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

Our team is expanding and we are looking for an additional part time Dads Worker to Support Dads, children and families across North Ayrshire. This role involves engaging with Dads and families to offer bespoke support and signposting in both one to one and small group settings.

Working alongside our existing Dads worker and health and social care professionals in the universal early years team, you will help provide Dads and other male carers with the tools they need to become more confident and resilient and ensure the best start in life for their children.

Smart Play Network is a dynamic, forward thinking play organisation and charity supporting and delivering a range of play services in Scotland.

PlayTalkRead is a Scottish Government Early Years campaign aimed at promoting positive parenting in order to give children the best start in life and a strong platform for healthy growth, development and attainment.

Are you a fun and enthusiastic individual who enjoys working as part of a high energy team? Do you like to travel? Are you passionate about making a positive impact on families and understand the importance of parent and child relationships? Then this may be the job for you.

Our PlayTalkRead Roadshow travels across all of Scotland’s 32 local authorities to inspire and support parents and carers to interact with their babies and little ones through fun, simple and inexpensive activities.

As a key member of the play worker team you will travel to locations across Scotland. Working away from home is an integral part of the role and offers a great opportunity to see Scotland while making a difference!

Having the right mind-set, attitude and approach is as important for us as having the right experience and skills.

We appreciate that the best person might not have all the criteria we have listed, so if you feel your experience and skills will help you to make a great contribution in this role and you have the right mind-set, we would welcome an application from you.

When applying, please refer to the job details for full list of essential and advantageous criteria.