Night-time Support Practitioner

Location: Bracknell

Reporting to: Children’s Home Manager

Start date: Immediate start required

Employment type: Short-term contract

Hours: Overnight shifts, typically 10:30pm – 7:30am with flexibility for the right person

Salary: £13ph plus holiday pay

Earn while you sleep, while making a real difference.

We are looking for someone who:

• Brings warmth, patience and emotional steadiness
• Can offer simple, consistent reassurance in the night
• Understands that feeling safe is the foundation for everything

Purpose of the role

You will provide calm, consistent night-time support to a seven-year-old child who experiences significant fear overnight. Your role is not supervision or control. It is about being emotionally available, physically present and gently reassuring so he can feel safe enough to sleep. This is relational work. Your presence helps settle his nervous system, reduce distress and prevent escalation. This role sits within a therapeutic, trauma-informed home, embodying Hygge’s values of generosity, curiosity and courage grounded in compassion, empowerment and relational practice.

Key responsibilities

• Overnight care and support
• Sleep in a single room next to the child’s room with the door open, remaining available throughout the night
• Respond when he wakes (typically around 1:30am and 4:00am)
• Gently guide him back to bed with calm, consistent reassurance
• Use simple, grounding language such as “you are safe” and “I am here”
• Provide appropriate physical reassurance, including sitting beside him or safer sleeping where needed
• Creating a sense of safety
• Maintain a predictable, soothing response each time he wakes
• Support use of comfort tools such as sound machine and weighted blanket
• Keep doors open to ensure transparency and safety
• Early morning care
• Support return to bed before 7:00am where needed
• After 7:00am, follow his lead in a calm, low-demand morning routine
• Spend time together watching TV or reading a story, other sleep-in staff will join at this time
• Team working
• Receive handover from other staff and share any key information
• Communicate clearly any significant events from the night
• Work alongside the wider team in a consistent, relational way
• Recording and communication
• Share a brief summary of any significant events following your shift
• Escalate concerns appropriately and seek support when needed

Person specification

Essential

• Naturally calm, patient and emotionally attuned
• Comfortable offering reassurance and appropriate physical presence
• Able to remain steady when a child is distressed
• Understands or is open to learning, trauma-informed and therapeutic parenting approaches
• Reliable, consistent and able to commit to overnight work

Desirable

• Experience working with children, particularly those who have experienced trauma
• Understanding of attachment and nervous system regulation
• Experience in residential care or similar settings

Practical requirements

• Wear appropriate nightwear and practical daytime clothing
• Follow safeguarding guidance at all times
• Maintain professional boundaries within a warm, relational approach

Safeguarding statement

Hygge Children’s Social Care is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All appointments are subject to enhanced DBS checks, safer recruitment processes and satisfactory references.

Non-smoking and non-vaping environment

Hygge’s homes are entirely non-smoking and non-vaping environments. To protect children’s health and to model positive behaviours, staff must not smoke or vape while on duty, during sleep‑ins or anywhere on the home or car premises at any time. Staff are expected to present as non-smoking and non-vaping to children and young people.