Secure Residential Support Worker (Nights)

About the role

Lansdowne Secure Children's Home is one of only 14 secure children's homes in England and Wales, operating from a modern, state-of-the-art building with excellent and diverse facilities. This is a waking nights support worker role, maintaining excellent care provision for children throughout the night.

You'll work as part of a dedicated, supportive team, responsible for providing the day-to-day safe and secure care of the children at Lansdowne. Keeping the children engaged and occupied, you'll encourage and participate in fun, enriching activities with the young people, such as sports, cooking, and arts and crafts.

Safeguarding is central to the role. All staff are expected to maintain high standards of vigilance, respect, reporting, and professional curiosity at all times, in accordance with the home's safeguarding policy and procedures. Extensive training and ongoing support are provided.

This role includes:

• Providing safe, secure, and consistent care for children throughout the night shift
• Encouraging and participating in activities that keep young people engaged and occupied
• Managing difficult conversations, conflict, and challenging behaviour with strong, consistent boundaries
• Leading from the floor when needed, taking initiative, and escalating concerns through safeguarding procedures
• Applying an understanding of how trauma affects behaviour in everyday interactions with young people

The working pattern follows a two-week rolling rota, with adjustments made to accommodate annual leave and training. Rotas are reviewed regularly to ensure at least 28 days' notice is given for any changes. Week one covers Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Week two covers Wednesday and Thursday. Shift times are 9.30 pm to 7.45 am. Sleep-ins are required on occasion as part of the rota.

To apply, upload your CV and a Supporting Statement via the Apply Now button. The Supporting Statement is used for shortlisting, so address how you meet all the criteria in the person specification, drawing on any relevant work or life experience, education, or personal interests. Interviews take place in person at Lansdowne Secure Unit within two weeks of the closing date. Please note that sponsorship is not available for this role. For an informal discussion, contact Hannah Jones at Hannah.jonesCS@eastsussex.gov.uk or Karen Carty at Karen.carty@eastsussex.gov.uk.

About You

We're looking for people who can provide consistent, grounded care through the night and who understand the complexity of the young people Lansdowne supports. You don't need a specific background in secure care, but you do need the resilience, communication skills, and emotional awareness to work effectively in this environment.

The ideal candidate will:

• Be able to manage difficult conversations, manage conflict, and challenge poor behaviour and practice whilst holding strong, consistent boundaries with young people
• Understand how trauma affects behaviour and apply that understanding in everyday interactions
• Be able to lead from the floor when needed, take initiative, and know when to escalate concerns and how to follow safeguarding procedures
• Have communication skills with the ability to offer clear, assertive direction and support to children to ensure they feel safe

East Sussex County Council warmly welcomes applications from all sections of the community, and particularly encourages those from groups underrepresented in the current workforce: people from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds, disabled people, men, and those who identify as LGBTQ+. East Sussex is working towards recruiting a workforce that reflects its community, recognising the unique skills, experience, and perspective that each individual brings.

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check or Enhanced check for Regulated Activity. Evidence of an overseas police check is required if you have lived or worked abroad. Right to work in the UK must be demonstrated; sponsorship is not available for this role.

East Sussex's Offer to You

Lansdowne Secure Children's Home offers extensive training and ongoing support to all staff, with a commitment to high standards that is matched by a commitment to developing the people who uphold them. The two-week rolling rota is managed with at least 28 days' notice of any changes, giving staff reliable sight of their schedule.

East Sussex County Council offers a diverse range of benefits to support staff during their employment, including flexible working arrangements that can accommodate childcare and caring responsibilities. As Charlotte, a Social Worker at East Sussex, puts it: "East Sussex is a very good employer. You're able to work flexibly around childcare and caring responsibilities and that's really helpful."

Full details of the benefits package are available on the East Sussex County Council benefits page — click Apply Now to discover more.