Open Day for people interested in working at new children’s homes

People interested in working at two new children’s residential homes that are set to open in Shropshire early next year are being invited to a special Open Day on Monday 28 October to find out more about the jobs that are available.

The Open Day is being held at University Centre Shrewsbury’s Guidhall building between 9.30am and 5.30am. People can drop in at any time during the day.

Over 25 permanent positions are available at the homes, for care workers and shift leaders.

The ideal candidates must be able to provide care and support to children who have complex needs, may display socially unaware behaviours, and may have experienced abuse, neglect or trauma.

Not all the roles require previous experience or qualifications as training will be offered. However, the successful candidates will need to be caring, resilient and motivated.

To find out more, and to apply, go to careers.shropshire.gov.uk and search for reference 855 (shift leader) and 856 (care workers).

There are also some frequently-asked questions about the roles here.

The two homes – one near Shrewsbury and one near Oswestry – are being opened by Shropshire Council to increase the provision of accommodation for local ‘looked-after’ children in the council’s care – helping to prevent them from having to move out of the county, and enabling the council to better support them.

Shropshire Council has purchased the two properties, and is currently adapting and fitting them out, ready for opening. A further short-stay home for children who have a high likelihood of being able to return home or step down to foster care is also due to be purchased and then open later next year.

The council is opening the new homes to provide accommodation for children within the county, which is becoming increasingly difficult to find. The aim is to improve choice for Shropshire children and young people and help reduce the need for, and costs of, external residential placements.

Ed Potter, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for children’s services, said:

“These new homes will enable us to better meet the needs of our looked-after children by providing additional accommodation within the county. This will lead to a wide range of benefits for the children, our staff and the council. Children will be closer to home, staff won’t need to travel long distances to visit them, and the council can provide much better care for these children, especially those with complex needs, improving their life chances so that they can develop into responsible Shropshire residents.”

To find out more and to apply, click here for the residential care workers vacancies, and click here for the shift leaders vacancies.

People can also email any questions to: careersinresidentialchildcare@shropshire.gov.uk.

Further information

Karen Bradshaw, director of children’s services, talks about the new children’s homes, and  the job opportunities.