Northumberland County Council launches recruitment drive for 22 roles in children’s residential homes

It is creating 22 new jobs as part of a major investment in its ambition to make sure all children get the support they need to reach their full potential as close to home as possible.

The council is keen to hear from people with a wide range of life experiences who are passionate about making a difference to young people’s lives.

But attracting new recruits to a role that is often misunderstood is no easy task – so the council has set about shining a spotlight on life in a children’s residential home, to increase understanding and share the impact they can have on young lives.

An open day will take place on Saturday, October 7 at its new purpose-built children’s home in Pegswood where anyone interested can meet the team, ask any questions and find out more about the opportunities available.

It also has homes in Alnwick, Cramlington and Bedlington.

Adam Hall, residential lead manager for the council's children's services, said: “I started out my career as a residential support worker with a few casual shifts. I couldn’t believe I was getting paid to take the kids out on the bike, play football, watch a film or listen to music with some great young people.

“Your typical working day is a typical day in the home – you have a routine to follow: waking young people up in the morning, cooking meals and planning our activities. Everyday can bring new rewards as we help to prepare young people for adult life.

“The most rewarding and motivating thing for me was always making sure that the children had the same opportunities and experiences as I would want my child to have.

“Over the years, I’ve been wild camping, canoeing, abseiling, coasteering, taken children to football matches, cubs and scouts, or supported them to find new interests.

“It’s an exciting time to join the team with lots of opportunities to progress your career in care. Everyone wants the best for our children and will do everything they can to achieve that.”

Residential support worker, Ellie Wilson, used to work as a youth worker before joining the team.

She said: “Like any other family household, every day isn’t going to be perfect, there’s ups and downs, tears and laughter. We get outside a lot, going on walks, cooking tea on the beach, stargazing, and geocaching.

“You can see potential, loads of potential and it’s just helping them to reach that potential.”

Drew Johnson, started his career working in a school before making the leap to children’s residential care. Five years on and he’s just been appointed assistant manager of the new home.

He said: “We pretty much act in a parenting role, so everything you would encounter in your own home and a little bit more as well. It’s not your run of the mill job, you’re dealing with people and human emotions and that’s the most rewarding aspect for me, you get to deal with people and help them on their own journeys.

“With this job, you get out of it what you put into it. If you care about the young people and invest in them, the rewards are limitless.”

Eileen Gray worked as a childminder before discovering a new career in children’s residential care.

She said: “For me, the most rewarding thing is when you go out with the children and for that first time, they do something that they've never done before.

“For example, coming back one night from the woods, we saw an owl and a shooting star and those moments were just magical as that child had never experienced that before.

“There is no one kind of person that you want in the team – you want everyone to bring different skills and different hobbies. If you have something that excites you, then that excitement will be picked up by the children, for example we’ve got staff who have passions including guitar, football and cooking.

“If you had everyone from the same background, then it wouldn’t work – so we’re looking for younger staff, staff who are maybe parents themselves, grandparents, anyone who feels they have something they can offer, something they can share and a great personality and sense of humour.”

In Northumberland, the council has 434 children and young people in its care.

The majority are placed with foster families, but for some children short or longer periods in residential care may be the best option.

The council currently operates five children’s homes and the service employs approximately 200 care staff and 30 support services staff across the five sites – all of which are rated good or outstanding by Ofsted.

The new purpose-built home in Pegswood is designed for four young people and six further satellite homes will be for solo placements which will be used to support young people as they prepare for independence and adult life.

Cllr Guy Renner-Thompson, cabinet member for Inspiring Young People, said: “We’re investing in expanding our children’s homes as part of our ambition to make sure as many young people as possible can get the care they need and stay close to family, friends and local schools, which is better for their wellbeing.

“Children are in children's homes through no fault of their own. We are very proud of our passionate teams who go above and beyond to create a caring family environment full of warmth and laughter and who support some of our most vulnerable children and on their journeys to overcome any challenges they may face.

“We hope shining a light on day-to-day life in our children’s homes will help to increase understanding of their vital role and show the many rewards and opportunities that working in children’s social care can bring.”

Find out more at https://nland.cc/CRCJobs