Join The Team

Working with A Wilderness Way offers the opportunity for you to truly make a difference to children’s lives.

At AWW our mission is to transform the lives of children who have suffered trauma, exploitation and marginalisation. We believe passionately in delivering outstanding care for every child we look after, and for us this means having the highest quality care teams working with our children.

Our care teams are not only our children’s role models and responsible adults; the relationships they form and the opportunities they create for our children have the ability to change the course of their lives. Our carers are therefore dedicated, skilled and compassionate individuals who view their role as a calling and a privilege.

Our care for children has two main aims: to provide the stability and safety the children need to recover from their experiences through a therapeutic approach, and to build the life skills, self-esteem and self-confidence that will enable them to move on from us to successful futures. We believe that the key to achieving these outcomes is the quality of the relationships between both carers and children and across the organisation as a whole.

The journey that our care teams go on with the children during their time with us is often as positive and life-affirming for our staff as it is for our children. We work according to our Mission, Vision and Values and our Key Principles, cultivating a culture of respect, compassion, continuous learning and a shared humanity. We set high expectations for our children and for ourselves, and we work together with purpose, trust and humility to achieve our goals.

Join The Team

AWW was built on a spirit of adventure and challenge, and one of the cornerstones of our care is our Wilderness Experiences outdoor and adventurous activity programme. We believe passionately in using the outdoors to inspire and engage our children and to push the limits of what they believe to be possible. We share the message with our children that it’s what you do that counts, and we promote action, participation and exploration in all aspects of life at AWW. This powerful culture of enthusiasm and energy creates a vibrant and happy work environment and a wealth of opportunities for those who share a passion for adventure.

At AWW our mission is to transform the lives of children who have suffered trauma, exploitation and marginalisation.

The journey that our care teams go on with the children during their time with us is often as positive and life-affirming for our staff as it is for our children.

Events & Open Days

Open Day

15/12/2023 Stoneybeck Inn, Cumbria, CA11 8RP

Drop in any time between 12pm and 2pm.

Join us for an Open Day at our Head Office. Come and learn more about a career in residential childcare and what current vacancies we have. We would love to meet you!
Book Now

Virtual/Online Open Day

11/01/2024 Online

5.30pm – 6.30pm.

Join us online for a virtual Open Day. Talk to us about what we do at AWW and how you could make a difference to a child’s life by joining the team.

Open Day

26/01/2024 Stoneybeck Inn, Cumbria, CA11 8RP

Drop in any time between 10am and 2pm.

Join us for an Open Day at our Head Office. Come and learn more about a career in residential childcare and what current vacancies we have. We would love to meet you!
Book Now

Training & Development

Our belief in continuous learning is underpinned by our robust staff training and development programme. We are ambitious for our staff and we fully support their career goals and their professional development.

In line with our commitment to delivering outstanding care, we ensure that all of our staff have the opportunity to complete relevant qualifications, and we give full training and support to achieve these through our sector-leading Learning Academy. We offer the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare to all of our RSW’s, as well as the opportunity to complete up to Level 5 for those who wish to progress further.

A full induction programme has been designed to ensure that you have the skills and confidence to work with our children. This is reinforced by a continuous programme of professional development which enables you to deliver outstanding care. We have a strong management structure in place to help you to define clear goals and to develop plans to help you progress.

We value and nurture talent, and we see all of our staff as individuals with strengths and abilities that can contribute to our success. We adopt a culture of collaboration, seeking to listen to our care teams and to be guided by their experiences and insights.

Working Hours

Due to the nature of the role, we require employees to be flexible to meet the needs of the children in our care. We welcome applications from people that are comfortable working away from home and are able to work early, late and nights, including sleep-ins.

We operate block shift patterns on a rota basis, averaging 39 hours a week. We don’t have rolling rota patterns and have fixed teams around each child to ensure they have the right support. You will be able to have flexible rota patterns that suit your needs.

The health and wellbeing of our colleagues is a priority, and we seek to promote a positive work-life balance. You will typically work 2 days on and 4 days off, with one additional working day each month.

Effectively you will work 10-11 days a month and receive a full-time wage, enabling you to pursue your own interests and explore our beautiful outdoor location.

Salary & Benefits

We provide:

  • Competitive salary scales, which are continually evaluated annually against market data.
  • Competitive sleep-in rates.
  • Employee recognition and engagement events.
  • An Employee Assistance Programme that provides 24/7 helpline support for you and your family, in addition to fully funded access to external counsellors.
If you would like to join our dynamic team, you can find our latest job vacancies here.

What Others Say About Us

I am truly taken aback by the level of care you have shown. The staff have gone out of their way to show him the attention and care that he has never had. When I visited him, it was like I was looking at a different child to what he was before he came. He was not like a child in care, he was like a child in a family. You have literally saved his life.

Social Worker

All children and young people thrive, and they make progress while living at the home. Because of the services provided the children and young people experience an individualised, stable and consistent home life. Children and young people benefit from the integrated, multi-disciplinary approach to education and care. They each achieve their full potential and, in many cases, do so beyond previous expectations.

Ofsted

I am so grateful to the AWW team for their dedication and commitment to caring and supporting Sam. He recently reported that being at there gave him the space to think and the opportunity to reflect on his attitude and make plans for his future.

Social Worker

I have to share my delight at Luke’s progress at AWW. Thanks to your support, in the last 17 weeks Luke and has turned his life around significantly. From where he has come from to where he is now, I am so proud of him.

Social Worker

The placement was really good and beneficial to me. The staff were all really supportive and nice and always made themselves available to me if I had any problems. The outdoor activities that were offered helped me to have a better outlook and showed me that I can do so much more in life, and it really helped me process and made me feel like a better person.

Child

As METCO Officer for Cumbria Police I have regular contact with the team at AWW in relation to vulnerable children at risk of CSE and going missing. If a specific incident has occurred, the Home Manager and I speak on the phone to discuss the best way forward. She also attends CSE risk assessment meetings and we receive Philomena Protocol forms when a young person arrives in placement.

Cumbria Police