuous development, you’ll grow into a confident, thoughtful practitioner who makes a meaningful impact.
• You’ll work in homes built to feel safe and welcoming. Our homes are shaped with young people, warm, homely, and filled with opportunities for connection, fun, and healing.
• Your work will have purpose every day. Every meal shared, every conversation, every walk, every moment of support builds trust, safety and hope. You’ll go home knowing your presence mattered.

If you would like to find out more about our Children’s Service please take a look here: Children’s Social Care Careers | Gloucestershire County Council.

Any hours worked between 20.00 – 06.00, weekends and Bank Holidays attract an unsociable payment over and above the basic salary for this post.

Candidates will be contacted by phone to arrange a face-to-face interview at Shire Hall.

We reserve the right to close an advertisement earlier than the stated closing date if we receive a suitable number of applications.

Under the terms of our Safer Recruitment Policy, if you are invited to interview, we will take up safeguarding references prior to your interview to understand your suitability to work with vulnerable children. These references will then be discussed in your interview.

To ensure we process your application in a speedy and efficient way, we will contact your referees by DocuSign. Where appropriate, please inform them of your application.

Additional Information: To access the job profile for this role, please follow the link below: Residential Practitioner job profile.

This Position is subject to a DBS check.

Gloucestershire County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people or vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We want to be an employer of choice, attracting and retaining excellent people to work for us, so that we can best serve all of Gloucestershire's diverse communities. Our promise to you is that we will provide an inclusive and supportive working environment that enables you to bring your whole self to work and realise your full potential.

It is a legal requirement, under the Immigration Act 2016, that anyone appointed to a 'customer facing role' must be able to demonstrate an ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in fluent English.

Hybrid working arrangements are available for the majority of our roles, giving teams the opportunity to work in a way that suits them, balancing service need and individual choice, with a mix of both remote and office working.