SCD's work is delivered by a team of dedicated, trained, and professionally supervised staff. Understanding the roles and responsibilities of our people is central to how we maintain the highest standards of care.
Every positive outcome for a child or young person at SCD begins with a skilled, compassionate, and well-supported member of staff. Our people are our most important resource, and we invest seriously in their recruitment, training, supervision, and professional development.
SCD operates a clear staffing structure that ensures appropriate levels of experience, oversight, and specialist expertise across all of our programmes and locations. Every role within SCD carries defined responsibilities, professional standards, and accountability mechanisms — because the young people we work with deserve nothing less than consistent, high-quality support from every person they encounter in our organisation.
All SCD staff are required to complete mandatory safeguarding training, operate within our professional code of conduct, and participate in regular supervision. Senior staff carry additional responsibilities for the quality, safety, and effectiveness of the work of their teams.
The Youth Support Worker is the foundation of SCD's direct work with young people. This role carries the daily responsibility of building supportive relationships with young people, implementing their individual support plans, and providing the consistent, skilled presence that enables young people to feel safe, understood, and supported. Youth Support Workers are the face of SCD to the young people in our care — and the quality of their work determines the quality of outcomes for every young person they support.
Ability to form warm, professional, and boundaried relationships with young people from diverse backgrounds and with varied and complex needs.
Understanding of how adverse experiences affect young people's development, behaviour, and emotional presentation — and ability to respond with compassion and skill.
Clear, confident, and age-appropriate communication with young people, families, colleagues, and professional partners — both verbal and written.
Ability to maintain professional effectiveness and personal wellbeing in a demanding and emotionally challenging work environment, with appropriate use of supervision.
The Senior Youth Support Worker combines high-quality direct work with children and young people with supervisory and quality-assurance responsibilities for the team. This is a pivotal role: Senior Youth Support Workers are the first line of professional accountability for the quality of direct care, and are expected to model excellent practice, provide day-to-day guidance to colleagues, and ensure that safeguarding and professional standards are consistently upheld on every shift.
Senior Youth Support Workers are expected to contribute to the continuous improvement of SCD's practice — through participation in team reflective sessions, contribution to policy and procedure review, and active mentoring of less experienced colleagues. They serve as role models for the professional standards, values, and attitudes that SCD expects of all staff.
The Night Support Worker holds a unique and important position within SCD's residential care provision. The overnight hours present their own particular challenges and opportunities — young people may be more vulnerable, more distressed, or more willing to open up during the night than during the busy activity of the day. Night Support Workers must be alert, responsive, and professionally skilled throughout their shift, creating an environment of genuine safety and calm for the young people in their care.
Night Support Workers must maintain full professional alertness throughout their shift. SCD's overnight protocols are designed to ensure the continuous safety and welfare of young people, and compliance with these protocols is non-negotiable. Night Support Workers work as part of a pair — no member of staff works alone overnight — and are supported by an on-call senior manager who is reachable throughout every shift.
The Mentoring Coordinator is responsible for the operational quality and effectiveness of SCD's mentoring provision. This role requires both programme management capability and a deep understanding of what makes mentoring relationships effective for young people with complex needs. The Mentoring Coordinator recruits, trains, and supports mentors; matches young people to mentors thoughtfully and carefully; monitors the progress and safety of mentoring relationships; and ensures that outcomes are tracked and reported accurately.
The Safeguarding Officer holds designated responsibility for the safeguarding and child protection functions of SCD. This is one of the most critical roles within the organisation — the Safeguarding Officer is the focal point for all safeguarding concerns, the lead for organisational safeguarding training and compliance, and the primary interface with statutory child protection agencies when referrals or investigations are required. The role demands exceptional professional judgement, a thorough command of safeguarding legislation and best practice, and an unwavering commitment to the welfare of children and young people.
The Community Engagement Worker is SCD's ambassador in the communities we serve. This role requires confidence, warmth, cultural sensitivity, and a genuine commitment to building the partnerships that enable SCD to do its work effectively. Community Engagement Workers spend much of their time outside of SCD's own facilities — in schools, community centres, mosques and churches, markets, and homes — building trust, raising awareness, and developing the collaborative relationships that are essential to SCD's community-wide approach.
The Administrative Support Officer is an indispensable member of the SCD team — ensuring that the organisation's administrative systems, data, records, and communications are managed to the highest standards of accuracy, confidentiality, and efficiency. While this is not a direct care role, the quality of SCD's administrative support directly affects the quality and safety of the care we provide. Accurate records, well-managed referral processes, and efficient operational systems all contribute to better outcomes for young people.
Regardless of role or seniority, every member of SCD staff is expected to uphold the following professional standards in all aspects of their work.
Every staff member holds a personal responsibility for safeguarding. No concern about a young person's welfare is ever too small to report. Safeguarding obligations supersede all other professional considerations.
Staff maintain appropriate professional boundaries with all young people at all times. Personal contact details are never exchanged. No unauthorised contact occurs outside of organised SCD activities.
Information about young people and families is treated with the strictest confidence. Confidential information is only shared with those who have a professional need and a legal basis to receive it.
Records are completed accurately, honestly, and in a timely manner. All documentation meets SCD's quality standards and is maintained in compliance with data protection legislation.
Every young person is treated with equal respect, dignity, and professional commitment regardless of gender, religion, ethnicity, ability, family background, or any other personal characteristic.
All staff engage actively with supervision, training, and professional development. SCD is a learning organisation and every member of staff is expected to contribute to and benefit from that culture.
Working with children and young people with complex needs is rewarding but demanding. SCD takes seriously its responsibility to support its staff — not only because staff wellbeing is a matter of basic organisational duty, but because staff who are well supported provide better, safer, and more consistent care to young people.
SCD's supervision model provides every staff member with regular, structured professional supervision that addresses the emotional, operational, and developmental dimensions of the work. Supervision is not a performance management tool — it is a genuine professional support mechanism, conducted in a spirit of collaborative enquiry and mutual respect.
In addition to individual supervision, SCD provides team-based reflective practice sessions, access to specialist consultation on complex cases, and organisational-level support for staff experiencing difficulty. Staff are never expected to manage the emotional demands of this work alone.
Monthly one-to-one supervision with line manager covering caseload, professional development, wellbeing, and any concerns arising from practice.
Regular team sessions focused on learning from practice — exploring complex situations, sharing effective approaches, and building collective professional wisdom.
Formal annual review of professional development, performance, and goals — with a focus on supporting staff to grow and progress within SCD and beyond.
Access to specialist clinical or practice consultation for staff working with young people presenting particularly complex or challenging needs.
Comprehensive induction and annual refresher training in safeguarding, TCI, trauma-informed practice, and other essential competencies for all roles.
We are always looking for skilled, compassionate, and values-driven individuals to join our team. View our current vacancies or get in touch to find out more.