Cse residential support worker jobs

Contract: Full-time, Permanent

Hours: 40 hours per week (shift work including weekends and bank holidays and occasional sleep-ins); work between 8 am and 10:30 pm 

Salary: £26,437 rising to £27,929 after completing mandatory training and probation

Additional Benefits:

• £50 per sleep-in
• Time-and-a-half pay for overtime (over 40 hours per week) and bank holidays
• Two weekends off per month
• 4 weeks full paid induction and further training provided 
• Excellent therapeutic support and career progression 

Location: Balham, SW12 or Ealing, W13 

If you’re looking for a fulfilling and rewarding career in Children’s Social Care where no two days are the same, this could be the perfect opportunity for you. All you need is a genuine passion for making a difference — we’ll provide full training and ongoing support to help you thrive, even if you don’t have prior care experience. 

About the Role 

As a Trainee Practitioner- Children Residential Worker, you’ll support children and young people aged 12–17 who are building resilience after experiencing adversity. You’ll help them develop key life skills, build trust, and create a safe, supportive environment where they can thrive. You’ll also have the chance to take part in fun activities and positive experiences with them. 

All we ask for is a genuine passion for making a difference. No previous care experience is needed — we provide full training and support, including professional qualifications through St Christopher’s Academy Entry Pathway. 

St Christopher’s Academy 

At St Christopher’s, we offer more than a care job— we offer a real career pathway. You’ll have the chance to build your skills, grow your knowledge, and make a lasting difference to young people’s lives. 

When you join us, you’ll receive a tailored development plan designed around your goals. Whether you want to move into a different service, progress into a leadership role, or just explore further your current role, we’ll support you every step of the way. If you want to learn more aboutSt Christopher’s Academy, please clickhere 

Our development programme, St Christopher’s Academy, is built to help you reach your full potential — and the results speak for themselves: 
84% of our Team Leaders, Deputies, and Managers are promoted internally. 

Training 

Starting a career in Children’s Social Care comes with a lot to learn, which is why we provide a 4-week fully paid induction and training programme to make sure you feel supported and confident in your new role. 

Working Hours 

Our children and young people need support around the clock so our homes run 24/7 and we operate on fixed rotas with a variety of shift patterns. 

As a Trainee Practitioner, you’ll work day shifts between 8am and 10pm, with 8, 10 or 12-hour shifts available. You’ll usually work an average of 40 hours per week, including weekends and bank holidays. 

For example, if you work four 10-hour shifts, you’ll then have three days off. Overtime is available and paid at time and a half, including bank holidays. 

At our Ealing home, you’ll be required to complete an average of 2 sleep-ins per week, paid at £50 each. 

Location 

We have Children’s Homes based inBalham and Ealing. During your interview process, you’ll have the opportunity to let us know yourpreferred location, and we’ll do our best to match you with a home that suits your preference and availability. 

What you need to bring to this role 

• Ability to build genuine, trusting relationships with children and young people. 

• Resilience to manage challenging behaviour and complex situations. 

• Strong teamworking skills and willingness to support colleagues. 

• Empathy, while always maintaining professional boundaries. 

• Flexibility to work shifts, including weekends and bank holidays, and occasional sleep-ins 

What you should expect from us 

• Competitive salary. 

• 4 weeks full induction and training program (paid). 

• Competitive pay and reward structure offering salary progression based on performance. 

• Tailored career development plan through our“St Christopher’s Academy”. 

• A friendly working environment, a fun, open and honest culture. 

• 25 days holiday rising to 27 days after 3 years’ service, plus Bank Holidays, pro-rata. 

• Industry leading training programme including access to level 3 qualifications, children’s right and participation, CSE, empowerment, mental health and social pedagogy. 

• Contributory pension scheme, enhanced maternity and company sick scheme. 

• UK Life Assurance (Death in service) to the value of 3 times your annual salary. 

• BUPA employee assistance programme, offering counselling, financial advice and legal support. 

• Cycle to work scheme. 

• Bluelight card; discount shopping scheme at hundreds of retailers across the UK. 

• Discretionary funded training programs. 

• Employee awards based on performance and length of service. 

• Fantastic opportunities to develop your career within our range of services. 

About Us 

Our vision is for every child and young person to be safe, loved and happy, to achieve their potential and have a bright future. 

St Christopher's is a leading charity for children and young people.We are proud of our history of providing fostering, children's homes and innovative leaving care services across the UK & Isle of Man. We have a passionate commitment to our young people, placing them at the centre of everything we do. We provide positive life experiences for young people who are unable to sustain a placement in their parental or foster home. 

We are an equal-opportunity employer keen to develop an inclusive workforce where people feel they belong. We hope to attract applications from under- represented groups, including people from different cultures, nationalities, socioeconomic backgrounds, ages, disabilities, religions, faith, sex, orientation, childcare responsibilities, and gender-diverse identities. 

Recruitment Process 

At St Christopher’s we are committed to the safeguarding of all children and young people in our care. 

1. Application:Complete our online form and include a mandatory supporting statement addressing the criteria stated in the Person Specification.Please note that applications without Personal Statement will not be accepted. CV will not be accepted. 

2. Interview:Shortlisted candidates attend a face-to-face interview at our Putney office. 

3. Second Stage:Successful candidates will visit the home they applied to. 

Please applyas soon as possible, as we review applications on arolling basis. 

Important notes: 

• This post has a minimum age restriction of 21 year for roles working directly with children and young people in our residential and supported accommodation Homes in line with the Equality Act ‘occupational requirement’. 

• It is illegal to applyfor any role that involves working with children and young people under the age of 18, if you know you are barred from working with children. 

• All shortlisted candidates invited to interview will be asked to submit aSelf-Declaration and Disclosureform which will need to be returned prior to an interview being booked. 

• It is a requirement that practitioners working in Children Homes are qualified with the Diploma 3 in residential childcare within 2 years of starting in the job role. (Children Home Regulations England 2015). St Christopher’s provide access and funding to undertake this qualification. Applicants who have Citizenship or Visa status restrictions that may preclude them from being able to meet the qualification requirement may be considered for other options such as fixed term contracts. Each applicant’s situation will be assessed as part of the recruitment process. 

We have a fantastic opportunity to join St Christopher's fellowship as a Home Manager for our children’s home in South West London. You will lead and support a professional team of staff committed to transforming young lives and creating positive outcomes. You will be supported by Deputy Managers, Team Leaders as well as the rest of the team.

About Us

Our vision is for every child and young person to be safe, loved and happy, to achieve their potential and have a bright future.

St Christopher's is a leading charity for children and young people. We are proud of our history of providing fostering, children's homes and innovative leaving care services across the UK.  We have a passionate commitment to our young people, placing them at the centre of everything we do.  We provide positive life experiences for young people who are unable to sustain a placement in their parental or foster home.

We are an equal-opportunity employer keen to develop an inclusive workforce where people feel they belong.  We hope to attract applications from under- represented groups, including people from different cultures, nationalities, socioeconomic backgrounds, ages, disabilities, religions, faith, sex, orientation, childcare responsibilities, and gender-diverse identities

 About the Role

We have a passionate commitment to our young people, placing them at the centre of everything we do and as the Home Manager; you will be a key player in building and extending this commitment.

You will lead and support a team: Deputy Managers, Team Leaders and Residential Workers and all committed to transforming lives and creating positive outcomes.

In addition we have an in house team of Therapists providing support to staff and young people within the home.

St Christopher’s Academy

Our 'St Christopher’s Academy' ensures our staff is continually developing. We will support you to map out your career trajectory and help you achieve your professional ambitions. If you want to learn more about St Christopher’s Academy, please visit our website.

The successful candidate will have

• Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare and, be either working towards or has achieved the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare.
• Prior experience in residential children’s homes, including at least a year with staff supervision and management responsibility.
• A passion for achieving the best possible outcomes for young people.
• Excellent leadership and staff management abilities.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills.
• The ability to deliver at least ‘good’ in the home’s Ofsted inspection.
• Sound business awareness and a flair for promoting the service.
• Flexibility, drive and resilience.

This role will involve some shift work plus some on call duties in the evening and at weekends. Applicants will be subject to enhanced DBS (police) checks.

In return we offer:

• Competitive salary.
• A friendly working environment, a fun, open and honest culture.
• 25 days holiday rising to 27 days after 3 years’ service, plus Bank Holidays, pro-rata.
• Industry Leading training programme including Young People’s right and participation, CSE, empowerment, mental health, Social Pedagogy.
• Contributory pension scheme, Enhanced Maternity and Company Sick Scheme.
• UK Life Assurance (Death in service) to the value of 3 times your annual salary.
• BUPA Employee Assistance Programme, offering counselling, financial advice and legal support.
• Interest-free season ticket loan, cycle to work scheme, childcare vouchers.
• Bluelight card; discount shopping scheme at hundreds of retailers across the UK.
• Discretionary funded training programs.
• Employee Awards based on performance and length of service.
• Fantastic opportunities to develop your career through our newly launched “St Christopher’s Academy”

Recruitment Process

At St Christopher’s we are committed to the safeguarding of all children and young people in our care. During the recruitment process you will be expected to complete an online application form to ensure we capture essential information to meet legislation, best practice and vetting requirements.

Applicants will ideally already be on the DBS Update Service; if this is not the case St Christopher's will carry out a DBS (police) check prior to starting.

Your online application must include a supporting statement addressing the criteria stated in the Person Specification. CV’s will not be accepted.

For the full Job Description and Person Specification, please visit our website.

For assistance during the application process, please contact us via our website

This post has a minimum age restriction of 21 year for roles working directly with children and young people in our residential and supported accommodation Homes in line with the Equality Act ‘occupational requirement’.

It is illegal to apply for any role that involves working with children and young people under the age of 18, if you know you are barred from working with children.

All shortlisted candidates invited to interview will be asked to submit a Self-Declaration and Disclosure form which will need to be returned prior to an interview being booked.