Permanent (full-time and part-time) and Casual opportunities available Salary for full time roles 16,231 to 18,376 Salary for part time roles will be pro-rated Payment for casual work is 9.43 to 10.67 per hour

These posts are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check

Please note: We will be reviewing applications as they are received and interviewing for positions on an on-going basis.

West Sussex County Council (WSCC) operates 7 residential units for children and young people. These homes have been rated as Good or Outstanding by Ofsted in recent inspections Two of the homes (Seaside and Teasel) provide medium- to long-term care for non-disabled children between the ages of around 10 and 16, supporting them to move on to a foster family, return home to their birth family, or helping them to prepare for semi- or fully-independent living, depending on their care plan. Four of the units provide services to children with severe learning disabilities, with three (Cissbury Lodge, Orchard House and High Trees) providing full-time, shared and short breaks care to children aged between approximately 8 and 18. Cissbury Lodge is specifically adapted to meet the needs of young people who have additional physical disabilities and can provide care to children with complex health needs. May House provides care for children between 8 and 12 on admission for periods of up to 18 months. The children accessing the service have complex learning disabilities high levels of challenging and complex needs and are at risk of exclusion from existing social care and educational resources. A multi-disciplinary team supports them to be able to be able to once again access local services and reduce the risk of needing to be placed in an external, often distant, placement. Beechfield is a 7 bedded secure children’s home for young people placed by local authorities nationally who need welfare (rather than youth justice) secure accommodation. In all of our homes, we care for some of the most vulnerable and challenging children.

The needs of individual children are unique and will vary in each home. As a Night Care Assistant you will be working with children and young people with complex emotional needs and/or disabilities who often present challenging behaviour. You will need an appropriate understanding of young people’s needs, reasons behind behaviours and a non-judgmental attitude. You will need to have a good level of resilience to cope with this challenging but rewarding role. We are looking for people who are able to show care, understanding, flexibility and appropriate professional boundaries as well as being able to work as a part of a team. Your main responsibility will be to oversee the welfare of the children in our care overnight. The role involves remaining awake all night and to be available to offer support and reassurance and other care as necessary to ensure the children are able to settle to sleep. There will be a range of other household tasks and duties to complete during your shifts and you will be expected to provide good quality recordings. We know this is not an easy task, and as such have strong relationships with a range of partner organisations and colleagues to support our work, including social work colleagues, CAMHS, CLA nurses, other specialist health colleagues, the police, substance misuse workers, specialist interventions around Child Sexual Exploitation, etc. We recognise that our staff are our most valuable resource and offer high levels of support and an extensive training pathway (including Level 3 Diploma) to ensure our teams are equipped to meets the needs and challenges of the children we care for. We are constantly striving to improve our practice and the services we offer to children. Two of our homes have recently been part of a DfE funded pilot of a residential childcare training programme, there are currently a range of innovative developments across the service and children in our care were consulted by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner around the draft Children’s Homes Regulations before they came into force in April 2015.

We would be happy for you to visit us to find out about the jobs in more detail and talk to some of our current team members.

We look forward to hearing from you.