Job title: Assistant Residential Practitioner
Grade: B3 £26,403 – £28,142
Hours: Average 37 per week
Contract: Permanent
Location: Adel Beck Secure Children’s Home
Are you passionate about enabling young people to improve their life chances?
Are you resilient and positive, a good listener and a team player?
We are looking for people like you to join our team as Assistant Residential Practitioner.
At Adel Beck we care for 24 young people aged 10 to 18. They are referred to us following court proceedings, being placed on remand, or sentenced to a period of detention, or because they need to be placed in secure accommodation for their own safety or the safety of others. Assistant Residential Practitioners have a central role in the daily lives and long‑term outlook for the vulnerable young people at Adel Beck, who may have complex needs and display challenging behaviours.
Our goal is to inspire change in attitudes, behaviours, learning and emotions. We want to enable every young person to grow up and make a positive contribution as part of their family and wider community, safe from risk‑taking behaviour, exploitation and offending.
We are committed to the ambition of Child Friendly Leeds. We want Leeds to be a city where all children are safe, happy, healthy, do well at school, fulfil their potential and grow up to be active citizens with voice and influence.
Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.
About You
We are looking for experienced, enthusiastic, adaptable candidates with the personal qualities to connect with and inspire vulnerable children and young people. We use a therapeutic model of support and intervention and will provide full training.
You Must Have
- Excellent communication and listening skills
- Positivity, resilience and emotional intelligence
- Flexibility to work shifts including weekends, bank holidays and nights
Experience And Qualifications
- Good standard of literacy and numeracy
- Basic computer literacy
- A commitment to achieving relevant qualifications within a reasonable period (we pay the course fees)
- Experience supporting children or young people with additional emotional/behavioural issues – this may be from employment, volunteering, student placements or personal life
About The Role
As an Assistant Residential Practitioner at Adel Beck, you will play an active role in the daily lives of our young people, using a restorative approach to support them in their personal growth and learning.
Responsibilities
- Help to create a safe, stimulating and caring environment for young people
- Build trusting relationships, understanding young people’s needs and interests
- Provide primary care responsive to individual needs
- Manage behaviour and develop strategies for longer‑term progress
- Plan and organise activities to enhance young people’s day‑to‑day experiences and for special occasions
- Nurture each child’s personal development, their education and wider learning
- Work directly with young people in accordance with agreed individual programmes and strategies (e.g. anger management, self‑esteem)
- Provide good communication, written and oral, and advise on relevant reports
- Support young people to maximise benefit from education
- Support young people when transferring to other settings
- Consult meaningfully with young people and their families
- Teach young people skills needed for successful living after care
- Work with other staff on care plans, risk assessments and administrative tasks
- Attend and participate in meetings, raising relevant issues
- Adhere to policies, procedures and team decisions
- Maintain and produce accurate shift records and reports
- Participate in training and development activities as necessary
- Undertake other duties appropriate to the post
- Promote and support Leeds City Council’s equal opportunities and anti‑oppressive policies
Qualifications
NVQ/QCF, Health & Social Care (Children & Young People) Level 3 or work toward and achieve within 12 months of appointment
Essential requirements
- Ability to assess and evaluate the needs of young people and families
- Ability to work in a challenging and changing environment
- Ability to work with staff at all levels and liaise with other professionals
- Strong written and verbal skills (written exercise on day of interview)
- Flexibility to work shift basis, including weekends, bank holidays and sleeping‑in duties
- Ability to compile records and reports both paper‑based and electronic
- Knowledge of 1989 Children Act and other relevant legislation
- Knowledge of Looked‑after Children issues
- Understanding of young people’s right to confidentiality
- Experience with young people with emotional/behavioural difficulties in a paid or voluntary capacity
- Preparedness to prepare reports and continuous improvement commitment
- Understanding of Council’s Equal Opportunities policy
- Commitment to health and safety policies
- Willingness to participate in training and development activities
- Physical fitness to carry out all post duties, including use of Managing Actual and Potential Aggression
- Age 22 years of age or over (statutory requirement)
Desirable requirements
- Hold current driving licence
- Understanding of the Authority, its function and organisation
- Knowledge of child and adolescent growth and development, including abuse and child protection issues
- Flexible working in terms of changing hours of work, shifts and areas of work
- Knowledge of problems faced by disadvantaged groups
Benefits and working arrangements
- A competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
- Membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
- Flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements
- Funding for relevant qualifications and ongoing training opportunities
- A clear career path for progression into Residential Practitioner, Senior Practitioner and Management roles
- Range of staff benefits to boost wellbeing and financial wellbeing
Equality and diversity
We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from women, carers, veterans, LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care‑experienced people.
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