Play Worker (SEND) (20017)

18 hours a week to include delivery sessions which run Monday's 4pm - 7pm, Thursday's 4pm - 7pm and Saturday's 10am - 4pm, Some of the main responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• To contribute to the planning of sessions and activities.
• Delivering and recording group sessions.
• Facilitating activities and days out.
• To ensure the sessions run smoothly and our safeguarding policies and procedures are adhered to at all times.
• To provide a safe, fun and inclusive environment for all our service users.
  
  Are you looking for a new challenge? Do you enjoy working with children & young people and positively impacting their lives? We have an exciting opportunity for a Play Worker to join our friendly, passionate and dedicated team at our Include Me 2 Service based in Blackpool on a part time, permanent basis., Our Include Me 2 Service is a short breaks service facilitating group sessions for children & young people aged 4 - 18 with a wide range of Special Educational Needs/disabilities offering them opportunities to get involved in play and leisure activities such as arts & crafts, cooking and trips out in the community whilst offering valuable respite to their families. We are a fun-loving team looking for an enthusiastic, happy and kind individual to join us as our Play Worker!, Experience of working with children & young people (gained either in employment or volunteer capacity)
• Ability to work well as part of a team
• Ability to communicate effectively with children & young people
• Ability to demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding and the commitment to adhere to Barnardo's safeguarding & child protection policies/procedures.
• Awareness of various factors impacting the families we work with such as poverty
• Most importantly, you will need to enjoy the challenges and rewards of working with children & young people!
A car driver would be preferable, but not essential.

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., 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.

Workplace Offer: What it means for you The world of work has changed. We are understanding of what works best for our colleagues both current and future as we look to embrace this new way of working. 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, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or any combination of these.
• 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.
• 26 days annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing after 5 years service
• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our HolidayPlus scheme
• A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options
• Service related sick pay from day 1
• Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution
• Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension
• Cycle2work scheme
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal
• 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
• Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
• Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer