Residential Care Support Night Worker – Willow Rise Children's Home

This is a night worker position supporting children and young people at Willow Rise Children's Home, part of Sutton Council's expanding in-house residential service. The role is demanding and carries real responsibility, particularly given the greater independence required on nights when day colleagues are not present.

Willow Rise is a well-established, high-performing service within a team that are expert in relationship-based practice, with a strong track record of building meaningful connections with children who have experienced significant trauma. Sutton's Residential Strategy has been developed following significant Council investment, with the aim of bringing children closer to their families and communities, in high-quality provision designed around them.

Night workers take on a distinctive set of demands. Overnight shifts require a higher degree of resilience, consistency, and independent judgement, including the handling of difficult safeguarding matters without day staff available. The team around you is hands-on and committed, and you will have access to strong management support, training, and Sutton's integrated youth services network.

This role includes:

• Supporting children and young people with complex needs through consistent, relationship-based care during overnight hours
• Responding to safeguarding concerns with sound judgement and in line with procedures, when day colleagues are not on shift
• Building trusting relationships with young people that contribute to long-term stability and positive outcomes
• Working as part of a close-knit, award-winning team committed to delivering high standards
• Contributing to the continued development of Willow Rise as part of Sutton's broader Residential Strategy

To apply, submit your application online, outlining the skills, abilities, and experience that make you an ideal candidate for this role. Please refer to the requirements set out in the job profile when completing your application, and ensure your CV details have been uploaded correctly. Applications where AI-generated content has been used in isolation, without personalised responses, may be rejected. Sutton values authenticity and looks for individuals who can clearly demonstrate their own skills, experience, and motivation.

About You

Night work in residential childcare calls for a specific type of practitioner: someone who is steady under pressure, experienced in working with children who have faced significant difficulty, and confident operating with greater autonomy. Sutton is looking for the best in class to join this service and help take it further.

The ideal candidate will:

• Have extensive experience working directly with children and young people, ideally within a residential care setting, or hold an equivalent qualification in youth work, youth offending, or social care alongside relevant experience in a related field
• Demonstrate a strong grounding in relationship-based practice, with the ability to build meaningful connections with children who have experienced trauma and have diverse, complex needs
• Bring resilience and consistency to overnight shifts, including the capacity to manage challenging situations and safeguarding matters independently
• Take an outcome-focused approach, using professional relationships with young people to support positive, long-term change
• Show sound judgement in situations where escalation to day colleagues is not immediately possible

Sutton Council is committed to equality of opportunity and welcomes applications from all sections of the community, including underrepresented groups. All applications are anonymised on receipt to reduce conscious and unconscious bias. Sutton is a Disability Confident employer and guarantees an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria. This post is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check with barred list, in accordance with Ofsted registration requirements. Right-to-work checks will be carried out prior to appointment; sponsorship availability is subject to eligibility and budget, and cannot be guaranteed for all roles.

Sutton Council's Offer to You

Willow Rise sits within a children's residential service that has been rated Good across all areas by Ofsted and recently recognised as Team of the Year within Sutton Council. The Residential Strategy reflects a genuine and sustained investment in the quality of in-house provision, with a clear commitment to keeping children connected to the communities they know. Managers are described as hands-on and accessible, and workers are fully supported through training, a development portal, and the wider integrated youth services network.

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, Sutton is committed to helping staff fulfil their potential in a supportive, collaborative environment. Ideas, however big or small, are encouraged and backed by an experienced management team. Benefits include:

• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Annual leave entitlement of 26 to 32 days plus bank holidays, depending on grade and length of service
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption, and dependants leave
• Two volunteering days per year
• Confidential health, wellbeing, and counselling support
• Cycle to work scheme and electric vehicle leasing scheme
• And more, including interest-free season ticket loans, local discounts, and a bicycle loan facility

Click Apply Now to discover more about this opportunity and submit your application.