Stay curious
Look beyond behaviour and remain interested in what a child may be communicating through stress, distress, relationships and past experience.
Careers at Phronesis
Children need thoughtful adults around them.
We want to build teams of people who can form genuine relationships, remain calm around complexity and bring curiosity, consistency and sound judgement to everyday residential care.
Experience matters. Qualifications matter. But so does how someone thinks, responds under pressure, reflects on their own behaviour and treats children when things are difficult.
The kind of practice we want
Warmth is important. So is judgement.
Residential childcare asks adults to make hundreds of small decisions every day. The way those decisions are made shapes how safe, respected and understood a child feels.
Be dependable
Children need adults who follow through, remain consistent and can offer predictable relationships even when things become difficult.
Hold boundaries well
Warmth and professional boundaries belong together. Expectations should be fair, transparent and rooted in protecting children rather than controlling them.
Reflect on yourself
Good practice includes asking what we contributed to an interaction, what we could have done differently and what needs repairing afterwards.
Working with children
Behaviour is not the whole story.
Children living in residential care may communicate fear, shame, uncertainty or unmet need through behaviour that challenges the adults around them.
We want staff who can keep children safe while remaining curious about what sits underneath that behaviour — and who understand that the adult response can either increase or reduce distress.
Repair is part of the job.
Difficult moments will happen. What matters is how adults respond afterwards: reflecting, reconnecting and showing children that relationships can recover after conflict.
Practice culture
Staff need support to do difficult work well.
Reflective supervision
Formal and informal supervision should provide space to think about children, practice, professional development and the emotional demands of the work.
Ongoing learning
Training should respond both to regulatory expectations and to the specific needs of the children living in the home.
Shared practice
Children should experience adults who understand the same core approach and can provide consistency across the staff team.
Professional challenge
Staff should be able to raise concerns, question practice and contribute to improving how the home works.
Positive role modelling
Integrity, kindness, respect and accountability should be visible in how adults behave with children and with each other.
Ambition for children
Staff should notice strengths, encourage interests and help children imagine futures that are larger than their past experiences.
Professional development
Keep learning.
The Bracken Rise model includes induction, ongoing training, supervision and professional development for residential staff.
Training needs should evolve with the children in the home. Where a child presents with needs that require additional knowledge or skill, the staff team should be equipped to respond rather than expected to improvise beyond its competence.
Safer recruitment
Suitability comes before convenience.
Recruitment for roles involving children will require appropriate safeguarding checks, references and scrutiny of whether candidates have the values, skills and judgement needed for residential childcare.
Equality & role models
Children should see different people belong.
Phronesis intends to build diverse teams and expects staff to model fairness, respect and positive relationships across gender, race, culture, religion, identity and background.
Future opportunities
Interested in working with Phronesis?
Bracken Rise House is progressing toward registration. Residential vacancies, role descriptions and application routes will be published here as recruitment opportunities become available.
Residential applications are not currently open. Wider workforce opportunities may be available through Nurtura Connect Ltd. Wider workforce and children's-services information is available now through Nurtura Connect Ltd.
Understand the practice