Specialist Support Worker in Gateshead

We are recruiting experienced Children's Residential Support Workers to join our temporary agency workforce, supporting children and young people in UK residential care settings. We are seeking experienced and compassionate Specialist Support Workers to join a dedicated team supporting a young girl with complex needs and behaviours that can be challenging. This is a high-support placement operating at a 6:1 staffing ratio.

The successful candidates must be calm, resilient, observant, and able to work consistently within agreed care, behavioural support, and safeguarding plans.

Key responsibilities include:

• Building a safe and trusting professional relationship with the young person.
• Following individual care plans, risk assessments, behaviour support plans, and safeguarding procedures.
• Recognising and responding to triggers and using proactive, trauma-informed de-escalation strategies.
• Supporting routines, education, therapeutic activities, recreation, community access, and daily living tasks.
• Working consistently as part of a six-person support team and communicating clearly during handovers.
• Maintaining the young person's dignity, privacy, rights, and choices at all times.

Essential Requirements:

• Previous experience supporting children or young people with complex needs and behaviours that challenge.
• A minimum of 6 months UK experience.
• A calm, patient, resilient, and non-judgemental approach.
• Strong safeguarding awareness and the ability to maintain professional boundaries.
• Confidence working within a highly structured, multi-person staffing arrangement.
• The flexibility to work various shifts, including nights, weekends, and sleep shifts.
• The right to work in the UK and willingness to complete an enhanced DBS check; you must hold or be willing to obtain this, references, and safer-recruitment checks.

Specialist Training:

• Successful applicants will receive or must hold relevant training, which may include:
• Positive Behaviour Support
• Trauma-informed care
• Safeguarding children and young people
• Approved de-escalation and physical-intervention training
• Autism, learning disability, or communication support, where relevant
• First aid and medication administration
• Self-harm, ligature, or crisis-response awareness, where relevant to the assessed needs
• Accurate recording, incident reporting, and confidentiality.

Only organisation-approved techniques may be used. Restrictive interventions must always be lawful, proportionate, necessary, and consistent with the young person's individual plan.

Person Specification:

• Reliable and emotionally resilient
• Consistent in their approach
• Able to remain calm during distress or crisis
• Reflective and willing to learn from supervision
• Comfortable receiving direction and working closely within a team
• Committed to providing safe, respectful, and child-centred care.

What We Offer:

• Flexible agency shifts
• Weekly pay
• Holiday pay
• Ongoing training (online and in-person)
• 24/7 support from our experienced branch team.