Midlothian Sure Start is a dynamic, award winning third sector organisation. It offers a quality support service to families with children up to age 12 across Midlothian. Midlothian Sure Start has been in existence since 2001 and employs over 70 members of staff providing a service in Family Learning centres and in the community. Our ethos is to provide a holistic, confidential community based service where families are at the heart of what we do.
We are looking for people who are as passionate about the services we provide as we are and in return we are keen to support professional development with excellent training and development opportunities, enhanced sick pay (following completion of probation), enhanced annual leave entitlement (we close completely for a well-earned break over Christmas and New Year) and we support our staff with an Employee Assistance Programme, Pension Scheme, Discounted Childcare, Health Cash Plan and Discounted Shopping.
In April 26 Parenting Across Scotland, Children in Scotland and Midlothian Sure Start received funding from the Scottish Government’s Whole Family Wellbeing Fund to deliver the next phase of Open Kindergarten in Scotland work. The central aim of Phase 4 is to build capacity for further roll out of Open Kindergartens across Scotland.
We are currently recruiting for a Training & Development Officer, To lead and support workforce development for practitioners delivering, or planning to deliver, Open Kindergarten provision across third sector and local authority settings, building a community of Open Kindergarten practice across Scotland.
Experience of working in Early Years, Family Support, Perinatal or Community Education settings is essential, alongside delivering training and supporting practitioner learning. Applicants must demonstrate trauma informed, strengths based practice, strong communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively, with experience of project delivery and reflective practice desirable.
Will be required to connect and coordinate across multiple local authority areas.
For more information or if you are interested in applying please download the application pack below or contact our recruitment team on 0131 654 0489 or email recruitment@midlothiansurest.org.uk
Alternatively, you can send us your CV and let us know which role you are interested in.
Closing date: 22nd May
Interview Date: 2nd June 2026
Training & Development Officer - Open Kindergarten
Postcode: EH22 5TA
If you sign up you'll be able to save notes on active jobs.
Barnardo's Caern Disability Services consist of three unique Projects who deliver a variety of quality services for young people with learning disabilities and/or autism and complex care needs.
We are looking for a dynamic and committed Residential Team Manager to join our Caern Short Breaks Service.
The Service provides support for up to 5 children and young people (aged 5-18) at any one time, by offering short break packages to them and their families/carers. All staff play an active role in supporting the children, young people and their families/carers to achieve positive outcomes, as identified in the Young People's Individual Support Plans. The Service is Registered with the Care Inspectorate as a Residential Service and all staff must be SSSC registered.
The staff team across Caern Services must be fully accepting of our children and be prepared to offer them a professional relationship based on love and acceptance, informed by our understanding of their individual needs, wishes and experiences. We are passionate about the children and young people that we care for, showing understanding, empathy, and consistency in our approach.
You will also work closely with the Team Manager of our Residential Service in Penicuik.
About You:
We are looking for an enthusiastic, motivated, and experienced individual who can work on their own initiative and is proactive. Direct experience of managing a team and knowledge and skills around supporting children and young people with a learning disability and /or Autism is essential. Safeguarding must be at the heart of your practice.
Caern Short Breaks is a Registered Service with the Care Inspectorate and as Team Manager, you will be the Registered Manager of the Service. You will be responsible for overseeing the day to day running of the house, providing robust management and leadership to the staff team, delivering timely monthly supervision, supporting and monitoring the quality of work, and ensuring that staff are working to high levels of performance within the best interests of the children in our care. You will understand budgets, chair and attend external meetings and will be accountable to the Children's Services Manager who has overall management responsibility of all threeCaern Services.
You will work 37 hours per week and participate in the on-call rota across two of our services for which there is an allowance paid.
Please ensure that you outline on your application how you meet the required criteria listed in the attached Additional Information Sheet.
If you would like to find out more about this role please contact aileen.gallagher@barnardos.org.uk
Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible.
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 in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay.
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 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.
Benefits
Workplace Offer: What it means for you
Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, in the community, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or depending on the role any combination of these. Please read through the advert carefully to understand the remits of hybrid working that will be specific to the role.
Barnardo's require colleagues to be UK residents, based in the UK and to complete their roles from within the UK (with the exception of colleagues providing Barnardo's services in Jersey and colleagues who live in the Republic of Ireland providing services in Northern Ireland)
Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
*T&C's apply based on contract
About Barnardo's
We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.
About Aberlour Options Lothian
Aberlour Options Lothian offers a range of short break services to children and young people with complex needs. We offer a safe, homely environment for a child to come and stay for a short break that gives their families a rest from their caring role. During that break, children enjoy a range of fun activities and experiences with our staff. Our service is very much a ‘home from home’ for the children who stay with us. We are within easy commuting distance of Edinburgh, Midlothian and East Lothian with access via the numbers 26, 111 and 124 bus routes.
The difference we make to families:
“It’s not easy to accept that sometimes you need help. We had reached rock bottom but Aberlour Options Lothian was that lifesaving buoyancy aid.
It wasn't easy accepting leaving my son there especially in the early days when it was new to everyone. It is a safe and welcoming place and a second home in many respects now. Somewhere he is safe, cared for and has loads of fun with the carers and other children.
It’s not just about respite; we have received help with managing behaviour, preparing for hospital visits and operations. Help and advice when there seemed to be no one else listening or who understands. It’s hard to look back to where we were but no we wouldn't be here today without their help and support.
To sum it up: Saved our lives. Peace of mind. Finally a rest.”
What we are looking for....
As part of a small team, you will ensure that the highest level of physical and emotional care is provided to the children and young people. Experience in this type of work is preferred however we will consider all applications. Our service is open Thursday afternoons to Monday mornings. We are looking for someone to work weekends which may including sleepover shifts, 12hr shifts or shorter shifts and who is flexible to attend training and team meetings when needed.
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. At Aberlour we have strong values - Respect, Integrity, Innovation and Challenging - which influence our everyday work. If you choose to apply for this role please tell us about your values in your supporting statement. To have a look at our values to understand more about what we are looking for from our employees click 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. Please click here to have a look at our Employee Benefits.
We are seeking an enthusiastic and committed Residential Project Worker to join our Pentland Way Service.
The post is a full-time day shift post, 37 hours a week, worked on a rota basis including weekends.
ABOUT CAERN
Barnardo's Caern Disability Services consists of three unique Projects who deliver a variety of quality services for young people with learning disabilities and/or autism. We have done this for over forty years.
Pentland Way Project is a residential service providing support to up to three young people. Working primarily in the residential setting you will promote the happiness, safety and welfare of the young people. You will play an active role in supporting the young people and their families/carers to achieve positive outcomes, as identified in their Individual Support Plans (ISP's).
ABOUT YOU
Ideally you will have experience in working directly with children and young people in a residential setting. Experience in supporting children and young people with a learning disability and/or Autism would be an advantage. Communication with the young people is paramount - the key is time tabling; structure; reliability and consistency. You will be faced with behaviours that challenge, including physical.
The staff team across Caern Services must be fully accepting of our children and be prepared to offer them a professional relationship based on acceptance and informed by our understanding of their individual needs, wishes and experiences. We are passionate about the children and young people that we care for, showing understanding, empathy and consistency in our approach.
You will hold (or be willing to work towards) a relevant professional qualification at SCQF level 7 or above (for example SVQ3 children and young people) plus an HNC in social services. These qualifications are required to register with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) as part of your employment. There may be external grants available to partly fund this.
For an informal chat about this role – please call 01968 664 792
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 in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay.
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 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.
Benefits:Workplace Offer: What it means for you
Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, in the community, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or depending on the role any combination of these. Please read through the advert carefully to understand the remits of hybrid working that will be specific to the role.
Barnardo's require colleagues to be UK residents, based in the UK and to complete their roles from within the UK (with the exception of colleagues providing Barnardo's services in Jersey and colleagues who live in the Republic of Ireland providing services in Northern Ireland)
*T&C's apply based on contract
About Barnardo's
We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.
Our basis and values
We are seeking an enthusiastic and committed Senior Residential Project Worker to join our Pentland Way residential Service.
Barnardo's Caern Disability Services consists of three unique Projects who deliver a variety of quality services for young people with learning disabilities and/or autism. We have done this for over 40 years.
At the Caern Short Breaks Service, we support up to 5 children and young people aged 5-18 by offering respite and short break packages to them and their families.
Working primarily in the residential setting you will promote the happiness, safety and welfare of the young people. You will play an active role in supporting the children and young people and their families/carers to achieve positive outcomes, as identified in the Young People's Individual Support Plans.
ABOUT YOU
Ideally you will have experience in working directly with children and young people in a residential setting. Experience in supporting children and young people with a learning disability and/or Autism is required.
You will work directly with the children and young people on shift, as part of the staff team on rota. In addition to this your main role will include
The staff team across Caern Services must be fully accepting of our children and be prepared to offer them a professional relationship based on acceptance and informed by our understanding of their individual needs, wishes and experiences. We are passionate about the children and young people that we care for, showing understanding, empathy and consistency in our approach.
You will currently hold or be working towards a SVQ3 (Children and Young People) and also be willing to work towards a recognised SSSC qualification/s relevant to this role (Residential Worker with Supervisory Responsibilities).
This is a full-time position (37 hours). Working on a dayshift rota basis, you will typically work a rota of 5 out of 7 days, including weekends. You will require to be flexible for the needs of the Young People and the Service.
For an informal chat about this role – please call Aileen Gallagher on 0131 339 8840.
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 in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay.
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 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.
Benefits:Workplace Offer: What it means for you
Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, in the community, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or depending on the role any combination of these. Please read through the advert carefully to understand the remits of hybrid working that will be specific to the role.
Barnardo's require colleagues to be UK residents, based in the UK and to complete their roles from within the UK (with the exception of colleagues providing Barnardo's services in Jersey and colleagues who live in the Republic of Ireland providing services in Northern Ireland)
*T&C's apply based on contract
About Barnardo's
We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.