RESIDENTIAL CHILDCARE OFFICER

All our Residential Children's Homes are part of Cardiff Social Services and deliver high quality care for young people between the ages of 11 - 17.

The homes are in walking distance of local shops, recreational centres & local amenities and in close proximity of the city centre, accessible by all major traffic routes in and out of Cardiff.

Our teams work in a trauma informed and child centred way by building positive connections and trust with our young people who may display social, emotional and behavioural difficulties due to adverse trauma and supporting them with their personal goals and outcomes.

At the core of our work lies:

• Providing immediate support, ensuring we offer a warm and welcoming environment right from the start.
• Recognising and promoting young people's individuality, uniqueness and diverse needs.
• Working with the young people to develop and strengthen positive relationships.
• Providing a safe, nurturing, positive and fun environment.
• Acting in the best interests of our children looked after, in the same way that a good parent would act for their own child.
• Where appropriate, support the young people to maintain and strengthen relationships with families, siblings and other people they identify as significant to them.
• Being able to offer support for young people in immediate need due to family breakdowns.

Working hours and generous enhancements:

• As a Residential Childcare Officer, you'll be part of a dedicated team providing round-the-clock care in a safe, supportive, and nurturing environment. This dynamic role offers a varied working pattern, including evenings, weekends, and sleep-in shifts.
• There are generous enhancements paid for evenings, weekend working, Bank Holidays and sleeping in duties, additional to your salary. You will receive an additional salary enhancement of 30% after 8pm weekdays, 50% weekends and £40.80 per sleep in.
• If the attachment to a rota does not work for you, and you are looking more for an ad-hoc / only a few shifts pattern, please get in touch and we can look at an agency route together.

About the job

We're looking for passionate, caring individuals who:

• want to help children and young people thrive.
• Love making a difference - you'll help ensure children and young people receive high-quality, personalised support throughout their time in our homes.
• Celebrate achievements - you'll support them in reaching positive outcomes and milestones, big and small.
• Build meaningful connections - you'll form positive, appropriate relationships that help young people feel safe and valued.
• Bring energy and enthusiasm - you'll be there to share in the fun and excitement of each step in their development.
• Are open to learning and growing - you'll share your experiences, skills, and knowledge while always keeping children and young people at the heart of everything you do.
• Can adapt to changing needs - you'll work on a shift pattern that may vary depending on what's best for the young people and the service.

As part of your role, you will be based at one specific Children's Home. However, from time to time you may be required to work in other homes within Cardiff.

What We Are Looking For From You

Every day is different, and you will face new challenges, we need staff members with a can-do attitude, that are willing to go above and beyond for the young people in their care.

We need our team to help recognise and promote young people's individuality, uniqueness and diverse needs whilst providing a nurturing and positive environment.

As a Residential Childcare Officer, you will:

• Play an essential part in providing direct care and effective support to young people to enable them to achieve positive outcomes in line with their individualised childcare personal plan.
• Participate fully in the caring and supported living environment within the home which will involve household cleaning, maintenance and meal preparation.
• Help young people get around to events, activities, education, appointments, and meetings.
• Actively support the education plans for children, which may include homework, revision, project work and other educational activities.
• Encourage reading and intellectual development of young people by creating a positive environment for learning and support creating positive links with schools, attending events, activities, and parent's evenings as appropriate.

In return for your skills and commitment you will receive:

• Competitive annual leave entitlements and pension plans.
• Help and support to complete:
  • All Wales Induction Framework (Social care Wales)
  • Level 2 Children and Young People (Core) qualification
  • Level 3 Children and Young People (Practice) qualification
• Continual professional development and progression within the service is encouraged and supported along with regular training opportunities.
• Training opportunities for Welsh language learners to further their skills.
• Formal and informal supervision is provided.
• Access to staff well-being services.

Shortlisting/ Interview and start of the role

The interview will be for a whole morning or afternoon (2.5 hrs) and will consist of a group task followed by a written task and a one-to-one formal interview with the panel, which will consist of our residential management and deputies.

We offer an induction week, where the successful candidates will meet Senior Managers, talk through the role and responsibilities, learn about incident writing and will include group activities. There also will be time for online learning modules to be completed.

If you would like an informal discussion around these opportunities, please in the first instance, contact Laura White via e-mail on

Additional information

Please refer to job description and person specification when applying for the above posts.

This post is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service Enhanced check.

Safeguarding and Child Protection are key priorities for the Council. We aim to support children and vulnerable adults to ensure they are as safe as they can possibly be. Our services and schools are committed to ensuring the safety and protection of all children and vulnerable adults, and will take action to safeguard their well-being, and acknowledge that children and vulnerable adults have a right to protection. This is supported in the general ethos of the Council and all schools.

This vacancy is suitable for post share.

We welcome applications in both English and Welsh. Applications received in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than English applications.

We understand you might use AI and other resources for your application; however, please ensure all information you provide is factually accurate, truthful, original and does not include ideas or work that is not your own.

Please note the Council does not accept CVs. When completing the supporting information section of your application, please ensure you refer to the below located on our website :

Important information you need read in order to complete your application:-

Job Category Social Services - Childrens

Working Pattern/Contract Type Full Time Permanent