Therapeutic Care Practitioner (Support Worker/Mentor)

Therapeutic Care Practitioner (Support Worker/Mentor)

Essential: Full Manual Driving Licence; Right to Work in UK (unfortunately we are unable to currently offer Sponsorship).

Please note: We support both boys and girls and are committed to building a diverse and well-balanced team. We strongly welcome applications from male candidates who are passionate about supporting and mentoring teenagers, as we strive for a positive gender mix among our staff.

We have an exceptional opportunity for new staff to join us at our growing children’s home in Stamford (PE9), South Lincolnshire. This is an exciting opportunity for enthusiastic individuals to work with us to support and mentor young people to achieve amazing things.

As a Therapeutic Care Practitioner, you will be working with our lovely Registered Manager, Anj. You will also work very closely with our friendly, experienced and knowledgeable existing team to support three amazing teenagers.

You will be in charge of the day-to-day care support and care of each teenager, ensuring they are well looked after and happy. In this role, no day will look exactly the same – one day you may be planning and joining activities, excursions, and holidays, the next you might be supporting a young person to visit their family or attend their school parents’ evening.

Working with Skylight Homes offers you the opportunity to truly make a difference to young people’s lives. We are looking for someone who can truly embed our values:

We are Passionate & Ambitious – we strongly believe in doing what we do, to the best of our ability – even if nobody is watching, and even when it’s not easy! We set our sights high and challenge ourselves. We share our interests, experiences, and aspirations to help us collectively grow and develop.

We Celebrate Every Success – some days you get the big wins, and some days you only get the small wins – we believe it’s important to celebrate both. Life can be tricky sometimes, and when it is, celebrating the small things keeps us happy, focussed, and motivated. Celebrating doesn’t necessarily mean having a party every night! It means acknowledging went things went well, how hard someone tried, praising strength of character, or even saying to someone “I’m really proud of you”.

We Are Playful & Fun – Charlie Chaplin is credited as saying “a day without laughter is a day wasted”. At Skylight 21, we make it our mission to laugh every day, because we believe laughter is good for the soul. Having fun and being light-hearted is important for our minds and bodies, and fostering a sense of playfulness helps us to feel relaxed, safe, and close to those around us.

We Are Accepting & Respectful – Every person at Skylight 21 has something unique and interesting to bring to the table – we embrace individuality and diversity. Furthermore, we accept each child’s inner life/perception without judgement – this is at the core of a child’s sense of safety. We help each other practically and emotionally, however we can. We respect differences of taste, opinion, and experience and admire people for their individuality. We are kind, polite and treat everyone the way we’d like to be treated, too. We look after each other’s stuff and protect anything that belongs to our home.

We Are Curious & Reflective – we always seek to understand the reason or meaning behind a particular behaviour or emotion. By applying this curiosity without judgement towards ourselves and others, we can begin to reflect upon the reasons for responding or behaving in the way that we do. By reflecting, we can process our experiences and learn from them.

We Are Empathetic – we understand the importance of empathy, and ensure we are demonstrating it in all our interactions and approaches. Empathy allows us to bond with other people and deepen our connection with them – this will involve understanding others’ perspectives, feeling what other people are feeling and showing compassion toward others. Being connected to other people in this way is great for our wellbeing and happiness, expands our world view and ensures we are proactively meeting the needs of those around us.

Role and Responsibilities of a Therapeutic Care Practitioner:

Reporting to our Deputy Manager and/or Team Leader, you will provide close support to our young people to help them complete daily routines such as meals, activities, schoolwork and bedtimes.
Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of each young person, responding to their needs and behaviours in a positive, supportive and therapeutic manner.
Offering emotional support to children who may have experienced trauma or adversity.
Promote positive relationships and a nurturing environment – both within the home and externally.
Facilitating fun and developmental activities both in and out of the home.
Demonstrating resiliency, a positive outlook and a ‘can do’ attitude.
Working in partnership with external agencies.
Actively participating in our ongoing development programmes for staff.
Demonstrating the ability to see beyond any behaviours of concern, focussing instead on the reason for their occurrence and what the behaviour is attempting to communicate (e.g. distress)

Key qualities we look for:

One of the most important things to us is who you are – we are looking for someone with a fun, accepting, curious and empathetic personality, who demonstrates integrity and the ability to think creatively/flexibly.
Experience of working with children, particularly with those with complex support needs is not essential but highly beneficial.
Ability to understand and share the feelings of children who have experienced adversity, and a clear ability to demonstrate kindness, patience and a non-judgemental attitude in all interactions.
Capability to manage the emotional demands of caring for children who may present with distress behaviour, and an ability to maintain calmness in stressful situations.
Experience in managing and de-escalating challenging or distress behaviours, in a trauma informed and non-restrictive manner (wherever possible).
Familiarity with safeguarding procedures and experience identifying and responding to signs of abuse, neglect and exploitation.
Awareness of child development, especially in the context of trauma, adversity, autism, learning disability, etc.
Experience working as part of a multi-disciplinary team, including collaboration with parents, social workers, teachers and healthcare providers.
Experience working with children and colleagues from diverse backgrounds, a person willing to celebrate/embrace cultural differences, and an ability to provide child-centred, respectful care.
Clear and effective communication with young people, colleagues, families and other professionals.
Ability to adapt to changing situations, and flexibility to work different shifts, including nights, weekends and holidays.
Knowledge and understanding of Positive Behavioural Support and Trauma Informed Practice (preferred).
A full, valid, UK driving licence and access to your own transport and willingness to drive the home vehicle as and when required (preferred)
Relevant qualifications such as Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare, or a willingness to work towards.

Why choose a career with Skylight Homes?

We are a new business with exciting ambitions; we ready and willing to invest in and develop committed, ambitious individuals who join us on our journey.
We understand the importance of valuing our staff and offer exciting opportunities/career progression.
We value respect and adaptability, we have fun, and we enjoy working collaboratively, meaning that together we make a real difference to the lives of the children we look after.
We celebrate the smallest of achievements at Skylight 21, which helps us accomplish bigger outcomes for our people and communities.

Join us and you can expect:

Annual salary increases**
Annual Leave: You will receive 33 days per annum, plus an extra day off on your birthday!
£500 refer a friend bonus.
Additional leave at 2 years and 5 years’ service.
An industry leading induction and welcome programme.
Auto-enrolment into our Company pension.
Recognition Awards: Our quarterly ‘Skylight Stars’ Awards celebrate success and reward outstanding staff with incentives such as gift cards.
Your Wellbeing: We invest in our staff with a health cash plan from BHSF, meaning you get up to 100% cash back on dental fees, glasses, contacts and even laser eye surgery, and affordably chiropractic care and physiotherapy to keep you moving freely. You will also have access to a 24/7, 365 day a year counselling and GP helpline as well as reduced prescription costs.
Life Assurance: of 2 times annual salary.

Are you ready to join the Skylight team?

If you would like to apply for this role, please click ‘Apply Now’.
If you have any questions, please contact our Responsible Individual Jilly on jilly.roberts@skylight21homes.com
We are an equal opportunities employer and have a commitment to safeguarding children. We follow Safer Recruitment practices. The successful candidate will be subject to necessary background checks, governed by regulation, including obtaining an Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring service (DBS).

Shift Patterns:

Usually 07:00 – 22:00 (paid at hourly rate), followed by a sleep-in shift in our comfy staff bedrooms before handover at 07:00 and home time at 07:30. This shift pattern means that you can work ‘full time’ hours across an average of 2.5. days per week, plus get extra pay for sleep-ins!
Staff usually work one weekend day over three weekends.
Shifts are not back to back – this ensures staff have sufficient rest and family/personal time. We occasionally also do shorter shifts, i.e. early shifts and late shifts.