Key Worker

Position: Residential Key Worker within a Registered Children Home

Safe Places are recruiting for several residential Key Workers for our 2 bedded EBD children home within the Downpatrick area.

This position relates to working within a residential setting and working with potential complex traumatised young people that are aged between 7-17, that display challenging pain-based behaviours.

Safe Places model of care is based on providing a small, stable and consistent team to help achieve positive outcomes for young people, within a domestic, safe and nurturing home. Our children home works within the objectives and aims that are set out within its statement of purpose (SOP) and Safe Place policies and procedures. 

This advertised position relates to shift work and the salary includes a requirement to undertake sleepovers within the home. Our children home is looking to appoint skilled, qualified, resilient, compassionate and empathetic staff that can help continue to make positive changes and outcomes for young people.

Annual Salary: £34,000 per a year and opportunities for additional pay-out of extra hours worked.

Employment Type: Full Time Position

Reports To: Registered Manager 

Location:  Downpatrick area.  

Benefits with our Charity: 

• Career pathways towards Key Worker 2, Deputy Manager and Registered Manager Positions (Depending on Qualifications). 
• An induction period to help with being embedded into the home and the team. As well as an opportunity to complete shadow shifts.
• Flexible working and a planned structured roster. Supporting team members work life balance.  
• Paid 3 weeks induction training that includes; Therapeutic Crisis Intervention Training (TCI), Health and Safety, Fire Safety, Safeguarding, Medicine Management, Trauma and Attachment Training etc. 
• Ongoing commitment to training and your professional development, that includes roles and responsibility checklist within the first 6 months of employment.
• Keyworker assigned a Professional Development Plan after successful 6-month probation period.
• Internal reflective supervision, ongoing coaching, professional development plans, additional support requests and a team ethos.
• Access to 24 hour on-call support, 7 days a week with a trained TCI Post Crisis Response staff member. 
• Access to our Triple Tier support, that include external counselling service offered to all employees (paid for by the charity). 
• A new model of working regarding providing a child centred focused therapeutic residential homes to young people in the UK.
• Be a part of Safe Places journey and evolvement to be one of the leading therapeutic residential providers across the UK. 
• 33 days of paid Annual Leave
• Monitoring of staff members work life balance through hour’s bank system.
• 6 months anniversary bonus of £250.00, this is paid every six months after successful completion of 6-month probation period.
• 10% Annual Leave Loading

Required Weekly Hours: 

• 32 shift hours and 2 sleepovers Per a Week (Hours Bank System) 
• 6 Non-Contact Hours (Allocated time for Keyworker Duties)
• 2 At Calls to be completed on a weekly basis (additional hours worked paid out at high rates)

Shift Patterns: 

• A regular shift is 24 hours long. This consists of 16 hours awake working time and 8 hours paid sleepover period (1 Sleepover).
• Two shifts to be completed every week and opportunity to add to your Hour Bank System.
• Opportunity to work additional shifts and seek pay out of additional hours.  

Why work for a Charity like Safe Places for Children UK

• The organisation values a small and stable team with a consistently calm and positive framework that can help support vulnerable traumatised young people to form attachments and feel safe.
• A focus is on the quality of care to the young people and that we provide small homely environments for no more than 2 young people.  
• Effectively assisting the child to gain increased independence and to explore their behaviours in difficult times and be willing to try some more positive coping strategies – a lengthy and challenging but very rewarding journey 
• A goal is always to see the child make progress that will help prepare them for their future transition into family-based placement, family reunification, group setting or independent living arrangements 
• The importance of understanding that the children’s behaviours are coping skills and our focus is more on what’s lying beneath the behaviour. The need to respond to behaviours in a way that role models an ability to remain calm, hopeful, caring, consistent, respectful and understanding of others (as opposed to reacting emotionally) 
• Collaboration is needed to support the child across the various areas of their life (i.e. protective services, health services, counselling services, educational facilities).
• Ongoing support provided to team members on shift and constant access to 24/7 on call support for urgent matters. Support provided to staff through TCI Post Crisis Response and Reflective Supervision.
• Opportunities to coach and develop other team members within your home and have an overall responsibility for leading your shift as a Keyworker.

Essential Criteria 

• A minimum 2 years' experience working with traumatised children and young people that have displayed challenging and pain-based behaviours;
• A minimum Level 3 Diploma within a relevant subject discipline;
• Demonstrate a high level of internal and external report writing;
• Demonstrate a high level of engagement and professionalism with all agencies and people associated with the registered home;
• Demonstrate the ability to be “At Call” or “On Call” for a minimum two days a week per a service or a one day a week per two registered service. 
• Hold a UK driving licence for more than 1 Year and no more than three penalty points;
• Be able to obtain either a positive working with children check such as an Enhance Access NI (Northern Ireland)
• To be willing to register with or already registered with the Northern Ireland Social Care Council either as part 1 or part 2 registration (Northern Ireland).

Desirable Criteria

• A degree level in a relevant subject discipline; 
• Be flexible around roster changes and meeting the needs of the registered service in relation to picking up shifts at short notice;
• Ability to demonstrate the organisations values and mission statement;
• Ability to have shown the use of own initiative and setting a high standard.

Application Process 

• All applicants are to apply directly through our website; England and Northern Ireland Vacancies — Safe Places for Children UK
• A detailed copy of the Job Description can be located and downloaded from: https://safeplacesforchildren.co.uk/vacancies

Face to Face Interviews

• Interviews for successful applicants who have been shortlisted will commence the week starting the 24 and the 31 March 2025.

Induction Training Dates

• Successful candidates will commence compulsory three-week Induction training starting on the 05 May 2025 (induction training paid at a casual rate).

Safe Places will be developing a waiting list for any future Residential Key Worker positions within Northern Ireland for any applicants that have not been successful at the interview stage.

These applicants will be kept on file and be added to a waiting list for a period of 6 months post their interview. Safe Places may decide to contact and make offer of employments to these applicants soon.