Do you get a buzz from helping children and young people, creating laughter, mess and happy memories?

If so, we think we have the ideal role for you.

The Yard is an award-winning charity that runs adventure play services for disabled children, young people and their families in Scotland. We offer disabled children and their siblings the chance to experience creative, adventurous indoor and outdoor play in a well-supported environment. Our services are known for their innovative and inclusive approaches, and our facilities are unique in Scotland.

Due to increasing numbers attending our services, we are looking to increase our team of Playworkers at The Yard Edinburgh.

We are looking for individuals who can initiate and support innovative and engaging play for disabled children and young people, focusing on their interests and needs.

If successful you will join our team of passionate and committed playworkers, delivering child-led, family sessions at our purpose-built site in Edinburgh. You’ll plan and deliver a range of play activities such as arts and crafts, loose parts play, den-building, sensory and water play. You’ll be an integral part of our team, with the opportunity for training and development. We are an accredited living wage employer and offer a wide range of benefits.

The successful candidate may have experience working in childcare, early years, nursery, play, youth work or the care sector.

Join us to help improve the lives of disabled children, young people and their families and carers by becoming our new Family Support Officer in Dundee.

We have big aspirations and this new role has been created to provide structured family support. This will complement our existing adventure play-based activities at The Yard and in the wider community.

Job details

We are looking for an understanding individual who has been immersed in children and disability through professional or personal experience. You should be able to provide information and emotional and practical support to families with children with a wider range of abilities. You will be able to engage with families and be able to engage and empower experienced parents and carers to support new families navigate available support from statutory and voluntary services.

If successful, the candidate can expect a non-hierarchical, supportive and understanding work environment, where the team is highly passionate and committed to our mission. Personal development is encouraged and supported and regular training is provided. We are an accredited living wage employer and offer a wide range of benefits.

This role will suit someone who is excited about taking a concept and turning it into practical support for families.

Join us to help improve the lives of disabled children, young people and their families and carers by becoming our new Family Support Play Team Leader

This role is crucial in providing structured family support to complement our range of inclusive social, recreational, and adventure play-based activities at The Yard and in the wider community.

About the Role

Drawing upon your understanding of children and disability, gained through personal or professional experience, you will offer information, emotional support, and practical assistance to families with children of varying abilities. Your ability to engage with families and empower experienced parents and caregivers to help new families navigate available support from statutory and voluntary services is essential.

You will join and lead a team of committed playworkers. You will have responsibility for the planning and delivery of our weekend play sessions at our site in Kirkcaldy. Your responsibilities will also include ensuring compliance with relevant regulations and completing administrative responsibilities related to the service.

This role will suit someone who is excited about taking a concept and turning it into practical support for families.

To learn more about the role download our Family Support and Play Team Leader job description.

Read more about some of the excellent benefits available to people who work at The Yard.

Join us to help improve the lives of disabled children and their families by becoming our new Communications Officer.

We have big aspirations and are looking for a talented Communications Officer to join our small but successful team to inspire support and engagement with our work. This role will provide essential resource for the team as we grow our presence across Scotland. If you are talented, dynamic, hardworking and resourceful, then we want to hear from you.

This is a very exciting time to join The Yard, as we expand our reach to support more disabled children, young people and their families across Scotland through play, fun and friendship. This gives us a clear and determined focus. We have big aspirations and we need to attract brilliant new people to help us achieve our ambitious goals.

Job details

Based in Edinburgh with some home working, our new Communications Officer will be responsible for providing support across a range of communications functions including PR, marketing, social media, publications, advertising and internal communications.

This is an excellent opportunity for a marketing professional with some experience in media or marketing, who would value the opportunity to develop their skills and take on more responsibility.

Strong communication and interpersonal skills are essential as you will work with key staff to source, create and collate content for various audiences and channels to make our stories shine. Although part of a talented and supportive team you will be expected to work independently as well as across teams to deliver the priorities of The Yard.

You will have a proven track record of delivering excellent communication products in multiple formats and a thorough understanding of the full spectrum of communication channels. Importantly, you will be passionate about being part of a well-loved charity and ensure our brand values are reflected in all that we do.

Read more about some of the excellent benefits available to people who work at The Yard.

The Yard is an award-winning charity that runs adventure play services for disabled children, young people and their families in the east of Scotland. Since we opened in 1986, our services have grown significantly, but we will always retain our holistic approach and ethos of child-centred and child-led play services.

We have big aspirations and are looking for an assistant to join our small but successful development team, to provide vital support as we grow our presence across Scotland. If you are talented, dynamic, hardworking and resourceful, then we want to hear from you.

This is a very exciting time to join The Yard, as we expand our reach to support more disabled children, young people and their families across Scotland through play, fun and friendship. This gives us a clear and determined focus. We have big aspirations and we need to attract brilliant new people to help us achieve our ambitious goals.

Based in Edinburgh with some home working, our new Development Assistant will work closely with the Philanthropy Manager, and will be responsible for support across a range of fundraising functions.

This is an excellent opportunity for a graduate or fundraising professional with some experience, who would value the opportunity to develop their skills and take on more responsibility.

The role of Development Assistant will enable the successful candidate to gain experience across all functions within the development team, particularly in fundraising. We are looking for a positive and resilient team player, with excellent attention to detail, who is excited to begin a career in the third sector.

We are seeking volunteer Trustees to join our Board

Running for over 35 years, The Yard is an award-winning charity whose purpose is to build thriving communities for disabled children, young people and their families. We are brilliant at creating fun, friendship, and a place to belong using the medium of play. Coming to The Yard provides a great sense of belonging - children have fun and adults have a space free from judgement, where everyone they meet comes from a place of kindness and understanding. One real strength of our service is that we work with disabled children from birth to twenty-five, so families are on one journey. Having that consistency of support is invaluable to families.

Adults often refer to The Yard as a home from home, as for many it is one of the only places where they can relax as a family and just be themselves. As a result, families feel less isolated as they have a chance to meet others facing similar challenges and build up crucial support networks. One parent summed up the difference the service made to their family: "I love The Yard because the smile it puts on my son's face is priceless. It's helped him grow as a person, become more open to allowing others into his space, and makes him feel safe and accepted. The staff and volunteers are amazing with all the children."

In 2022, we worked with over 2000 children across our 3 sites in Edinburgh, Dundee and Kirkcaldy and in our outreach services.

In joining our Board you will be joining a team who are ambitious for the people and communities we support.

Responsibilities

Trustees are responsible for overseeing the good governance and administration of The Yard.

In particular they are responsible for:

• Setting and maintaining the vision, purpose and values of the organisation.

• Developing the direction and strategy

• Providing oversight and support to the Management Team

• Ensuring the organisation has the appropriate structure and resources for its work.

• Ensuring the organisation has appropriate policies and procedures to govern organisational activity, including guidance for the board, volunteers and staff.

• Ensuring appropriate systems for reporting and monitoring are in place and working.

• Managing risk and ensure compliance and accountability with the governing document, external regulators and the law.

• Making certain that the financial affairs of the organisation are conducted properly and are accurately reported.

• A passion, or commitment to improve the lives of children and young people with disabilities and their families.

Trustees are expected to attend 5 Board meetings, our AGM and 2 strategy and planning meetings a year. There are 3 Board committees and most Trustees are a member of at least one.

We are particularly keen to receive applications from people who have experience in:

• Communications / PR

• Use of Technology to improve services (Tech Savvy)

• Paediatric or Disability services

• Procurement

• Public affairs/government policy

• Local government

Join us to help improve the lives of disabled children, young people and their families and carers by becoming our new Family Support Officer in Edinburgh.

We have big aspirations and this new role has been created to provide structured family support. This will complement our existing adventure play-based activities at The Yard and in the wider community.

Job details

In this role you can expect to gather and provide information to families, sign posting where additional support can be accessed, in voluntary and statutory organisations. You will provide emotional and practical support, developing peer support amongst families and carers. You’ll have the confidence and lived experience to talk to people on an individual or group basis.

This role will suit someone who is excited about taking a concept and turning it into practical support for families.

To learn more about the role download our Family Support Officer job description.

Read more about some of the excellent benefits available to people who work at The Yard.

The Yard is an award-winning charity that runs adventure play services for disabled children, young people and their families in the east of Scotland. Since we opened in 1986, our services have grown significantly, but we will always retain our holistic approach and ethos of child-centred and child-led play services.

We have big aspirations and are looking for an assistant to join our small but successful development team, to provide vital support as we grow our presence across Scotland. If you are talented, dynamic, hardworking and resourceful, then we want to hear from you.

This is a very exciting time to join The Yard, as we expand our reach to support more disabled children, young people and their families across Scotland through play, fun and friendship. This gives us a clear and determined focus. We have big aspirations and we need to attract brilliant new people to help us achieve our ambitious goals.

Based in Edinburgh with some home working, our new Development Assistant will work closely with the Philanthropy Manager, and will be responsible for support across a range of fundraising functions.

This is an excellent opportunity for a graduate or fundraising professional with some experience, who would value the opportunity to develop their skills and take on more responsibility.

The role of Development Assistant will enable the successful candidate to gain experience across all functions within the development team, particularly in fundraising. We are looking for a positive and resilient team player, with excellent attention to detail, who is excited to begin a career in the third sector.

The Yard offers play and respite services for children and young people with additional support needs and their families. We design our services to support the whole family, building communities through our welcoming culture of inclusion. The Yard provides services to early years, schools, families, holiday, and youth clubs. In addition we offer expert training on play, inclusion and disability. The Yard creates beautiful havens for play for disabled children, but even more than that, opportunities for fun, friendship, and community building, support and a sense of belonging. Somewhere to feel safe, to take risks.

We are looking to for a Service Manager who is inspired by our ethos and is excited to bring their knowledge and experience to develop and deliver new services This will include developing and running a holiday support service for children with medically complex care needs. Other areas for service development include helping to deliver the Scottish Government’s aspirations outlined in The Promise and providing additional services for children and young people in receipt of Self Directed Support.

If you are excited to rise to the challenge, this role can be immensely rewarding.

Key responsibilities include:

• Build relationships with external partners and The Yard colleagues to develop and deliver new services in line with our strategic plan.
• Hold the Care Inspectorate registered manager role for the holiday support scheme and ensure the service is compliant and improvement-focussed.
• Develop and maintain key stakeholder relationships including social workers, health professionals, university and colleges, head teachers, parents and carers.
• Develop and manage the budget for services within their remit.
• Contribute to the operational leadership and management of the organisation as a member of the senior management team.

The successful candidate will have experience of initiating and developing services and successfully leading and managing a diverse team.

Read more about some of the excellent benefits available to people who work at The Yard.

Is leading a team creating fun and friendship your super power?

If so we think we have your ideal role.

About the Role

As a Play Team Leader, you’ll supervise and deliver a range of inclusive, recreational and adventure play-based activities. Leading your team, you’ll create innovative and engaging activities supporting children and young people with additional support needs. You’ll also ensure all relevant compliance and service administrative tasks are completed.

Working at The Yard

When you work at The Yard, no two days are the same. Our innovative and adventurous play means we also encourage our staff to be fun, creative and to try new activities. We are always ready to hear your ideas, and we foster a diverse workforce where everyone’s skills and talents are put into each play session.

Our work environment is non-hierarchical, supportive and understanding and the team is highly passionate and committed to our mission. Personal development is encouraged and supported and regular training is provided.

We are an accredited living wage employer and offer a wide range of benefits.

The Yard is an award-winning charity that runs adventure play services for disabled children, young people and their families in the east of Scotland. Since we opened in 1986, our services have grown significantly, but we will always retain our holistic approach and ethos of child-centred and child-led play services. In July 2016 we expanded our services to develop a weekend family service in Fife.

The purpose of this post is to supervise the development, planning and delivery of our weekend sessions in The Yard Fife & Dundee. The successful applicant will be part of a team of Play Team Leaders who lead, supervise, and deliver (with other members of the Play Team) a range of inclusive social, recreational and adventure play-based activities in The Yard’s Kirkcaldy & Dundee premises. We are looking for individuals who can be innovative and create engaging activities to support children and young people, always led by their interests and needs.

The role of the Play Team Leader is to supervise the services we run, and to ensure the following tasks are undertaken to the highest of standards:

• To always ensure the safety of the children within The Yard, including the safe arrival and departure of children
• To engage children in creative play and the development of suitable activity plans for the different ages, abilities, and interests of children
• Liaise with the parents and carers of children and young people, schools and other organisations using The Yard’s services to ensure service satisfaction remains high
• The supervision and effective management of play and volunteer staff

The successful candidate may have experience working in childcare, early years, nursery, play, youth work or the care sector.

The Yard is an award-winning charity that runs adventure play services for disabled children, young people and their families in the east of Scotland. Since we opened in 1986, our services have grown significantly, but we will always retain our holistic approach and ethos of child-centred and child-led play services.

This role will be required during the Edinburgh School Holidays as well as to provide weekly one to one youth clubs based at The Yard Edinburgh. These services will be for children and young people with disabilities, including complex care needs.

The purpose of the role is to work as members of a team to deliver inclusive, social, recreational play activities such as arts & crafts, indoor and outdoor play.

Assisted by another staff member, you will be required to undertake personal care which may require the use of hoists, and other additional tasks associated with a child’s particular care needs.

Some of the key responsibilities are:

• Play an active role in the set up, delivery and development of play and youth work provision, in line with the organisation’s values, aims and policies
• Ensure an approach which has the child and/or young person at its centre
• Encourage and enable children and young people with a range of disabilities and medical conditions to play and socialise in an inclusive way
• Maintain and develop awareness of ongoing developments in play work, youth work and related areas
• To work with children and young people as individuals and as part of a team
• To assist and undertake personal care with individual children if required which may involve the use of hoists and or additional equipment.
• Maintain and develop professional relationships with parents, carers and other organisations

If you are someone who understands the value of play, is creative, a real team player, and has experience working with disabled children and young people, we want to hear from you.

The Yard is an award-winning charity that runs adventure play services for disabled children, young people and their families in the east of Scotland. Since we opened in 1986, our services have grown significantly, but we will always retain our holistic approach and ethos of child-centred and child-led play services.

We are seeking a part time, 30 hours per week, finance assistant to join our Finance team. Working with one other part time finance assistant you will work closely with our fundraising and operations teams and external stakeholders such as families, schools and suppliers. You will provide excellent day to day financial administration using QuickBooks Online. While we will maintain segregation of responsibilities, over time you can expect to have experience of the full range of finance administration including accounts payable, accounts receivable, bank payment, bank reconciliation and payroll journal entries.

In return you’ll be working with a values led organisation where your colleagues are committed to delivering our purpose. Your salary will be in the range of £19,000 to £21,000 pro rata with a defined contribution pension and life assurance. We offer regular development, flexible working and a culture where we strive for each person to be recognised for their contribution.

The Yard is an award-winning charity that runs adventure play services for disabled children, young people and their families in the east of Scotland. Since we opened in 1986, our services have grown significantly, but we will always retain our holistic approach and ethos of child-centred and child-led play services.

We are seeking a part time, 30 hours per week, Finance Manager who will work closely with the Executive and Senior Management team providing accurate and timely financial information on which decisions can be made. The successful applicant will oversee our finance function and ensure proper management of the Charity’s financial affairs. This is a hands-on role; preparing monthly management accounts with reports on cash flow and the break down between restricted and unrestricted funds a key responsibility. The role has management responsibility for a finance assistant, with dotted line responsibility for a finance administrator

In return you’ll be working with a values led organisation where your colleagues are committed to delivering our purpose. Your salary will be in the range of £32,000 to £37,000 pro rata with a defined contribution pension and life assurance. We offer regular development, mentoring from an external Finance Director, flexible working and a culture where we strive for each person to be recognised for their contribution.

The Yard is an award-winning charity that runs adventure play services for disabled children, young people and their families in the east of Scotland. Since we opened in 1986, our services have grown significantly, but we will always retain our holistic approach and ethos of child-centred and child-led play services. In 2016 we expanded our services to develop a weekend family service in Fife.

The purpose of this weekend post is to supervise the development, planning and delivery of our weekend sessions in The Yard Fife. The successful applicant will be one of two Play Team Leaders who lead, supervise, and deliver, with other members of the Play Team, a range of inclusive social, recreational and adventure play-based activities in The Yard’s Kirkcaldy premises. We seek individuals who can initiate and support opportunities for children and young people that are innovative and engaging for the disabled children and young people involved, and truly led by their interests and needs.

The role of the Play Team Leader is to supervise the services we run, and to ensure the following tasks are undertaken to the highest of standards:

• To ensure the safety of the children within The Yard at all times; including the safe arrival and departure of children.
• To engage children in creative play and the development of suitable activity plans for the different ages, abilities and interests of children
• Liaise with the parents and carers of children and young people, schools and other organisations using The Yard’s services to ensure service satisfaction remains high
• The supervision and effective management of play and volunteer staff.
• The successful candidate may have experience working in childcare, early years, nursery, play, youth work or the care sector. You will be passionate about being part of a well-loved charity and ensure our brand values are reflected in all that we do.

Playworkers plan, resource and deliver a range of inclusive social, recreational and adventure play activities at The Yard, including a range of activities such as arts and crafts, loose parts play and den building, as well as supporting our clubs to go on trips.

We are looking for someone who can initiate and support opportunities for disabled children and young people, which are innovative and engaging for the children and young people involved, and truly led by their interests and needs.

In return, you will be working with a values-led organisation where your colleagues are committed to delivering our purpose. We offer regular development, flexible working and a culture where we strive for each person to be recognised for their contribution.

Read more about some of the benefits available to people who work at The Yard.

The Yard is a Scottish charity supporting disabled children and young people (aged 0-25), and their families, through adventure play. We offer creative and inclusive play experiences in a well-supported environment, alongside wraparound support for the whole family. We have big aspirations and are looking for a talented Communications Officer to inspire support and engagement with our work.

Based in Edinburgh, you will work closely with the Communications Manager and will be responsible for supporting a range of communications functions across PR, marketing, social media, publications, advertising and internal communications.

Strong communication and interpersonal skills are essential, as you will work with key staff to source, create and collate content for various audiences and channels to make our stories shine. Although part of a talented and supportive team, you will be expected to work independently as well as across teams to deliver the priorities of The Yard.

You will ideally have a proven track record of delivering excellent communication products in multiple formats, and a thorough understanding of the full spectrum of communication channels. Importantly, you will be passionate about being part of a well-loved charity and ensure our brand values are reflected in all that we do.

The Yard is an award-winning charity that runs adventure play services for disabled children, young people and their families in the east of Scotland. Since we opened in 1986, our services have grown significantly, but we will always retain our holistic approach and ethos of child-centred and child-led play services. In July 2016 we expanded our services to develop a weekend family service in Fife.

About the role

The purpose of this post is to supervise the planning and delivery of sessions and clubs run by The Yard. The applicant will be expected to effectively supervise, and deliver, with other members of the Play Team, a range of inclusive social, recreational and adventure play-based activities both on The Yard’s premises and in the wider community. This role will have a particular focus on our Early Years service.

The Yard is an award-winning charity that runs adventure play services for disabled children, young people and their families in the east of Scotland. Since we opened in 1986, our services have grown significantly, but we will always retain our holistic approach and ethos of child-centred and child-led play services. In July 2016 we expanded our services to develop a weekend family service in Fife.

About the role

The purpose of this post is to work with a team of passionate committed playworkers to deliver sessions at our flagship premises in Edinburgh. The applicant will be expected to plan, resource and deliver a range of inclusive social, recreational and adventure play activities at The Yard, including a range of activities such as arts and crafts, loose parts play, den-building etc, as well as supporting our clubs to go on trips outwith The Yard.

We are looking for someone who can initiate and support opportunities for disabled children and young people that are innovative and engaging for the children and young people involved and truly led by their interests and needs.

You will be passionate about being part of a well-loved charity and ensure our brand values are reflected in all that we do.

We are recruiting for two playworker roles for 7.5 – 15 hours as part of a set rota, over Saturday to Monday with the potential for additional hours

The Yard is a Scottish charity supporting disabled children and young people (aged 0-25), and their families, through adventure play. We offer creative and inclusive play experiences in a well-supported environment, alongside wraparound support for the whole family. We have big aspirations and are looking for an assistant to join our small but successful development team, to provide vital support as we grow our presence across Scotland.

The role of Development Assistant is new at The Yard and will enable the successful candidate to gain experience across all functions within the development team, particularly in fundraising. We are looking for a positive and resilient team player, with excellent attention to detail, who is excited to begin a career in the third sector.

Playworkers plan, resource and deliver a range of inclusive social, recreational and adventure play activities at The Yard, including a range of activities such as arts and crafts, loose parts play and den building, as well as supporting our clubs to go on trips.

We are looking for people who can initiate and support opportunities for disabled children and young people, which are innovative and engaging for the children and young people involved, and truly led by their interests and needs.

In return, you will be working with a values-led organisation where your colleagues are committed to delivering our purpose. We offer regular development, flexible working and a culture where we strive for each person to be recognised for their contribution.

Read more about some of the benefits available to people who work at The Yard.