Children's Services Support Worker bank-weekday working shifts in Southampton

Operations: Permanent

The Honeypot Children’s Charity

What is bank work like at Honeypot:

• Flexible Shifts weekdays during school holidays
• Fun: Join the team, collecting the children who are excited to come for a holiday and fun.

Benefits:

• Uniform, meals supplied on day trips, holiday pay

Impact:

• Watching children have fun, play and be active

Night allowance: £60.50 per night

Weekdays (non-term time) with overnight stays required.

We are exceptional candidates to join our Children’s Services team who are proactive, energetic and passionate about supporting young carers and vulnerable children, with a background of relevant professional experience. Team members who are experienced/qualified in child activities that meet our goals and outcomes.

About us:

For 25 years, The Honeypot Children’s Charity has supported young carers and vulnerable children throughout their childhood. We provide 3-day respite holidays for young carers from 5 years of age at our houses in the New Forest and mid-Wales, running every weekend and throughout school holidays. Once onboard, children remain engaged with us until their 13th birthday; they are invited back every year for a residential break and can also enjoy memory-making days out.

In parallel, we work closely with schools to deliver the Honeypot SEAL (Social & Emotional Aspects of Learning) educational programme, running 4-day residential breaks during term time to support children in developing key life skills and confidence. Our team delivers bespoke SEAL content designed to enable children to better understand themselves, the world around them and their potential through practical experience and challenges.

This is an exciting time to join Honeypot. This role provides an opportunity for a strong team player with professional experience working with children and a passion for supporting and enabling young people to help develop and deliver our respite and educational services going forward.

About the role:

The Children’s Residential Support Worker (CRSW) plays a central role in the delivery of all aspects of our child-facing services. Under the direction of the Children’s Services Leader (CSL), you will create a welcoming, stimulating, and safe environment in which children have fun, develop socially and emotionally, and make magical memories while enjoying Honeypot respite holidays, SEAL breaks, digital workshops, and memory-making days.

The CRSW wears many hats. You will be the entertainer, the teacher, the cook, the cleaner, the administrator, the parent, the guide, and the supervisor. You will need to be able to positively manage behaviour with confidence and be able to say “no, because…”

You will be part of a team who will remain together, resident onsite with a group of children, throughout their holiday. All members of the team need to think on their feet and support each other, working hard to create a friendly, harmonious, and relaxed family atmosphere while maintaining all professional standards. Flexibility and a ‘can do’ attitude is essential.

Our child-facing team must have excellent creative skills and great enthusiasm, alongside exceptional professional standards, empathy, integrity, and a willingness to embrace change as we further develop our services.

Key responsibilities:

• Understand the components and objectives of each element of the suite of Honeypot services in order to support the delivery of required outcomes.
• Consult with the children and involve them in the planning of activities, ensuring that every individual and group has the best possible experience and outcomes from their time with Honeypot.
• Assist with the maintenance of materials and equipment during and between breaks in order that all necessary resources are available and fit for purpose.
• Assist in the creation and management of a play environment where children can make choices, access a range of resources, and be supported by a responsive and adaptable approach to their play.
• Manage challenging behaviour when it occurs in a calm and fair manner, whilst using positive behaviour techniques.
• Build and maintain professional relationships and boundaries with both children and staff.
• Look after and maintain the Honeypot site and facilities, acting with care to avoid damage to property and encouraging children to respect their environment.

Care:

• Use various intervention and response methods to create a child-friendly, non-authoritarian and co-operative environment.
• Respond appropriately to the emotional, physical, and practical needs of vulnerable children.
• Help the children under your supervision to wake up in the morning and to go to bed at night, including support for good personal hygiene.
• Help with preparing and serving meals, ensuring that food preparation and handling is carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the Food Safety Act and the Food Standards Agency.
• Perform routine housekeeping and sanitation tasks during and after each holiday/break, ensuring that the house and grounds are always kept clean.

Other:

• Read, accurately complete, and safely store all necessary records and paperwork for each respite break in line with GDPR legislation.
• Follow health and safety guidelines, check all equipment and report concerns or incidents involving children, staff, or visitors to the Children’s Services Leader.
• Attend and participate in a debrief meeting at the end of each respite/SEAL break and contribute to lessons learned for ongoing service improvement.
• Attend regular supervision with the CSL/line manager.
• Assist the Children’s Services Leader to measure and record the outcomes achieved for each child on the break.
• Understand, promote, and adhere to the Honeypot Children’s Charity’s Policies & Procedures.
• Participate in activities which fall outside of normal working hours as required, e.g. Training, Staff Meetings, open days, fundraising events etc.
• At all times be a positive, constructive, and proactive member of the team, embodying positive behaviours, promoting respect for the individual and working together to create a happy, caring environment for children and staff.

Person specification:

You must be passionate about working with children, comfortable working in a fast-paced environment and able to respond positively, with good professional judgement and imagination, to challenges and unexpected changes of course. You must have professional experience of direct work with children in a group environment, a childcare, education or social work qualification and knowledge of Child Protection and Safeguarding. This role requires an enhanced DBS check.

Education and training:

• Relevant Teaching, Child Care or Play-work qualification (Essential)

Knowledge and experience:

• Recent experience of direct work with children in a residential care environment, school, or other professional setting.
• Experience of working with children from diverse backgrounds; an understanding of equal opportunities and inclusion particularly as it applies to a child-oriented setting.
• An understanding of the principles of play work.
• Experience of organising trips, outings and/or residential holidays for children.
• Knowledge of issues and general procedures around Child Protection and Safeguarding.

Skills & attributes:

• A fun, friendly, empathetic nature underpinned with the highest professional standards and absolute integrity.
• Confident, compassionate, and level-headed.
• Practical skills in one or more of the following areas, and the ability to apply them in a play setting: arts and crafts/music/drama/storytelling/sports and games.
• Excellent communication skills with children, colleagues and parents/carers.
• Passion for improving the lives of vulnerable children through a commitment to the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of service delivery.
• A natural team player, able to operate comfortably for sustained periods in a close residential setting and to work harmoniously with colleagues to achieve break or activity objectives.
• Ability to work under pressure, manage challenging behaviour in a calm, positive and effective manner and use own initiative.
• Ability to complete concise, accurate and legible records of incidents and accidents and contribute to evaluations and reports.
• Full driving licence and own car (Honeypot houses are not served by public transport routes).
• Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance (post exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974).

Hours: £13.45 per hour

Health Care, Staff Uniform, Service recognition - additional holiday, Staff meals - Operational roles only, Business Expenses reimbursed.