Children\'s Home Carer in Hayling Island

Portsmouth City Council is a unique organisation, committed to making a difference, and is guided by core values that set who we are as people, what we stand for, and how we act. We are committed to our values of respect, integrity, collaboration, inclusivity and being people-focussed. These values set out how we can contribute to the success of the council and our own success as individuals.

We are looking for a Children’s Home Carer to join our team to work as a waking night staff member. This is a part time role based at Beechside Children’s Home.

The ideal person must be highly committed to children and young people, have the ability to contribute towards a caring environment, communicate positively and effectively, and can maintain their own workload.

The Service: Beechside provides care and short break accommodation for up to six young people aged between 5 - 18 years tailored to meet individual children's needs, they may have a learning or a physical disability, often alongside communication needs. The aim of our service is to support them and provide a setting where they can develop confidence and flourish.

The Role: The role of the waking night staff member is to ensure that children and young people are safe and monitored through the night. You may be required to administer medication therefore you need to be fully aware of the relevant policies and procedures.

Your duties will include:

• Helping to settle children to bed.
• Support children to meet their needs.
• Monitoring the building during the night.
• Being involved in admitting children.
• Maintaining communication with other agencies and families as necessary during the night.
• Maintaining records and logs both paper and online.
• Completing an information hand-over to staff coming on duty.
• Domestic duties, as necessary.

Although you will be based at an identified home you may be required to work at any designated location within the City of Portsmouth.

The ideal candidate will need to:

• Hold NVQ Level 3 in Childcare, or be willing to work towards it.
• Have experience working in a residential children’s setting.
• Understand young people’s behaviour and respond appropriately.
• Have strong assessment, planning and communication skills.
• Be confident writing reports and daily records.
• Stay calm and assertive in challenging situations.
• Understand the issues facing young people today.
• Be flexible, responsive, and able to meet children’s practical care needs.
• Be committed to supervision, training, and ongoing development.
• Have a sound understanding of safeguarding, equality, and diversity.

Please ensure that you download and read the full job profile attached for the details and expectations of this role, paying particular attention to the section 'Who is the person' as you will need to refer to this when completing your Personal statement on your application.

If you would like to discuss this role in more detail with the hiring manager, please contact Sam Stokes.

Our Recruitment process: We anonymise applications during application & shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered. As part of your application, we ask that you complete a personal statement, this statement is crucial and is where you must demonstrate how you meet the requirements of the job against each of the points described in the 'Who is the Person' points on the Job Profile using examples from your experience or transferable skills. This might be through qualifications or descriptive examples from your work/personal experience. If you apply without a detailed personal statement, it is unlikely that you will be successful.

You will need to demonstrate that you have the Right to Work in the UK. No post will be offered without it.

We are a disability confident employer and have an Armed Forces Covenant. We are committed to offering an interview to all those candidates that qualify under one of our commitments and meet the minimum criteria, however, for roles that receive a large number of applications, this is not always possible, and we will select the candidates that best meet the minimum criteria.

Portsmouth City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Every post is subject to PCC and Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Partnership safer recruitment procedures. Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) at Standard/Enhanced level will be required prior to any offer of employment and this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

You will need to explain any gaps in your career history within the last 5 years - this is essential for all safeguarding roles.