Children’s Residential Practitioner Casual Full Time

Do you see yourself supporting children to feel safe, valued and empowered?

Can you use your resilience and compassion to help children thrive in a nurturing home?

If yes, we have the perfect role for you!

Southwark Council is seeking passionate and dedicated Children’s Residential Practitioners (Casual) to join our team and make a real difference.

About the Role:

This is a unique opportunity to be part of Southwark’s first council-run children’s home — a safe, therapeutic and nurturing environment designed to give children stability, care and opportunities to flourish.

As a Children’s Residential Practitioner (Casual), you’ll:

• Support children through their everyday routines, from school runs to winding down at night.
• Build positive, trusting relationships that support emotional wellbeing and independence.
• Supervise family time, prepare meals, and accompany children to appointments and activities.
• Work flexibly to provide cover during staff absences — with shifts available across weekdays, evenings, weekends and waking nights.
• Be part of a dedicated team, supported by experienced leaders and our in-house clinical team.

About You:

We’re looking for people who share our values and are committed to helping children feel safe and supported. You’ll thrive in this role if you have:

• Compassion, resilience and a genuine passion for improving children’s lives.
• Experience in residential childcare, youth work or similar (or a strong desire to develop in this area).
• The ability to create a nurturing environment where children feel safe, heard and valued.
• Flexibility and reliability to work shifts that fit with the needs of a 24/7 service.
• Strong teamwork skills and the ability to build meaningful relationships with children, families and professionals.

About the Team:

By joining us, you’ll be part of Southwark’s first-ever council-run children’s home. This is a brand-new service where you’ll help shape the culture and practice from the ground up.

We offer:

• A supportive and inclusive team culture.
• Ongoing training and professional development.
• The chance to be part of something truly meaningful — creating a stable, positive experience for children at a crucial point in their lives.

For detailed qualifications and requirements, please review the job description and person specification located at the bottom of the advert.

Contact Information:

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact the hiring manager Ann Simpson at .uk.

Additional Information:

• Rate of pay £18.84 per hour
• Flexible casual shifts available (24/7 service) – indicate your preferred days/times (e.g. evenings, weekends, waking nights) in your application.
• Sleeping-In Allowance – £43.12
• Internal staff need to have permission from their line manager and head of service to apply.

This post requires a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check at Enhanced – Adults’ and Children’s (Barred) level.

Benefits and more information:

In your role, we want you to feel supported, challenged and rewarded. You will benefit from our family-friendly policies including flexible working, home working, and a local government pension scheme, plus many other staff benefits. You will join a motivated, driven and supportive team that strives for excellence and values its members. You will also be part of a successful and high-achieving development team that is making a real difference to the lives of residents in the borough. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Staff Benefits page.

Recruitment Timeline:

Advert close date: 11:59pm on Monday 4th May 2026.

Shortlisting date: Tuesday 5th May 2026.

Interview date: Week commencing Monday 11th May 2026.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme:

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you’ll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care, or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together programme. We particularly welcome applications from members of the Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.

Attachments

• Job Description and Person Specification – Children’s Residential Practitioner (Casual)