Home-Start Edinburgh, Home Link Family Support, NHS Lothian’s Parent and Infant Relationship Service (PAIRS), Citizens Advice , Circle, Stepping Stones North Edinburgh, and City of Edinburgh Council’s Early Years Education are delighted to recruit staff for a new transformational partnership approach that will test bespoke holistic whole family supports throughout the early years. The project, ‘The Family Hub’, will ensure that appropriate, universal, and enhanced support is available at the earliest stage possible for all families with a child not yet in an ELC or school setting. This will be achieved by developing a cohesive pathway and menu of supports alongside families.

The project aims to:

• Improve family wellbeing
• Reduce inequalities in family wellbeing
• Long-term reduction in families requiring crisis intervention
• Long-term reduction in the number of children living away from their families
• Increase the number of families taking up wider support.

Home-Start Edinburgh is recruiting a Senior Co-ordinator, Evaluation & Impact, to support this project as well as the activities of Home-Start Edinburgh. The right person will be someone with a background working alongside families, and an understanding of how to gather evidence to illustrate the impact our service makes. With skills in quality assuring services and data, and supporting improvement activities, you will help drive forward support to families in Edinburgh.

Home-Start Edinburgh is a volunteer-led charity with over 35 years-experience working in local communities, supporting families with a child under 5 in the home. We are currently recruiting for the role of Family Support Co-ordinator. Whilst our Head Office is in Leith, the successful applicant will be required to support volunteers and families in one of Edinburgh’s four localities.

This role will be tasked will support families, predominantly through the network of volunteers they recruit, support and train. They will also be expected to contribute to the wider operation and further development of the scheme.

The post-holder will work with the other Family Support Co-ordinators, as well as other staff, to ensure families receive holistic, high quality support. They will contribute to the ongoing training and development of volunteers, including delivery of the Volunteer Prep course, as well as networking with other local organisations.

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.

New service, new role!

Join us to provide early help and personalised support to families living in Perth and Kinross.

Aberlour is featured in the top 100 Sunday Times big organisations Best Places to Work 2024.

About Aberlour’s New Universal Support Service

We will provide early support and advice to families who may feel they have become a bit stuck or who are looking for some information, advice, signposting or referrals to other services.

From September all families with children under the age of 18, living in Perth and Kinross, can contact us directly to access our new service. Working alongside families we will offer personalised support on family matters, when they need it most, in locations to suit them.

As part of this team you would provide a service and lifeline for these families.

What we are looking for

We are looking for a friendly, efficient individual who can act as the first point of contact for families and professionals seeking support and advice.

You will help identify family needs and signpost to relevant services and agencies to achieve positive outcomes for children, young people and their families.

You are someone who will have strong communication, organisation and team working skills. You will be resourceful, IT literate and thrive on helping children and families overcome the challenges presented by everyday modern life.

Hours of work will mainly be Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm, with an expectation to be flexible if needed to attend events.

What we are offering

This is an exciting new role which offers the chance to help shape a new universal community-based service to make a difference to the lives of children and families in Perth and Kinross.

Also on offer:

• A supportive and welcoming team
• Competitive employment package ; Generous annual leave and the opportunity to rise to the top-level salary after 3 years
• A comprehensive induction package and ongoing training

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. Aberlour’s values are critical and drive everything we do. We will be looking for someone who can demonstrate how Aberlour’s values of Respect, Innovation, Integrity and Challenge will be visible in their practice. You must be comfortable working in an environment where Aberlour’s values are lived in practice.