Children's Residential Practitioner (Waking Night)
Southwark Council
Nurture Belonging. Empower Growth. Help Children Flourish.
We are incredibly ambitious for the children and young people of Southwark - are you?
It’s an exciting time to join Southwark Council as we prepare to open our very first children’s home. We believe that, wherever possible, children should grow up within the borough they are connected to - close to the important people in their lives, such as family and friends. This belief has been a key driver in developing our own children’s residential service right here in Southwark.
Our Vision:
We aim to transform the lives of our children by developing meaningful, nurturing relationships, consistently delivering high-quality, personalised care and enabling every child to flourish.
About the Role:
As a Children’s Residential Practitioner (Waking Night), you will play a vital role in bringing our vision to life. We need your passion and energy to help ensure our children feel loved, safe, happy, healthy and empowered to achieve their aspirations.
In this role, you’ll provide person-centred care based on individual support plans, ensuring each child’s needs are met with dignity and respect. Your responsibilities will include maintaining a safe and clean home environment, supporting with meal preparation and domestic duties, administering and recording medication in line with policy, and ensuring health and safety standards are met.
You’ll also contribute to care planning, goal setting, record-keeping, and provide clear handovers to colleagues. Outreach work (e.g. hospital or police station visits), attending training and meetings, and actively participating in supervision and appraisal processes are also part of the role.
Waking night shifts typically run from 21:45 to 07:45, covering a 10-hour shift. Working hours and shift patterns will be scheduled based on the operational needs of the service. We are currently recruiting for 1 x 10 hour per week position, equivalent to one shift per week. There may also be opportunities to take on additional hours—for example, to cover annual leave or staff training.
Please note: working patterns / hours may be subject to change.
This post requires a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check at Enhanced - Adults' and Children's (Barred) level.
Contact Information:
For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Ann Simpson (Registered Manager) at ann.simpson@southwark.gov.uk.
Additional Information:
- Applicants should ideally have an NVQ Level 3 Residential Childcare qualification (or equivalent) or have a commitment to complete the NVQ level 3 within 24 months in accordance with statutory requirements.
- Hours of work, 10 hours per week (working patterns / hours may be subject to change).
- Permanent
Benefits and more information:
In your role, we want you to feel supported, challenged and rewarded. You will benefit from our family-friendly policies including flexible working, home working, and a local government pension scheme, plus many other staff benefits. You will join a motivated, driven and supportive team that strives for excellence and values its members. You will also be part of a successful and high-achieving development team that is making a real difference to the lives of residents in the borough. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Staff Benefits page.
How will we support you:
To support your introduction into the organisation and role, we offer a comprehensive welcome package, including induction, training, supervision, and ongoing support.
We want you to have a clear understanding of what we expect from you, and how we will support you as a valued member of our team.
We have a strong commitment to excellence and look forward to working together to achieve it.
About You:
We are looking for candidates with a strong commitment to making a positive impact on children and young people’s lives. You should have relevant childcare qualifications or be willing to obtain them, a good understanding of child development, safeguarding, and person-centred care. You will be dedicated to working inclusively and collaboratively within a team to provide a safe and supportive environment where children can thrive.
To be considered you will:
- Ideally have an NVQ Level 3 Residential Childcare qualification (or equivalent) or have a commitment to complete the NVQ level 3 within 24 months in accordance with statutory requirements
- Knowledge of child development and safeguarding practice.
- Significant experience working with children and young people, particularly in residential settings.
- Ability to work effectively as part of a team with good communication skills.
Commitment to equality, diversity, and person-centred care.
About Southwark:
We are the largest local authority social landlord in London, managing 55,000 homes lived in by 40% of Southwark’s residents. We are home to over 18,300 businesses including iconic London venues and social enterprises and we have a young, diverse and growing population.
At Southwark we are committed to making our borough just and fair and are taking positive action to tackle inequalities. Our residents and communities are our greatest asset and the passion we have for Southwark is shared by millions of Londoners who enjoy our outstanding cultural offer, use our hospitals and attend our universities. Our refreshed borough plan and focus on Southwark Stands Together, (which is our work with Southwark’s communities and the council’s staff to tackle racism, injustice and inequality) underpins all that we do.
Recruitment Timeline
- Advert close date: 11:59pm on Monday 4th May 2026
- Shortlisting date: Tuesday 5th May 2026.
- Interview date: Tuesday 12th May 2026.
The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
Guaranteed Interview Scheme:
As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:
• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care, or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition
We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together programme. We particularly welcome applications from members of the Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.
Attachments