Waking Night Psychologically Informed Practitioner

Waking Night Psychologically Informed Practitioner

Trainee and experienced applicants welcome

LIFE | Therapeutic Children’s Home

Role details

Salary:

• Band 1 — Trainee Psychologically Informed Practitioner: £26,400 per annum.
• Band 2 — Psychologically Informed Practitioner: £28,000 per annum.

Contracted hours: 36 hours per week across three waking night shifts.

Shift times: 20:30–08:30. Times may vary according to the needs of the home.

Rota: Includes weekends and bank holidays.

Appointment level: Based on relevant experience, qualifications and assessed readiness for the role.

Additional attendance: Weekly reflective practice, monthly psychologically informed workshops, supervision and mandatory training form part of the role and may take place outside night shift hours. Payment arrangements are set out below.

Help young people feel safe throughout the night

For children and young people who have experienced trauma, nighttime can bring anxiety, difficult memories, loneliness and disrupted sleep. Having a calm, dependable adult available can help them feel safer and more settled.

At LIFE, waking night practitioners are valued members of the therapeutic team. You will provide attentive overnight care, respond sensitively to distress and help maintain a safe, predictable home environment.

We welcome people beginning a career in therapeutic residential childcare, alongside experienced practitioners who bring relevant skills and knowledge. Whichever route you join through, you will receive guidance, supervision and opportunities to develop.

This is a waking night role. You must remain awake, alert and available throughout every shift.

Purpose of the role

To safeguard and support young people throughout the night, providing care that reflects their individual needs, experiences and agreed plans.

You will combine warm, responsive relationships with sound professional boundaries, accurate recording and timely action when concerns arise. Your overnight observations will help the wider team understand each young person and provide consistent care across the day and night.

Psychologically informed practice means using an understanding of trauma, relationships and emotional development to guide everyday care. You will work within your training and competence, following agreed approaches and seeking support when needed.

Main responsibilities

Provide attentive, individualised care

• Build trusting relationships through consistent, respectful and reliable interactions.
• Support evening settling, bedtime routines and morning preparation in line with individual care plans.
• Respond compassionately to nightmares, anxiety, disrupted sleep, emotional distress and other overnight needs.
• Offer reassurance and appropriate support while maintaining clear professional boundaries.
• Respect young people’s dignity, privacy, identity, wishes and age-appropriate independence.
• Follow individual care plans, risk assessments and observation arrangements, adapting your response to each young person’s needs.
• Listen to young people and ensure their views, concerns and requests are recorded and shared appropriately.

Safeguard young people and respond to risk

• Remain attentive to young people’s whereabouts, wellbeing and agreed supervision needs.
• Recognise changes in presentation, behaviour or risk and respond promptly.
• Follow safeguarding procedures, reporting and recording concerns without delay.
• Respond to incidents and emergencies in accordance with your training, individual plans and the home’s procedures.
• Seek support from management, the on-call service or emergency services when required.
• Use agreed approaches to de-escalation and support young people to regain a sense of safety.
• Raise concerns about unsafe practice and follow the home’s escalation and whistleblowing procedures where necessary.

Maintain a safe and settled home

• Help create a quiet, comfortable and predictable environment that supports rest.
• Complete required welfare, safety and security checks sensitively and in accordance with individual plans and procedures.
• Follow health and safety, fire safety, infection prevention and confidentiality procedures.
• Undertake medication-related duties only where trained, assessed as competent and authorised to do so.
• Complete agreed household tasks without disturbing young people or reducing your availability to provide care.
• Prioritise young people’s care, supervision and safety throughout the shift.

Connect overnight care with the wider team

• Receive and provide clear, thorough handovers, identifying information that requires action.
• Keep timely, accurate and objective records of sleep, wellbeing, significant interactions, incidents and actions taken.
• Share observations that help the team review care plans, risk assessments and therapeutic approaches.
• Communicate respectfully with colleagues and maintain consistency in agreed care.
• Handle personal information securely and share it appropriately in accordance with the home’s procedures.

Reflective practice, supervision and training

You will be supported to think about your work, understand young people’s needs and develop your practice.

You will be expected to:

• Attend weekly reflective practice and contribute openly and respectfully.
• Reflect on your relationships with young people and how your own feelings and responses may affect your work.
• Attend monthly psychologically informed workshops, required supervision and mandatory training.
• Apply guidance from the Lead Psychotherapist and wider team within the agreed care approach.
• Ask for help when needed, respond constructively to feedback and recognise the limits of your competence.
• Complete required learning within agreed timescales and maintain your training records.

Friday reflective practice: Attendance is a requirement of the role. Where attendance falls outside your contracted night shift hours, you will be paid at your normal hourly rate for 1.5 hours, in addition to your salary for 36 contracted hours.

Other required attendance: Training, supervision and workshops may also take place outside your night shift hours. The scheduling and payment arrangements for these sessions will be confirmed in your employment terms.

Band 1 — Trainee Psychologically Informed Practitioner

This entry route is suitable for applicants developing their knowledge and experience in therapeutic residential childcare.

You will receive induction, guidance and supervision to help you provide safe care and develop confidence in the role.

You will be expected to:

• Complete your induction booklet and obtain manager sign-off.
• Complete the 33 core online training modules within agreed timescales.
• Complete foundation training in psychologically informed practice.
• Develop your understanding of trauma, attachment, child development and emotional regulation.
• Apply your learning to everyday overnight care with appropriate guidance.
• Demonstrate safe practice, reliable recording, professional boundaries and timely escalation of concerns.
• Following successful probation, begin the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare, fully funded by LIFE and subject to a signed training addendum.

Progression to Band 2

Progression is assessed through a formal review and is not automatic on completion of probation.

The review will consider whether you have:

• Completed your induction and required core and foundation training.
• Demonstrated consistent, safe and effective practice.
• Shown that you can apply psychologically informed approaches within your competence.
• Demonstrated sound judgement, clear recording and appropriate use of support.
• Begun an agreed qualification pathway, or already hold a relevant qualification accepted for the role.

The review will identify whether you are ready for Band 2 or agree further development and a subsequent review point.

Band 2 — Psychologically Informed Practitioner

This route is suitable for applicants who can demonstrate relevant experience and readiness to meet the Band 2 expectations.

Direct appointment requires relevant experience supporting children or young people in a residential or therapeutic setting, evidence of effective psychologically informed practice, and an appropriate completed qualification or active qualification pathway.

In addition to the main responsibilities, you will be expected to:

• Apply trauma-informed and relational approaches confidently within your competence.
• Use sound judgement during overnight care and recognise when to seek additional support.
• Contribute useful observations and professional insight to reviews of care plans, risk assessments and case formulation.
• Take responsibility for agreed elements of young people’s care that can be delivered within the night role, coordinating with daytime colleagues.
• Model consistent boundaries, thoughtful reflection and accurate recording.
• Be completing, or have completed, the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare, or hold an appropriate qualification accepted for the role.

Person specification

Essential for both bands

• A warm, respectful and compassionate approach to children and young people.
• A commitment to safeguarding and promoting young people’s welfare.
• Patience, emotional resilience and the ability to remain calm during distressing or challenging situations.
• Reliability and the ability to remain awake, attentive and responsive throughout a waking night shift.
• Clear verbal communication and the ability to produce accurate written records.
• An understanding of professional boundaries, confidentiality and the importance of following agreed plans.
• The ability to work collaboratively, follow guidance and seek help appropriately.
• Willingness to reflect, learn and receive feedback.
• Availability for the rota and required reflective practice, supervision and training.

Additional requirements for direct entry at Band 2

• Relevant experience supporting children or young people in a residential or therapeutic setting.
• Evidence of safe, effective trauma-informed and relational practice.
• Experience responding to emotional distress, safeguarding concerns and changing risks.
• The ability to provide clear handovers and contribute constructively to care planning.
• A relevant completed qualification or active qualification pathway, as described above.

Desirable

• Experience of waking night work.
• Experience supporting young people with sleep difficulties or overnight distress.
• Knowledge or training relating to trauma, attachment, neurodiversity or therapeutic communication.
• A full UK driving licence.

What LIFE offers

• A structured induction and guidance appropriate to your appointment level.
• Regular supervision and weekly reflective practice.
• Monthly psychologically informed training workshops.
• Support and guidance from the Lead Psychotherapist and wider team.
• Funded support for eligible practitioners to complete the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare, subject to a signed training addendum.
• A defined progression route from Band 1 to Band 2, assessed through formal review.

Safeguarding and safer recruitment

LIFE is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. Everyone working with us is expected to uphold this commitment and act promptly when concerns arise.

Appointment is subject to satisfactory safer recruitment checks, including identity verification, right-to-work checks, employment history checks, professional references, an enhanced DBS check with the relevant barred list check, and any other checks required for the role.