Senior Practitioner (Residential) - Req23835

As a Senior Practitioner you relish the opportunity to transform the lives of children and young people who are looked after, by leading a team of dedicated practitioners giving the best possible care every day.​

It’s about more than managing daily routines in the children’s home, you will inspire your team to play a vital part in each child’s journey towards adulthood and independence. Your support can be life changing for the young people in your care. It is rewarding work, as well as energetic and at times challenging.​

​It’s an exciting time to join Leeds City Council’s children’s services, rated outstanding by Ofsted at our last inspection. We are significantly investing in our children’s residential care across Leeds, including care for young people with disabilities, so this could be your next step up to a fulfilling career with us.

We are committed to the ambition of Child Friendly Leeds. We want Leeds to be a city where all children are safe, happy and healthy, do well at school, fulfil their potential and grow up to be active citizens with voice and influence.​

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.​

About you​

As a Senior Practitioner you will bring to the role:

• Level 3 Diploma in Residential Child Care (or equivalent)​
• QFC Leadership Health and Social Care and Children and Young People’s Services Level 5, or commitment to achieving the qualification within a specified time (funded by us)
• understanding of child and adolescent development​
• knowledge of relevant legislation, policies and guidance​
• experience supporting children or young people with additional emotional/behavioural issues – this may be from employment, volunteering, student placements or personal life​
• experience supervising staff and managing their development and training​

About the role​​

As our next Senior Practitioner, you’ll be part of a supportive team which has your wellbeing and professional development at heart. ​

You will bring patience, resilience and emotional intelligence to connect with and inspire the vulnerable children and young people in your care. You will lead your team with confidence and liaise effectively with other professionals and all stakeholders.​

What we offer you​

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:​

• a competitive salary plus enhancements for nights and weekends​​
• generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holiday allowance​
• a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities, including support to study for relevant qualifications​
• membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions​
• a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further​

How to apply​

Please upload your CV and complete a personal statement of no more than 500 words. Please ensure that your full employment history is covered in your CV.​

Read our guidance for further advice. Please check your information carefully and ensure you complete all sections before submitting your application. ​

If you have any queries or would like an informal chat about the role please emailworkinginchildrenshomes@leeds.gov.uk.​

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check against the Children’s barred list will be carried out on preferred candidates. Read our recruitment of ex-offenders policy.​

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.​

We promote diversity and want a workforce that reflects the population of Leeds. Leeds City Council is ranked 70 on the Stonewall Equality Index 2022. We are also an Age friendly employer, a Mindful employer and a Disability Confident leader.​

All new Leeds City Council appointments are made subject to the satisfactory completion of a six-month probationary period.​
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This role is based in the UK. Employment is conditional on confirmation of the right to work in the UK - either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa. If you do not have the right to work in the UK and the role does not meet eligibility for sponsorship, please consider carefully whether you meet the eligibility to apply
Job Description 

Job purpose
The Senior Practitioner’s role is to lead the residential practitioner team which supports, encourages and safeguards children and young people in their development, enabling them to make positive contributions to their families, society and local communities.
You will do this by fostering positive relationships and maintaining strong bonds between children and staff based on shared daily life and routines, joint activities and established boundaries of acceptable behaviour.
Responsibilities

• Undertake key worker role, implement care plans, conduct risk assessments and devise support and health plans
• Provide and maintain a safe, stimulating and secure living and learning environment supporting day-to-day physical and emotional needs
• Work with professionals and communities of origin to sustain links and understand past problems Nurture children’s ambitions for their future and their learning, both in and out of school 
• Support children and young people’s emotional, mental and physical health needs to build self-esteem
• Respect privacy whilst maintaining a duty of care ensuring that living spaces are clean and safe
• Provide appropriate levels of personal care for children and young people with disabilities and complex needs, including bathing, toileting, dressing, changing and feeding as appropriate
• Ensure that all records are accurate, up to date and GDPR compliant
• Manage complex and challenging behaviour in an assertive, restorative and sensitive manner
• Work to reduce the likelihood that a child/young person becomes criminalised, encouraging restorative approaches and outcomes
• Day-to-day management including deployment of staff ensuring appropriate cover in the home
• Responsibility for the home in the absence of the Registered Manager and Deputy Manager commensurate to the grade
• Lead and participate in the planning and delivery of opportunities for of young people
• Supervision and appraisal of staff in line with associated policies and procedures, including participation in recruitment, selection, induction, training and support processes as required
• Administer and record prescribed and other medication and supervise others in this activity in line with Medication Policy and Procedure
• Provide reports, minutes, maintain records, attend, and chair meetings and reviews as required.
• The hours of work are primarily determined by the needs of the service and are worked on a rota basis and include weekends and Bank Holidays. There may be a need to undertake sleeping-in duties as required
• Maintain a close working relationship with colleagues, other council directorates, service users, carers, external agencies and the wider public
• Be flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required, commensurate to grade
• Participate in appraisal, training and development activities to ensure up-to-date knowledge and skills
• Improve own practice through observation, evaluation, discussion and development programmes
• Work collaboratively with colleagues, knowing when to seek help and advice
• Contribute to the overall ethos, work and aims of the service by attending relevant meetings, training days and events as requested
• Be aware of and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures such as child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person
• Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all by working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding and promoting the values, standards and equal opportunities of Leeds City Council
• Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment or victimisation and any form of abuse of equal opportunities, ensuring compliance with relevant policies and procedures
• The postholder is expected to work within the parameters of the council’s flexibility protocol
• The duties outlined are not meant as an exhaustive list and will also comprise any other duties within the spirit of the post commensurate with the job evaluation outcome for this post

Qualifications

• To work in this role you must hold at minimum NVQ/QCF Diploma Level 3 in Residential Child Care, as well as the QFC Leadership for Health and Social Care and Children and Young People’s Services Level 5. If you do not hold this qualification we will fund you to study for it. You must complete the qualification within a reasonable period of starting work, normally 3 years. Failure to achieve the QFC Leadership for Health and Social Care and Children and Young People’s Services Level 5 will prevent you from continuing in this post.

Essential requirements

It is essential that the candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post. Candidates will only be shortlisted for interview if they can demonstrate that they meet all the essential requirements.

• Able and willing to travel and work flexibly across different work locations including providing support to children living within family settings as appropriate
• Able and willing to work on a rota basis and change work patterns as reasonably required, including undertaking sleep-ins, early mornings, late evenings, weekends and bank holidays
  Able to build relationships and actively engage with individual and groups of children and young people
• Able to build relationships and communicate effectively with a wide range of people
• Able to accurately maintain manual and digital records in accordance with the requirements of GDPR
• Able to use initiative to adapt to changing circumstances and develop solutions to issues
• Able to demonstrate skills in managing conflict and aggression using de-escalation techniques
• Able to take a lead role, manage, plan, deploy staff, follow procedure and maintain records
• Able to make assessments, formulate and facilitate care plans and present observations and reports on young people
• Able to lead in the planning, implementation and evaluation of group activities and individual work
• NVQ/QCF Diploma Level 3 in Residential Child Care
• QFC Leadership Health and Social Care and Children and Young People’s Services Level 5; if you do not hold this qualification you must complete it within a reasonable period, normally 3 years after starting work (we fund the course)
• Of relevant legislation, guidance, policies and the ability to interpret and apply them consistently
• Understanding of child and adolescent growth and development
• Principles of risk assessment and management, child protection and safeguarding
• Understanding of responsibilities in terms of health and safety, security, confidentiality and data protection
• Of the needs of looked after children and the importance of advocacy for children and young people
• Good standard of literacy and numeracy
• Basic computer literacy and of the use of Microsoft packages
• Recent experience of working with young people or vulnerable adults who may have emotional or behavioural difficulties, in either a paid or voluntary capacity
• Of supervision of staff, personal and team development and training
• Be physically fit enough to carry out all requirements of the role including the use of Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) to manage challenging behaviour as required

Essential behavioural and other characteristics

• Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours and codes of conduct.
• Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Best City Ambition of Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth and Zero Carbon
• Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council equality and diversity policies.
• Carry out all duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health and Safety Policies.
• Willingness to actively participate in training and development activities.
• Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
• Participate in appraisal, training, and development activities.
• Be aware of and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures.
• Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, equality and diversity policies of Leeds City Council.
• Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, reporting any concerns to the appropriate person.
• The council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters.