Senior Residential Childcare Practitioner
| Posting date: | 21 February 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £35,282.00 to £37,629.00 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 01 March 2026 |
| Location: | Homefield Cottages, Seaford, BN25 3DG |
| Remote working: | On-site only |
| Company: | East Sussex County Council |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 2561 |
Summary
Do you want to make a difference to the lives of young people and have experience working in a residential care setting? Then we are looking for a Senior Residential Childcare Practitioner to join our open home in Seaford.
Children in care are some of the most vulnerable in the community and looking after them is one of our most important responsibilities. We need people who are able to deliver high quality care, to meet the physical, emotional, health and social needs of children and young people in our homes.
The home is an open group setting for children and young people with a variety of complex individual needs, who may have had challenging and adverse life experiences prior to coming to the home and require a level of support that may not be able to be offered in other care settings.
If you are passionate and committed to working with adolescent children, build supportive and meaningful relationships, want to help them reach their full potential, develop and maximise their opportunities; then we would like to hear from you.
You will have had experience of:
Working directly with children in a residential care setting
Demonstrate a good understanding of child care and child development
Producing and reviewing detailed care plans and risk assessments
Our looked after children can often be challenging and will require a professionally nurturing approach
We are looking for applicants who can demonstrate:
Effective leadership and mentoring skills
Ability to work as part of a multi-agency care team
Understanding of current Children’s homes regulations
We regret that we are unable to offer sponsorship of visas for these positions.
To apply for this role, please follow the ‘Apply Now’ button above and upload your CV and a supporting statement. We will be using your supporting statement to shortlist so please be sure to address how you meet all the criteria in the person specification, drawing on any relevant work/life experience, education, or personal interests.
For guidance on how to write an application see our how to apply page.
Please download the Job Description & Person Specification for more information.
Interviews will take place face to face in Eastbourne within two weeks of closing date.
Candidates who meet certain criteria are given priority when we shortlist. See our priority status page for details.
The successful candidates will work on a rota basis. The post includes shift work, weekend working and sleep-in duties (additional payments for sleep-ins will apply). Please note the basic salary is inclusive of a weekend working allowance.
We offer a diverse range of benefits to help and support you during your employment. More information can be found on our benefits page.
For an informal discussion about these roles please contact: Natalie Dardashti, Registered Homes Manager - Homefield Cottage on natalie.dardashti@eastsussex.gov.uk
Salary figures include two weekend working increments.
'The best thing about working for East Sussex is knowing every person who works here cares about our residents and wants to achieve the best outcomes for them.' - Casey, Project Officer
For work that makes a difference, choose East Sussex!
Children in care are some of the most vulnerable in the community and looking after them is one of our most important responsibilities. We need people who are able to deliver high quality care, to meet the physical, emotional, health and social needs of children and young people in our homes.
The home is an open group setting for children and young people with a variety of complex individual needs, who may have had challenging and adverse life experiences prior to coming to the home and require a level of support that may not be able to be offered in other care settings.
If you are passionate and committed to working with adolescent children, build supportive and meaningful relationships, want to help them reach their full potential, develop and maximise their opportunities; then we would like to hear from you.
You will have had experience of:
Working directly with children in a residential care setting
Demonstrate a good understanding of child care and child development
Producing and reviewing detailed care plans and risk assessments
Our looked after children can often be challenging and will require a professionally nurturing approach
We are looking for applicants who can demonstrate:
Effective leadership and mentoring skills
Ability to work as part of a multi-agency care team
Understanding of current Children’s homes regulations
We regret that we are unable to offer sponsorship of visas for these positions.
To apply for this role, please follow the ‘Apply Now’ button above and upload your CV and a supporting statement. We will be using your supporting statement to shortlist so please be sure to address how you meet all the criteria in the person specification, drawing on any relevant work/life experience, education, or personal interests.
For guidance on how to write an application see our how to apply page.
Please download the Job Description & Person Specification for more information.
Interviews will take place face to face in Eastbourne within two weeks of closing date.
Candidates who meet certain criteria are given priority when we shortlist. See our priority status page for details.
The successful candidates will work on a rota basis. The post includes shift work, weekend working and sleep-in duties (additional payments for sleep-ins will apply). Please note the basic salary is inclusive of a weekend working allowance.
We offer a diverse range of benefits to help and support you during your employment. More information can be found on our benefits page.
For an informal discussion about these roles please contact: Natalie Dardashti, Registered Homes Manager - Homefield Cottage on natalie.dardashti@eastsussex.gov.uk
Salary figures include two weekend working increments.
'The best thing about working for East Sussex is knowing every person who works here cares about our residents and wants to achieve the best outcomes for them.' - Casey, Project Officer
For work that makes a difference, choose East Sussex!
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.