Location : Canterbury
Service : Young UK Today – Dove Tree House
Responsible to : Registered Manager, Responsible Individual
Terms and Conditions
Hours : 40
Holidays (FTE) :28
Employment Status : Full Time
Probationary Period : 6 Months
Notice Period (weeks) : 3 Months
Disclosure : This position requires an enhanced DBS check.
Service
Established in May 2021, Young UK Today is the realisation of a vision by a dedicated team of proven and passionate care and support providers with nearly two decades of expertise in their chosen field of work. With a remarkable history of empowering the most vulnerable children and young people, in the area of Supported Accommodation, our founders and management team have been career long champions of positive change in the lives of those facing emotional and learning disabilties (LD) and complex needs.
We've always believed that early support can change the course of a young person's life. Having seen countless journeys through the care system, we recognised a need for a more nurturing, holistic approach. Our first established home, Dove Tree House was born from this vision, and we are committed to offering unwavering support to children and young people aged 8-17, providing them with a stable and loving environment within which to flourish and grow.
Children and young people placed in residential care are often admitted during their teenage years, a trend that continues to prevail in the UK. A significant proportion of these children and young people, aged 11-18, have undergone multiple placements, including various foster care experiences. It is their complex needs, often rooted in childhood trauma, in mental health, emotional, and behavioural challenges that necessitate specialised care and support.
Government statistics underline a persistent issue; a notable percentage of these young people are placed in care due to experiences of abuse or neglect. The instability in their living arrangements is highlighted by the fact that a similar percentage have lived in five or more different placements, exacerbating their vulnerability and complex needs. A rising trend is the increased focus on their educational requirements. A significant portion of these children, a figure that is currently under review, have special educational needs, emphasising a critical area for enhanced support and resources.
At the heart of our vision for Dove Tree House is the unwavering commitment to empowering both staff and children through trauma-informed approaches. We believe that understanding and addressing the impacts of trauma is foundational to fostering an environment of healing, growth, and empowerment. It's not just about care but about enabling each child and team member to navigate through their journey of recovery and development with resilience and confidence. The central tenant of our approach is rapport building, an essential element that enhances the quality of life and echoes the sanctity of a family home. In such a nurturing environment, every interaction is imbued with respect, dignity, and understanding, laying the groundwork for the holistic achievement of our outlined goals.
At Dove Tree House, the safeguarding of children and young people is paramount. It is embedded in every aspect of the care we deliver to the children and young people that live with us.
Job Purpose
The Deputy Manager for the children’s home will support the Registered Manager in leading and managing the children’s home according to the ethos and approach of the organisation, ensuring that outcomes and high-quality care are delivered according to the home’s statement of purpose.
General Duties
Lead shifts and oversee staff management and supervision, care and placement planning, safeguarding, communications, report writing and monitoring quality and compliance.
Ensure the staff team implements the statutory and organisational policies and procedures and provide feedback to the Registered Manager on the effectiveness of all policies and procedures.
Ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, such as the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and Quality Standards for Children’s Homes, Children Act 1989, Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023, Data Protection Act 2018, and Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Support the staff team to develop constructive working relationships within the wider community to promote the overall outcomes for looked after children.
Support the staff team to develop their skills and competency to meet each child’s needs and provide continuity of positive care.
Lead in an aspirational way, inspiring both children and the staff.
Incorporate equality and diversity into the home’s culture.
Provide every child with individualised positive care and care planning tailored to their individual needs and requirements, as defined in their relevant plans.
Maintain professional relationships with stakeholders, as appropriate.
Support the Registered Manager to run the home and deputise whenever needed.
Work flexibly to ensure adequate coverage for the service, including evening work, weekend work, and bank holidays, inclusive of sleep-ins.
Act as a positive role model, provide effective supervision and guidance for the team contributing to their performance and professional development.
Support the Registered Manager in delivering and maintaining a high-quality service.
Support senior care workers (team leaders) to develop the skills, knowledge, and ability to manage residential care workers effectively.
Ensure staff are aware of their responsibilities in relation to the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and Quality Standards for Children’s Homes.
Work within organisational policy and procedure established in the home.
Ensure children’s reviews and meetings are held within the required timeframes.
Ensure staff work within a non-discriminatory environment
Assist the Registered Manager in the administration of related financial issues.
Deputise in the Manager’s absence and cover for senior residential workers and team leaders where necessary.
Take part in the recruitment of prospective staff as needed.
Safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
Ensure recording is completed to a high standard in all areas.
Complete QA audits
Work with multi agency partners and ensure the team work professionally with all key stakeholders.
Work with Ofsted and complete duties under the SCCIF
Specific Duties
* Ensure residential workers are meeting the needs of children in accordance with their care plans.
* Ensure the quality of shift handover meetings, records, and other residential duties is in line with best-practice standards and the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and Quality Standards for Children’s Homes.
* Ensure the home’s ethos is embedded in the shifts and that children are involved in the day-to-day running of the service.
* Ensure the teamwork meets the needs of children from diverse backgrounds under the legislation, policy, and best practice standards.
* Take responsibility for overseeing safeguarding children and supporting the team to reduce the children’s risks.
* Ensure children access services that meet their education, social, emotional, mental health, and well-being needs.
* Plan and deliver the service and its programs to meet the needs of children.
* Plan the rota and shift presence to ensure the needs of children are being met.
* Monitor children’s progress
* Guide the team to ensure service delivery.
* Ensure a social inclusion focus is embedded within services.
* Take part in on-call arrangements.
* Supervise and support the development of the staff team in line with their statutory training requirements and continuous professional development (CPD).
* Ensure staff are inducted and briefed on working with children care planning systems and any programmes for positive care.
* Ensure the home follows health, safety and fire precautions and procedures.
* Ensure staff and children adhere to the home’s ICT policies.
* Ensure quality monitoring and health and safety assessments are conducted, and action plans are implemented.
* Ensure effective risk assessment and personal safety procedures are in place to protect staff and children under organisational policies and procedures and keep them under regular review.
* Ensure care planning, key working, safeguarding, incidents, health, education and activities recording is completed in the required timeframe and to the required standard.
Person Specification
Qualifications and Education
* Have attained a Level 3 / 4 Diploma in Health and Social Care for Children and Young People.
* Be willing to attain a qualification of at least or equivalent to Level 5 Diploma in Health and Social care for Children and Young People.
* Demonstrate commitment to continuing professional development.
Experience
A minimum of Two Years’ experience in a Supervisory role within a Children’s Residential Setting.
Knowledge and Understanding
A sound working knowledge of the statutory requirements related to children’s residential care. This includes the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and Quality Standards for Children’s Homes, SCCIF, Children Act 1989, Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023, Data Protection Act 2018, and Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and related policies and procedures for the day-to-day running of a residential children’s home.
Understanding children’s rights, child protection, safeguarding children, the impact of abuse and neglect, equality and diversity, care and placement planning, risk assessment, and review processes.
Understanding children’s education, health, social, emotional and psychological needs of looked after children and ensuring these needs are met.
Robust understanding of safeguarding children and young people including from exploitation.
Ensure they will deputise for the Registered manager, when required.
Skill and Abilities
Supporting the Registered Manager for the training and development of staff team members, regular reflective supervision, and rostering to ensure continuity of positive care for each child.
Coping with stress and complex dynamics and demonstrating emotional resilience.
Handling a wide range of administrative tasks related to the day-to-day running of a children’s home.
Prioritising and organising workload to maintain and promote quality.
Sustaining and working through placement issues to prevent placement breakdowns.
Monitoring the service for quality of care and in line with the requirements of Ofsted inspection.
Developing constructive working relationships with the wider community and multi-agency teams.
Ability to motivate, direct, and delegate in a residential setting.
Organisational skills.
Skills in financial management.
Equality and Diversity
Promoting equality and valuing diversity through legislation, policies, procedures, and relevant standards.
Identify patterns of discrimination and take actions to overcome this and enable others to promote quality and diversity and a non-discriminatory culture that supports people in exercising their rights
Salary description
£38000.00 - £40000.00 per year