Residential Support Workers in Ashford

Kent County Council's Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking (UAS) Children's Service provides accommodation and support to newly arrived UAS children in Kent. The Service is developing as a centre of excellence nationally and we are seeking passionate individuals to join our service.

Reception Centres, staffing and services KCC provides to UAS children, are fully funded by Central Government.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Service's Reception Centre team. The Reception and Safe Care Services are Kent County Council owned, Ofsted regulated, children's homes and supported accommodation, collectively termed Reception Centres. The Reception Centres, and the services they provide to children, are run by a diverse team of managers and workers, who are all committed to ensuring children are protected and supported to take the first steps in their journey to a more permanent home elsewhere in the UK.

Maple Rise is based in Ashford, Kent and is named after the Maple Trees of Vietnam. Maple Rise is a children's home for UAS children aged under 16-years-old, with a capacity of up to 10 children. Located in a residential area and not too far away from another Reception Centre (Memona Lodge), Maple Rise is well-located for children to access a variety of services and recreational spaces. Maple Rise has well established links with local services and organisations in the community for young people to access a variety of activities.

This Reception Centre is subject to Ofsted regulations for Children's Homes 2015.

We are seeking Residential Support Workers who have experience of working alongside UAS children and who thrive on direct work and providing support in a residential setting. This is an exciting opportunity to help shape and influence the resettlement of children in the UK who have suffered trauma and change. This role involves managing routines, setting goals for young people, timekeeping and facilitating a learning culture in the centre. This role is important for UAS children during their early stages in the UK.

If you are enthusiastic about working with children, understand the UAS children's journey and want to help achieve the best outcomes for them.

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Work that works for you and us - let's talk flexibility!

KCC is committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the county's working residents, encouraging applications from people of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds, faiths and those with caring responsibilities, and aspires to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.

This post will be required to work across a rolling shift pattern, with weekly alternating shifts, and regular cover over weekends. The rota pattern is 4 shifts on, followed by 2 rest days - each block of 4 shifts will alternate between 8:00 am - 4:30 pm and 1:30 pm - 10:00 pm.

Applicants must be 21 years of age or above, to meet Ofsted regulations.

KCC's employment offer for this role includes:

• Full induction
• Training and development opportunities
• Basic salary of between £29,167 and £30,934
• Equivalent annual leave allowance of 29 days
• Excellent local government pension scheme
• Opportunities to develop in your career
• The opportunity to expand and develop your knowledge and skills of working with children seeking asylum.