Residential Support Worker

Ready for a New Challenge? Help Shape Brighter Futures for Children and Young People
Do you have a passion for supporting children and young people to overcome challenges, build resilience, and achieve positive outcomes? Are you committed to providing safe, nurturing, and relationship-based care? If so, we would love to hear from you.

We are looking for a Residential Children & Young People's Worker to join our dedicated team within an Emotional Well-being Home in Leicestershire. This is a full-time, permanent position offering the opportunity to make a genuine difference in the lives of children and young people.

Our home provides a safe, stable, and nurturing environment for children and young people aged 8–18 who may have experienced trauma, loss, disrupted attachments, or other complex life experiences. We support a small number of young people at any one time, enabling us to provide highly individualised care and meaningful relationships that promote emotional well-being, confidence, independence, and long-term positive outcomes.

Our practice is rooted in trauma-informed and relationship-based approaches. We believe that every child deserves to feel safe, valued, listened to, and supported to achieve their full potential.

Key Responsibilities
As a Residential Children & Young People's Worker, you will:

Build positive, trusting, and nurturing relationships with children and young people.
Support children and young people with their emotional well-being, daily routines, education, independence skills, and personal development.
Actively contribute to the creation of a safe, structured, and homely environment.
Work alongside families, social workers, education providers, health professionals, and other partners to support positive outcomes.
Participate in key-working sessions, care planning, and review processes.
Promote and safeguard the welfare of children and young people at all times.
Complete accurate, professional, and timely recordings and reports.
Support the day-to-day running of the home, including meal preparation, household tasks, and community activities.
Be a positive role model, helping children and young people develop confidence, resilience, and life skills.
What We're Looking For
To be successful in this role, you will be able to demonstrate:

A genuine commitment to improving the lives of children and young people.
The ability to build positive and meaningful relationships with children, young people, and colleagues.
An understanding of safeguarding, child protection, and professional boundaries.
Resilience, emotional intelligence, and the ability to remain calm under pressure.
Strong communication and teamwork skills.
A willingness to learn, reflect, and continually develop your practice.
A Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare, or a commitment to achieving this within the required timeframe.
Flexibility to work shifts, including sleep-ins, weekends, and bank holidays.
Previous experience working with children and young people is desirable but not essential. We recognise that people bring valuable transferable skills from a wide range of backgrounds and are committed to supporting the right candidates to develop within the role.

Why Join Barnardo's?
Barnardo's is the UK's largest children's charity and has been supporting children, young people, and families for over 150 years. We are committed to ensuring every child has the opportunity to thrive, regardless of their background or circumstances.

Working within our residential services offers the opportunity to:

Make a lasting difference to children's lives.
Receive ongoing training, development, and professional support.
Develop your career within one of the UK's leading children's organisations.
Be part of a supportive and values-driven team.
Work within a service that places relationships, safeguarding, and positive outcomes at the centre of everything we do.
Our residential services are delivered in partnership with Leicestershire County Council, providing innovative and high-quality care for some of the county's most vulnerable children and young people.

While your primary base will be in Leicestershire, there may occasionally be opportunities to support other services within the county.

When completing your application, please refer to your skills, knowledge, and experience in relation to the Person Specification, Job Description, and Additional Information document. This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described.

Please note that due to the high volume of applications received for some posts, this advert may close before the advertised closing date. We therefore encourage interested applicants to apply as soon as possible.

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme

Disability Confident

About Disability Confident

A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident .