Frequently Asked Questions

The role is extremely rewarding as you are part of supporting independence in our children and young people. Due to My Choice only offering long term placements, you can see the progression and confidence develop in our children. The role can be challenging as the children and young people can experience years of trauma and multiple placement settings before they even reach My Choice and therefore, are apprehensive and untrusting of adults. We support you in caring for our children through training, manager and peer support, regular team meetings and encouraging you to book regular breaks.

My Choice takes a very holistic approach when recruiting and welcomes candidates from all backgrounds, life experiences with transferrable skills and personal qualities – everyone has to start somewhere. With the extensive training offered at My Choice and mentoring, we can support starters in every aspect of the role.

Yes, it is company policy to complete your level 3 diploma within 12 months. It may seem daunting starting a new role as well as a diploma. We understand so we have our dedicated Learning and Development Manager/ diploma assessor and IQA to support you every step of the way. This individual has extensive experience in providing learning opportunities for adults, ensuring high standards of course delivery whilst using a wide and inventive range of learning methods for the staff that are registered. As our training centre is CACHE registered, My Choice has been able to develop and offer a bridging course for new starters that already hold a Level 3 Diploma in a related area. It has been carefully designed to fill the gaps in your existing knowledge.

Many factors are taken into consideration when placing new staff in our homes. Whilst we will always try to place you in a home within 30 minutes travel time of your home address, we have to consider all issues for example, how will you be travelling to work, does the home need another driver to take our children to school? We consider what type of person and experience the team need and most importantly, what the children need. The dynamics of our homes are always changing, and we need to adapt with that, by providing our children and young people the best home and care we can.

My Choice has a rolling rota pattern of two days on, three off which continues all year long, always starting your first shifts at 10:00. Many years ago, we saw the value in creating annual rotas; it is important our staff can plan in January for their summer holiday in August with their family and friends, book at day off for a birthday or a day to prioritise your own well-being. To clarify, you may start your shift at 10:00 on Monday and will stay at the home for two days until Wednesday morning when you leave at 10:00 after handover. This pattern continues all year. This also gives our children and young people a sense of security and consistency, so they know exactly what staff are working on particular days.