Children's Residential Keyworker

Valence School, Westerham, Kent, TN16 1QN

36 days remaining to apply

• Closing date

  31 August 2025 at 11:59pm

• Date listed

  22 July 2025

Job details

• Job role:
  • Other support roles
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Subject: Keyworker (Children)
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £26,344.00 Annually (Actual) Term Time : 40 hours per week : Monday to Friday : Set shifts between 7am and 10pm

Children's Residential Keyworker job summary

Are you ready to make a meaningful difference in the lives of young people with complex physical and health needs?

We are looking for a dedicated and compassionate Keyworker to join our team. This is a rewarding role supporting students both in the classroom and our home living environment, helping them to grow, develop, and achieve their potential.

Your ambition for our students—and your commitment to supporting them through life’s challenges—will contribute to truly life-changing outcomes.

What You’ll Do:

• Provide key support to students across school and residential settings

• Support personal, social, and educational development

• Build strong relationships with students, families, and colleagues

• Encourage independence and help students work towards their goals

What We’re Looking For:

• Experience in care or education (desirable but not essential)

• Strong communication and IT skills

• Team player with resilience and a positive attitude

• Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare or willingness to work towards it (fully funded and supported)

What We Offer:

• A role with real purpose and daily impact

• Fully funded qualifications and training

• Generous pension scheme & life cover

• Staff well-being sessions and support

• Retail discounts and subsidised meals

• Free on-site parking

Become part of a team where your passion and dedication will be truly valued—and where you can help shape brighter futures every day.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy, interview and appoint earlier if we receive sufficient applications for this role.

Please note Valence School will be closed for the summer break and all applicants will be contacted upon our return in September.

Valence School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of every student and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We value diversity and promote equality for all.

References will be taken up before interview and online checks undertaken for shortlisted candidates. The successful applicant will require an enhanced DBS check (this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act)

Further information about the job

The candidate will be required to undergo a full enhanced DBS check and must be eligible to work in the UK.

Visas cannot be sponsored.

If you're interested in teaching or training to teach in England as an international citizen, we can help you understand your next steps.

Commitment to safeguarding

Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment.

Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance.

Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant):
childcare disqualification
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
medical
online and social media
prohibition from teaching
right to work
satisfactory references
suitability to work with children

You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.

Applying for the job

This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.

CVs will not be accepted for this application.

About Valence School

• School type: Special school, ages 4 to 19
• School size: 132 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 4 to 19
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: Valence School website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/valence-school

We are proud to share with you the excellent work we do with children and young people who have physical disabilities and complex medical needs. Our school is unique within the maintained sector in the whole of southern England. We cater for students aged 4 to 19 and have both day and boarding places. We have a large site with high quality teaching, social care and health care facilities. A staff team of over 200 people provides specialist teaching, social care, therapies and nursing care to an exceptionally high standard.

Our overall aim is to enable every child and young person to achieve meaningful independence. Students flourish in a supportive but challenging environment, making good educational progress and achieving a range of accreditation as they get older. There is excellent support to enable students to achieve functional communication, mobility and skills for daily living.

We are a Foundation Special School and are part of the Kent SEN Trust, a cooperative trust of ten schools working together to improve outcomes for all the children and young people attending the schools. In 2008 Valence became a specialist Sports College and this status plays a significant role in raising students’ achievements and their participation in high quality physical education and sport.

The School works proactively with parents and external professionals to provide holistic support for every child and young person. It is also developing high quality outreach support services to local schools and more widely for children and young people in Kent who have physical disabilities who are attending mainstream schools.

The School always places children and young people at the centre of all decisions it takes and it has a relentless focus on achieving the best possible outcomes for every student.

School location

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