FIND OUT ALL ABOUT MEDWAY COUNCIL’S LEVEl 4 apprenticeship in residential childcare

In this rewarding role, you will be supporting children and young people in residential childcare to achieve positive outcomes.

This Level 4 apprenticeship will enable you to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to work with children, young people and families in residential childcare settings. You will develop the skills to help children, young people and families achieve positive change in their lives.

in this particular apprenticeship within Medway Council's services for children and families, you will work alongside qualified and experienced residential support workers to deliver a safe and stimulating short break provision for children and young people aged 5-18 years with complex learning difficulties.

This is an opportunity to join a new team of up to 12 apprentices who will be working together to complete the level 4 children and families practitioner apprenticeship. The role offers flexible hours with the benefit of gaining the level 4 accreditation whilst you earn. Apprentices will be based mainly at Parklands, the council’s short break residential home for children with additional needs, aged 5 - 18 years. However, there will be opportunities to gain experience at some of our other residential provisions and community-based play schemes.

• Competitive industry-leading apprenticeship wage of up to £24K pro rata.

• Fully funded Level 4 qualification in Residential Childcare and Family Practitioner.

• Hands-on experience working in a supportive and nurturing environment.

• Opportunities for career progression and personal development.

You must be 18 years old or older to apply for the Level 4 apprenticeship in Residential Childcare.

We are looking for:

• Passionate individuals dedicated to making a difference in the lives of children and young people.

• A positive attitude and a willingness to learn and grow.

• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work effectively as part of a team.

• Commitment to upholding the highest standards of care and professionalism.

Other requirements:

• If you do not yet have a Level 2 or equivalent in Maths and English, you will be required to work towards achieving these qualifications as part of your apprenticeship.

• You must be able to commit to the full length of the programme and to completing all the modules.

The working hours can be from 22-37 hours per week to suit you.  You may be required to work unsocial hours and/or on a rota system and the actual hours of work will be confirmed at interview.  For many posts Medway Council promotes flexible working hours.  Further details of the working arrangements for this post will be discussed if you are invited to attend interview.

As this is an apprenticeship, alongside your responsibilities in your job role as a residential practitioner, 20% of your time in work must be dedicated to developing and improving new skills. This can be any time devoted to learning, such as taking part in online tuition or digital learning resources, receiving one-to-one tuition or training, or being observed in workplace assessment. All these parts of your role are designed to help you learn while you earn and develop the valuable skills you need to progress your career in residential childcare!

You will receive support and feedback throughout your apprenticeship and at the end of the programme. Your work will be assessed in a range of ways, such as observation, discussion with your line manager or team, and portfolio building to demonstrate what you have learned.

Medway Council's Level 4 Residential apprenticeship in residential childcare lasts for 18-24 months depending on the working hours you choose.

Alongside your job role, each month your learning will cover a different topic to help you build all the knowledge, skills and behaviours necessary to support children, young people and families from a wide range of backgrounds.

These topics will include:

• Child development

• Professional development

• Safeguarding (keeping children and young people safe)

• Multi-agency working (working in partnership with other professionals and services)

• Health, well-being and resilience

• Equality, diversity and the ethos of residential childcare

• Complex disabilities and conditions

• Educational requirements of children and young people in residential childcare

In this apprenticeship, you will develop a wide range of professional skills.
You will learn how to support children, young people and families

• Link theory to practice and use this to develop young people’s skills 

• Understand critical legislation and how it is embedded into practice 

• Study ethical issues while working alongside children, young people and families 

• Take a role in multi-agency teams to support positive outcomes for children, young people and families 

• Solve problems through critical analysis 

• Be flexible in your approach to practice

You will learn how to develop yourself

• Take an active part in your continuous professional development 

• Reflect on your practice and understand the importance of your job role 

• Be a role model to peers and work collaboratively with them 

• Appropriately challenge others’ ideologies 

You will learn how to develop person-centred care plans

• Provide children, young people and families with information to enable them to choose the way they are supported, ensuring compliance with the relevant statutory standards and codes of practice 

• Understand ‘duty of care’ in practice 

• Encourage children, young people and families to participate in the way their care and support is delivered 

• Contribute towards the development and creation of care plans which are underpinned by the individual’s support preferences 

• Identify, respond to and escalate changes to the physical, social, and emotional needs of individuals, contributing to the ongoing development of care/support plans and support with SEND requirements