Waking night - Child Residential Support Worker

Waking Nights Children's Support Worker

Location: Wisbech, Cambridgeshire

£2,000 joining bonus and an attractive £29 160.00 Per annum salary!!!!

Supporting Young People Through the Night

Are you calm, dependable and compassionate, with the ability to remain alert and responsive throughout the night?

We are looking for a dedicated Waking Nights Children's Support Worker to join our team in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, supporting children and young people within a specialist residential home.

Working through the night, you’ll play an important role in maintaining a safe, secure and reassuring environment for young people while they sleep. You’ll be responsible for remaining awake and vigilant, completing regular welfare checks, responding to any concerns or incidents and providing appropriate support if a young person wakes or needs reassurance.

This role is particularly suited to someone who is naturally observant, patient and able to work independently while maintaining high standards of care and safeguarding.

We welcome applications from people with experience in Children's Residential Care, Residential Childcare, Children's Support Work, Care Work, Youth Work, Behaviour Support, Therapeutic Support, SEN or SEMH settings, Foster Care and Supported Accommodation. Experience supporting children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) is particularly relevant.

If you are reliable, emotionally resilient and committed to providing consistent care throughout the night, we would love to hear from you.

The Role

As a Waking Nights Children's Support Worker, you will be responsible for providing continuous overnight supervision and support within the residential home.

Your primary focus will be the safety, welfare and wellbeing of the young people throughout the night. You will remain awake and alert for the duration of your shift, carrying out scheduled welfare checks and responding appropriately to any needs, concerns or incidents that arise.

You’ll provide a calm and reassuring presence within the home, helping young people feel safe and supported if they wake during the night or experience difficulties.

The role also involves maintaining accurate records, completing relevant safety checks, keeping the home clean and presentable and ensuring that important information is communicated effectively to the day team during handover.

Key Responsibilities

Your responsibilities will include:

• Providing attentive and consistent overnight support to children and young people
• Remaining awake, alert and vigilant throughout the entire waking-night shift
• Maintaining a safe, secure and calm environment throughout the night
• Carrying out regular welfare checks in accordance with individual care plans and risk assessments
• Monitoring the wellbeing of young people and identifying any changes, concerns or potential risks
• Responding appropriately when a young person wakes, becomes distressed or requires support
• Providing reassurance and emotional support in a calm and professional manner
• Supporting children and young people experiencing emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD)
• Following individual care plans, risk assessments and agreed support strategies
• Responding appropriately to incidents, safeguarding concerns and emergencies
• Maintaining appropriate boundaries and using positive, relationship-based approaches
• Carrying out security, fire safety and other relevant overnight checks
• Ensuring the home remains safe, secure, clean and welcoming throughout the night
• Completing accurate night reports, daily records and incident documentation
• Recording welfare checks and any significant events in accordance with organisational procedures
• Completing a thorough handover to the incoming day team
• Communicating important information to colleagues, managers and relevant professionals
• Undertaking light household duties where appropriate during quieter periods
• Supporting the preparation of the home for the morning routine where required
• Following safeguarding procedures, organisational policies and relevant risk management processes
• Providing care in accordance with relevant regulations and standards governing children's residential homes

About You

You don't necessarily need to have worked specifically on waking nights before. We are interested in people who have the right experience, attitude and approach to provide high-quality overnight support.

Relevant backgrounds may include:

• Children's residential care
• Residential childcare
• Children's support work
• Youth work
• Social care
• Care roles involving children or young people
• Behaviour support
• SEN or SEMH settings
• Foster care
• Supported accommodation
• Therapeutic support

We are looking for someone who can demonstrate:

• Experience working with children or young people; previous children's residential experience is desirable
• The ability to remain awake, alert and attentive throughout overnight shifts
• A calm, patient and resilient approach
• Strong observation skills and the ability to recognise changes in behaviour or wellbeing
• Good communication and interpersonal skills
• An understanding of safeguarding, child protection and professional boundaries
• The ability to respond appropriately to challenging or unexpected situations
• Good written record-keeping and reporting skills
• The ability to work independently while also contributing effectively to a wider team
• A flexible, proactive and child-centred approach
• A full UK driving licence, which is desirable

Most importantly, you should genuinely care about the wellbeing of the young people you support. Overnight care requires consistency, patience, good judgement and the ability to provide reassurance even during challenging moments.

Waking Nights – Hours & Rota

This is a full-time residential waking-night position,

The role will involve:

• Overnight waking-night shifts
• Remaining awake and actively working throughout the shift
• Flexibility to meet the needs of the home and young people
• Occasional rota changes where required to maintain continuity of care

Waking nights are an important part of residential childcare. While the young people may be asleep for much of the night, your role is to remain present, vigilant and ready to respond whenever support is needed.

Your consistency can help provide young people with a secure environment where they know that someone is there to keep them safe.

What We Offer

In return, we offer:

£2,000 joining bonus and an attractive £29 160.00 Per annum salary!!!!

• A supportive and inclusive working environment
• Ongoing training and professional development
• Opportunities for career progression within a growing organisation
• The opportunity to build meaningful relationships with children and young people
• The opportunity to develop valuable experience within specialist residential childcare

Safeguarding & Safer Recruitment

The safety, welfare and protection of children and young people are at the centre of everything we do.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of every child and young person in our care. All recruitment will be conducted in line with appropriate safeguarding and safer recruitment procedures, with the necessary checks undertaken as part of the recruitment process.

This position is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. All shortlisted candidates will be required to disclose any convictions or cautions that are not protected under current filtering legislation.

All appointments are subject to robust safer recruitment procedures, including an Enhanced DBS check and satisfactory pre-employment checks.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Application question(s):

• Do you have access to your own vehicle?

Work Location: In person