Vulnerable children in the UK need your help

Wherever you work in the Action for Children family, you'll be helping to change the lives of the most vulnerable children in the UK.

Last year, we helped more than 670,000 children and families across the UK. From direct work in communities to national campaigning, we are focused on making sure every child has a safe and happy childhood, and the foundations they need to thrive.

Why Action for Children?

Working here is more than a job. Everyone in the Action for Children family is passionate about protecting and supporting children. It's the sense of purpose that drives us every single day. Because we know that, when we work together, we can make a huge difference to bring lasting improvements to vulnerable children's lives.

A bit about the role

Our Gilmerton Road Short Breaks service offers care and support to children, young people, and their families, aged 5-18. Our children and young people have intellectual disabilities and behaviours that may cause distress. Our mission is to provide essential support and guidance, empowering each young person to achieve their potential and pursue positive outcomes. This commitment lies at the heart of our work.

In your role as Team Leader Residential, you'll lead, inspire and motivate the team to deliver meaningful support that changes children's lives. The Team Leader Residential is a dual role that is split between offering direct support to the young people while undertaking administrative and organisational tasks. You'll have responsibility for rota management, lead on shifts, support staff in their personal development and assist the Registered Manager with the day to day running of the service. Through the direct support, you'll be part of an exceptional team who work together to develop and deliver person-centred care and support plans.

Collaborating with the Registered Manager and fellow Team Leaders, your role involves fostering a supportive culture within our service to ensure staff deliver high-quality care during short breaks.

How you'll help to create brighter futures

Some key responsibilities for the role of Team Leader Residential are;

• Providing direct line management to a team of residential staff to deliver high standards of care.
• Support staff team development through training opportunities, staff supervision, and multidisciplinary working.
• Leading shifts and working with the Registered Manager to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and organisational policy and procedure.
• Work to achieve positive outcomes for individual children and young people and contributing to the achievement of an outstanding, good or equivalent rating in external inspection including deputising in the absence of the Registered Manager.

Let's talk about you

• To be SSSC registered, HNC Social care & SVQ Children and young people (or equivalent) and SVQ4 in leadership and management or (willing to work towards).
• Previous experience of supervising staff and coaching and supporting staff to reach a competent standard.
• Significant experience of working with children and young people with Learning Disabilities.
• To be able to effectively and safely deal with children and young people with behaviours of concern.
• Good knowledge of Safeguarding, and keeping young people safe.

Benefits:

• 29 days annual leave PLUS bank holidays, with up to 5 additional days for continuous service and option to buy or sell leave
• Gain professional qualifications and excellent training/development opportunities
• Flexible maternity, adoption, and paternity packages
• Pension with up to 7% employer contribution with included life assurance cover
• Staff discount portal and Blue Light Card eligibility with 15,000 national retailers discounts.

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.

We have an exciting opportunity to be part of something new

Do you want to make a difference to the lives of young people setting up their own home?

You would be part of this new initiative, expanding housing options and housing support for young people. Based in Stirling with 24/7 supported tenancies and outreach to young people you should bring passion for investing your time and energy into supporting care leavers, enabling them to reach their potential and create positive futures. 4 one-bedroom tenancies will be available soon and we are looking for 2 waking night staff. All would be expected to be part of a collaborative team to provide round the clock support to young people.

We are looking for staff to join our Gap Homes Stirling Service with the following experience -

• A relevant qualification in children's services – preferably SVQ 3 or above or the willingness to work towards a qualification which ensures compliance with SSSC and Care Inspectorate Registration
• Knowledge/skills and experience of working with children and young people with a range of complex needs and issues including substance use, mental health, offending behaviour, trauma, bereavement, CSE and other adversities.
• Experience of working in partnership with a range of agencies including those working within housing support and 16+ services.
• Shifts on a Rota Basis.

Pay & Reward Framework

We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values. We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people.

For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out 1st April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a key pillar of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to grow and develop in their career at Barnardo's as it will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues to progress through the pay band of their role.

Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band – this ensures that pay progression steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours. More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application.

About Barnardo's

At Barnardo's we believe in children – no matter who they are, what they have done or what they have been through. Please read about our basis and values following the link below. You will be asked questions relating to them as part of the recruitment process for this role.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is reflected in our values and our practice, and we have invested in this area of our work to ensure that we can deliver on our commitments to be an inclusive employer. EDI is a key enabler of our purpose as a charity and we want to ensure that the diversity of our teams is reflective of the communities we serve and that we continue to learn and develop our work with a focus on inclusion. We particularly encourage applications from candidates from Black, Asian and Minoritised Ethnic Communities, candidates who are LGBT+ and Disabled candidates.

Our basis and values

“Aberlour has helped me to “learn how to be a Mum again, how to listen and regulate my emotions and support my children to do the same.” - Parent

About Aberlour Family Matters South Ayrshire

Aberlour Family Matters works in partnership with South Ayrshire Council and offers support to mums and dads who have had children permanently removed from their care. You will offer individual and group support alongside relationship based and strengths focused whole family support where appropriate. You will also work with South Ayrshire Council partners to ensure the voices and experiences of parents, carers and practitioners can help support the ongoing improvement of the permanence process. The project has been funded by Scottish Government since April 2022.

You will build up relationships with families facing disadvantage and work together with them to assess their strengths and needs and deliver an agreed family plan, offering emotional and practical support. You will work individually and in groups to strengthen health and wellbeing, building esteem, skills and confidence.

What we are looking for....

We are looking for a kind, committed and experienced individual to join our team.

You will have experience in working alongside partner services and families who have often experienced the impact of trauma, poverty, and social exclusion. You will have good listening skills and be able to plan, deliver and evaluate a range of family and wellbeing support strategies which help families to their own solutions. You will have experience of child and adult protection issues. Your values should be aligned with The Promise, GIRFEC and UNCRC as well as Aberlour values. You must share our vision that collaborative working, relationship based, strengths focussed early intervention is the best option for children and families who are feeling overwhelmed or excluded.

You will work 22.5 hours per week, these hours will be planned and worked flexibly Monday - Sunday 7am-10pm to meet the needs of families we support. This post is currently funded until 31st March 2024, however we will be actively seeking funding to extend this further.

It would be helpful if candidates hold a valid driver’s licence and have use of a car for working hours, the role will cover the whole of South Ayrshire.

Find out more information on what we are looking for in candidates here.

At Aberlour we want to make sure every child and young person has the love, support and opportunity they need to reach their potential. If you share the same vision, we want you to join our team. To have a look at our values to understand more about what we are looking for from our employeesclick here

What we offer...

As well as a supportive team and excellent training opportunities, we want all our employees to feel valued and rewarded for the vital work they do. When you work with us, we'll recognise your efforts with generous annual leave, an excellent employer pension scheme and a range of deals and discounts across various retailers. Find out more about our Employee Benefits and our commitment to Equality and Diversity here.