Residential Children & Young People's Worker

Children's Home Support Workers – The Drive and Water Lane homes, Redbridge (4.8 FTE)

Location: The Drive, Redbridge and Water Lane RedbridgeService Type: 3-bed & 4-bed residential home for children with disabilitiesContract Type: Permanent, Full-Time (5 FTE). Part-time and 'As and When' positions will be considered to achieve 5 full time equivalent.Rota: 24-hour shift pattern including evenings, weekends, and bank holidays,

Are you ready to make a lasting difference in a child's life?

Do you have the resilience and commitment to support children with complex needs?
Are you looking for a role where your values, skills, and experience are truly appreciated?

We are recruiting Children's Home Support Workers to join our team at The Drive, a residential home supporting children and young people with disabilities, including learning difficulties and autism. This is a rewarding opportunity to work in a nurturing, inclusive, and child-focused environment.

As part of our team, you'll build meaningful relationships with children, support them in their daily routines and interests, and help them develop confidence and independence. You'll play a key role in promoting emotional wellbeing and advocating for their voices to be heard in decisions about their lives.

What We're Looking For

We welcome applications from all backgrounds, cultures, and identities. We are committed to building a diverse team that reflects the communities we serve.

You'll need:

• Resilienceand emotional strength to support children with complex needs.
• A good understanding of Ofsted Children's Homes regulations and guidance.
• A Level 3 or 4 qualification in Children & Young People Workforce (Social Care or Residential Child Care), or a willingness to complete this within two years.
• Experience in residential care is helpful, but we also welcome transferable skillsfrom other sectors.
• A commitment to safeguarding and trauma-informed care.

What You'll Be Doing

Your role will involve:

• Supporting children in daily routines, hobbies, and community activities.
• Promoting emotional wellbeing and helping children understand and manage behaviours.
• Advocating for children's voices in decisions about their lives.
• Working collaboratively with families, professionals, and colleagues.
• Delivering care in line with Barnardo's valuesand regulatory standards.

What You'll Receive

In return, you'll benefit from:

• A meaningful role making a real difference in children's lives.
• Ongoing training and development opportunities.
• A supportive management and team culture.
• Career progression within Barnardo's.
• Flexible working patterns.
• Trade union recognition (Unison).

Interested?

Apply now below. For informal enquiries, please contact the Residential Services Manager melanie.hadjiminas@barnardos.org.uk Please note: this post may close early due to high interest, so early applications are encouraged.

Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date.  We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible

We appreciate our colleagues' dedication and their commitment to delivering excellence in the vital work we do, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's  values.

We are committed to a rounded colleague experience with an approach to both pay and rewards that are fair, attractive, and progressive. This is in support of our strategic ambition to ensure Barnardo's is a place everyone can belong, grow and thrive.

The salary range advertised is in line with our pay principles, for consistency and fairness while recognising the skills and experience applicants bring to the role. Appointing salaries can be discussed further at appointment stage; we do seek to appoint within this range always exercising responsible stewardship.

Workplace Offer: What it means for you

Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, in the community, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or depending on the role any combination of these. Please read through the advert carefully to understand the remits of hybrid working that will be specific to the role.

Barnardo's require colleagues to be UK residents, based in the UK and to complete their roles from within the UK (with the exception of colleagues providing Barnardo's services in Jersey and colleagues who live in the Republic of Ireland providing services in Northern Ireland)

• Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
• Annual Leave entitlement for full-time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days per annum, after 3 years Barnardo's service, 29 days per annum, after 5 years Barnardo's service and 30 days per annum, after 7 years Barnardo's service. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata
• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our Buy Your Leave scheme
• A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options
• Service related sick pay from day 1
• Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution
• Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension
• Cycle2work scheme
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal
• 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
• Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
• Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer

*T&C's apply based on contract

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

• Reference number:23632
• Job Title:Residential Children & Young People's Worker
• Location:London
• Locality:London
• Contract type:Permanent
• Hours:37
• Salary:£27,844.00 - £28,915.00
• Closing Date:30 September 2026
• Interview Date:TBC

Benefits

Vacancy Alerts

Additional Info

• Information Sheet for Applicants Applying for Positions Working with Children and Vulnerable Adults (updated July 2021).pdf (107.00 KB)
• Barnardo's Workplace Offer Visual Summary.pdf (27.58 KB)
• Recruitment of Ex-Offenders Policy Dec 2024.pdf (164.07 KB)
• Residential Children & Young People's Worker Job Description - London Residential Services - Water Lane (2).pdf (231.10 KB)