Salary range: £34,998 - £37,134 (pro - rata) p.a. inc. London weighting
Contract: Permanent - Part Time
Hours of work: 25 hours per week
Location: Ade Adepitan Short Break Centre

Join Us — Be a voice for the vulnerable and make your impact.

The Role

Ade Adepitan Short Break Centre offers something truly special — no two days, children, or care needs are the same. Working in a respite setting means supporting a vibrant mix of children and young people with different personalities, communication styles, and abilities.

You’ll play a key role in helping children build independence skills and preparing them for adulthood. This includes leading engaging activities, taking part in regular community outings (supported by our on-site minibus), and carrying out key-working sessions that ensure each child’s wishes, feelings and preferences shape their support.

You’ll work closely with parents, schools, CAMHS and other professionals to provide consistent, holistic care that meets each child’s individual needs.

The role offers hands-on experience across a broad range of complex needs, including autism, profound disabilities, and specialist medical routines such as gastrostomy care (full training provided). This variety makes the work highly rewarding and provides a level of professional development rarely found in traditional residential settings.

If you’re looking to build a long-term career in children’s services, safeguarding, disability care or education, this role is an exceptional foundation.

What to Expect in the Role

Shift Pattern & Working Hours

You’ll work a long-week/short-week rota that supports consistency for children and balance for staff:

Morning shift: 7-12.00 or 7-14.30
Afternoon shift: 16.30-21.30 or 14.00-21.30
Short week: 3 days
Long week:5 days (including weekends)
Shift leaders finish at 10:00pm to hand over to the night team.

During school hours, staff complete key-working tasks such as paperwork, planning, meetings, school visits, home visits, and updating risk assessments.

Training & Development

We offer extensive face-to-face and online training, and staff are encouraged to continually develop their practice.

You’ll receive thorough training in the Positive Approach, with a strong focus on supporting autistic children and young people who may display behaviours of concern.

Team Culture

We’re a small, supportive, and family-friendly team.
The work can be demanding, but it’s highly rewarding — and you’ll have regular team meetings and reflective discussions to share ideas and learn from each other.

Supporting Children & Young People

Our practice is centred around the needs and voices of the children:

Building independence skills and preparing for adulthood
Regular community outings and activities (supported by our own minibus)
Key-working sessions to capture each child’s wishes and feelings
Close work with parents, schools, CAMHS and wider professionals for consistent, holistic support

The Person

You’re someone who:

✨ Brings warmth, patience, and emotional intelligence
✨ Understands the unique needs of children with disabilities
✨ Can plan and lead engaging activities that spark joy
✨ Isn’t afraid of responsibility — including shift-leading
✨ Writes clearly and keeps accurate records
✨ Works in partnership with parents, schools, health professionals and social workers
✨ Values safeguarding, dignity, and person-centred care
✨ Can work flexibly on a rota including evenings, weekends and sleep-ins
✨ Is willing to learn specialist skills — including gastrostomy feeding, suctioning and behaviour support (full training provided)

You'll also hold (or be working towards) a Level 4 Diploma in Residential Childcare or equivalent.

If you have genuine passion for improving the lives of disabled children and a commitment to high-quality care, we want to hear from you.

Join us. Be a voice for the vulnerable and make your impact!

Ready to Apply?

Click the “Apply Now” button below. Make sure to include:

A supporting statement showing how you meet the Person Specification
A CV if you wish (CVs alone won’t be accepted)

Closing date: Thursday 12 March 2026 (23:59)

Why Work With Us?

At Brent, we don’t just offer jobs—we offer careers that matter. Here’s what you can expect:

Up to 33 days annual leave (depending on length of service) plus bank holidays
Excellent pension with generous employer contributions (LGPS)
Hybrid and flexible working options available for most roles
Supportive family-friendly policies for parent, guardians, and carers
Health and wellbeing support, including access to eye test support and a 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme
Financial support such as education sessions, childcare deposit loans, and season ticket loans
Travel perks including affordable parking nearby, a Cycle to Work scheme, and great onsite facilities
Learning and development opportunities to help you grow your career
Access to My Brent Rewards with exclusive discounts on shopping, travel, leisure, and entertainment

Our Commitment to You

At Brent, we’re proud to reflect the community we serve. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and encourage you to share your identity in our diversity survey.

We’re also a Disability Confident Employer—we guarantee an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. If you need any reasonable adjustments in the recruitment process, just let us know.

This role is subject to an Enhanced DBS check and employment clearances in line with our safeguarding commitments.

Additional Information

If you are interested in applying for this job, please start by clicking the "Apply Now" button below. You must provide a supporting statement as part of your application that clearly shows how you meet the criteria on the Person Specification. We will accept a CV in support of your application, however, you should still provide a supporting statement.

Brent Council values the diversity of its community and aims to have a workforce that reflects this and therefore encourage applications from all sections of the community. We positively encourage all applicants to self-identify their characteristics in the diversity survey section in the application.

We are committed to safer recruitment and safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Applicants should be aware that posts working with children, young people and vulnerable adults are subject to an Enhanced DBS check as well as other employment clearances.

The information we collect from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas and your data protection rights, can be found here.

Brent has a positive approach to flexible working.

As a disability confident employer Brent welcomes applications from people with all disabilities, including “non-visible” disabilities and mental health conditions. We will interview any disabled applicant who meets the essential criteria. If you require reasonable adjustments to be made to any part of the recruitment process due to your disability, please contact.

Job Description