We are seeking a playful, adaptable, and confident individuals for play worker posts at Play Midlothian, to deliver
high quality services, enabling children to thrive through play.
Community Play Worker (CPW)
- First Aid: Desirable – can be attained whilst employed by the company. PM can support sourcing and funding
courses.
- Child Protection Training: Essential – PM can support sourcing and funding courses.
- PVG
Membership – Essential – PM can facilitate.
- Responsibility / duties – facilitating adventurous and
creative play under the supervision of the Play Team Lead. The Community Play Worker may be asked to ‘lead’ a
session alongside another CPW or APW once an agreed induction period has been fulfilled.
About Play Midlothian
Play Midlothian is a registered charity (no. SC025474) working to support children to thrive through play. We focus
on play because we know how much this benefits children’s health, wellbeing and development. It is important for
their lives in the here and now as well as for their future life chances.
We strive to remove barriers to play where they exist, to ensure all children have access to play that meets their
needs. We provide services for children and families and build the capacity of communities to support play. This
includes training and development opportunities for other settings, including schools. We are also a partner in
the Midlothian Play Strategy, which takes a strategic approach in planning for and promoting play in
Midlothian.
We have an office base in Dalkeith but deliver services throughout Midlothian, and if commissioned, beyond.
About the role
Our Playworkers support session planning and the day-to-day practicalities of our play services, carry out play work,
and support services users. It is essential that the successful applicant enjoys all types of play and can
respond flexibly to the needs of participants.
We are looking for someone who enjoys working as part of a team and can build productive relationships with our
participants, colleagues and other stakeholders, while demonstrating an enthusiasm for Play Midlothian’s aims
and values.
The postholder will be directed day to day by a Team Leader, and work as part of a team of Community Playworkers and
at times volunteers.
It is important the postholder can be flexible about their hours, which will be worked over four or five days on a
rota pattern over a 7-day week. Out 2 Play shifts may finish approx. 6.00/6.30pm. We value employees having
work/life balance and aim to establish a pattern that shares out any evening and weekend working, so each
employee has regular weekends off.
Play Midlothian’s services take place in a variety of community settings. Some are indoors, though a high proportion
of our current services are exclusively outdoors (all year round), therefore the role will particularly suit
applicants with a fondness for the outdoors.
We work with children and young people aged 0-13 (and at times older), with their parents/carers at some of our
services, and at times with specific needs (including disability and emerging mental health challenges). We work
with a variety of service models, though with the focus firmly on self-directed play. The goal is always to
ensure that children have access to play opportunities that enable them to thrive.
Information on our current services can be found on our website.
For the right candidate, this will be a highly rewarding and stimulating role, offering plenty of variety in their
work – all the while enabling their passion for children’s play to shine though.