Casual Residential Child Care Officer

Job Description

About Woodside Children’s House

Woodside Children’s House is a residential children’s home registered to care for up to five children and young people aged 11–20. We provide a home for young people who, for a variety of reasons, are unable to live within a family setting.

At the heart of our approach is a simple belief: children and young people need relationships in which they feel safe, valued, respected and cared for.

We want Woodside to feel like a home, not an institution. Our approach is relational, nurturing and trauma-informed. We recognise that children’s experiences, emotions and needs are often communicated through their behaviour, and we try to respond with curiosity, empathy and compassion rather than judgement.

Relationships are at the centre of what we do. That means being alongside young people through the ordinary parts of life as well as the difficult ones — sharing meals, having a laugh, helping with homework or college, going on outings, supporting family relationships, celebrating achievements, managing difficult moments and being there when things haven’t gone to plan. We believe in doing with children and young people, not to them, helping them experience positive relationships, develop their strengths and have hope and ambition for their future.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for casual staff who can share that approach and become a positive and reliable part of the Woodside team.

Experience of working with children and young people is valuable, but who you are and how you relate to young people matters too. We are looking for people who are warm, compassionate, resilient and reflective; who can build relationships while providing consistency and appropriate boundaries; and who are willing to learn and develop their practice.

Residential childcare can be rewarding, fun and full of ordinary everyday moments, but it can also be demanding. Young people need adults who can remain calm when things are difficult, look beyond behaviour to consider what may be happening for them, and come back to relationships after difficult moments. The ability to repair, reconnect and offer a fresh start matters to us.

You will work alongside an experienced team and contribute to all aspects of life within the house. This can include spending individual time with young people, activities and community opportunities, supporting education, employment and independence, routines and appointments, cooking and sharing meals, recording and care planning, and the practical tasks involved in making a house feel like a home.

We value staff who are curious, open to reflection and committed to learning. Our practice is informed by an understanding of trauma, attachment and child development, including approaches such as PACE and Dyadic Developmental Practice.

Above all, we are looking for people who understand that residential childcare is fundamentally about relationships — adults who can bring warmth, humour, patience, compassion and genuine care, while providing the reliability and consistency young people need.

If that sounds like the kind of work — and the kind of team — you would like to be part of, we would love to hear from you.

Additional Information

You can view the application pack below which contains the job profile outlining the skills, experience and knowledge required for this job. You can also find our recruitment privacy notice and a general information pack about Clackmannanshire Council.

Clackmannanshire Council welcomes applications from everyone and we value diversity in our workforce. We are committed to being an exemplar employer with an inclusive culture, developing a workplace environment where all our employees are treated with dignity and respect. For this vacancy, we would welcome applications from ethnic minority groups, who are currently under represented in our workforce.

Clackmannanshire Council operates a flexible hybrid approach for those roles that allow this type of working. Attendance at the office will be required to meet the needs of the business and for example to build team and stakeholder relationships. The exact pattern of working will be agreed with you as part of the recruitment process.

Clackmannanshire Council is a living wage accredited employer.

This post is considered Regulated Work with Children and / or Protected Adults under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007. You will be required to join the PVG Scheme or undergo a PVG Scheme update check prior to a formal offer of employment being made by Clackmannanshire Council. Further guidance will follow in your conditional offer of employment on how to apply. Please note you will be required to pay for the cost of this application if your salary is over £38,000 per annum, which will be deducted from your first pay. Further information can be found here https://www.mygov.scot/pvg-scheme

Should you have difficulty applying for a job online please call 01259 452244 (24 hrs) and leave your details along with the reference number of the post.

Please note that if you are selected for interview you will be notified by e-mail.

Please click this link to view a short video on what is expected when completing application forms for Clackmannanshire Council - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXaasgoGqmw