New College Worcester is a residential school and college for children and young people aged 11 to 19 who are blind or vision impaired. Every student at NCW has a tailored programme, carefully planned and delivered to meet need according to their own EHCP in three key areas: academic achievement, independent living skills and involvement in extracurricular activities at the College and in the community.

As a Residential Key Worker, you will work as part of a collaborative care team to provide a high standard of support to children and young people with a vision impairment. You’ll play an important role in delivering the waking day curriculum, promoting independence, and ensuring accurate and high-quality documentation. You’ll work closely with students in a professional and sensitive manner that supports both their academic progress and social development.

Your day-to-day work will include supporting students with personal care, helping them build independent living skills, and running activities that encourage confidence and social development. You’ll contribute to care plans and risk assessments, liaise with families and education staff, and help create a safe, welcoming home-from-home environment in the residential houses.

Your day to day duties will include:

• Working flexibly across the site and the residential houses to deliver a comprehensive care programme appropriate to the individual students.
• Writing and reviewing Care Plans, Risk Assessments and support notes to a high standard – and taking the time to talk these through with students, families, school staff and local authorities so everyone stays informed and involved.
• Supporting students as they develop vital life skills as part of the waking day curriculum – from personal care and cooking to managing money and staying safe – while working closely with education staff to track progress and provide consistent support throughout the day.
• Organising and taking part in a wide range of fun, meaningful activities both on and off campus – encouraging students to try new things, enjoy their free time, and take part in opportunities beyond the NCW community.
• Working closely with colleagues, families, and external professionals to make sure each student gets well-rounded support – helping to strengthen the link between home and College through regular, friendly contact with parents and carers.
• Helping students come to terms with the impact of vision and other impairments – building trusting, respectful relationships that offer emotional support and create a sense of connection and belonging.
• Supporting positive behaviour and responding calmly and appropriately to any challenges – always following College policies and recognising students’ progress through thoughtful use of rewards and, when needed, clear boundaries.

In order to be successful in this role you will need:

Essential:

• Level 3 qualification in Residential Childcare or willingness to obtain this qualification within two years.
• Experience of working with children and young people.
• GCSE Grade C in English and Maths, or equivalent.
• Ability to organise time effectively, create work schedules, prioritise workload and balance the student facing and administration work requirements in accordance with the set deadlines.
• Ability to communicate in a professional manner, being effective both verbally and in writing. To be able to adapt style to suit the audience - for example, writing clear and concise correspondence and reports.
• Able to take responsibility for own actions and make decisions. To be able to judge when it is appropriate to refer matters to others.
• Ability to quickly build rapport, respond in an empathetic manner and easily establish appropriate relationships with students, their parents and carers and other staff.

Desirable:

• Relevant professional qualifications.
• Experience of working with blind and vision impaired children.
• Experience of working with children from various ethnic backgrounds.

The benefits of working at New College Worcester include:

• Working in an inspiring and rewarding place alongside our exceptional students
• Industry standard Pension scheme
• Free use of the College swimming pool
• Free use of the state-of-the-art fitness facilities in our multigym Fit4Purpose
• Continual professional development and training opportunities
• Free on-site parking
• Great value on-site catering facilities
• Staff wellbeing package
• New College Worcester is set in extensive grounds which overlook the Malvern Hills

Weekend shift pattern:

Day	Hours	Break	Sleep in
Friday	2pm - 11pm	30 minutes	TBD*
Saturday	7am - 11pm	4 hours	TBD*
Sunday	7am - 11pm	4 hours	TBD*
Monday	7am - 9am	None	TBD*

*Between 1-3 sleeps in per week (to be discussed at interview). Additional payment for sleeping in (£40.76 each)

There are 'home weekends' during the academic year – approximately six (one every three weeks) whereby all the students and staff go home from Friday-Sunday. The students return from 4pm on Sunday and you will be required to return ahead of then to welcome them back. [for this one also Steve]??

• Please view the NCW Safeguarding Statement document
• Please view the Job Description and Person Specification Residential Key Worker Weekends document