Donnington Doorstep – Sessional Play or Youth Worker April 2015
Sessional Play or Youth Assistant Job Description
Job title: / Sessional Play or Youth AssistantResponsible to: / Dependent on post
Working with: / Session team
Hours of Work: / Sessional
Various hours available. May include evenings and occasional Saturdays
Location: / Based in Donnington Doorstep
Generally working within Oxford City, occasional travel out of city required.
Salary and benefits: / £14,487 to £16,469 p.a. pro rata
(depending on experience)
Holiday entitlement is 5.6 weeks p.a. pro rata
A pension scheme will be introduced in line with new legislation in 2015.
Staff have an individual responsibility to safeguard & promote the welfare of all children; to be an advocate for children’s right to play, to be listened to & to be safe.
Outline of Post
You will work as part of a small team of staff providing drop-in play and support activities for children, young people and their families. Your main area of work will be as part of either :
· the Drop-in Play-out team working with children and young people aged 5 to 18
· the Family Drop-in team working children under 5 and their families
Main Tasks and Responsibilities
1. Set-up, deliver and promote high quality, free-play opportunities, inclusive for all children whatever their abilities.
2. Participate in the development and delivery of Doorstep services which may include:
· Evening and holiday daytime sessions
· Play ranger activities in the local area
· Saturday play sessions
· External events
3. Welcome all children, young people, carers and other visitors and make sure that they receive appropriate information and advice about the services.
4. Consult with children, young people and carers on service provision
5. Provide one-to-one support to individual children, young people and their families
6. Be an advocate for the children’s right to play, to be listened to and to be safe.
7. Make sure that the programme of activities delivered is fun, interesting, valuable and appropriate to the children using the facilities by providing a variety of play opportunities and identifying and accommodating changing needs.
8. Ensuring the safety and well-being of all users, staff and volunteers through risk assessments for all activities, checking equipment, undertaking first line child protection measures and organising activities appropriate to the users at any given time.
9. To be familiar with and apply Doorstep’s Health and Safety, Fire and First Aid procedures at all times within your work and to attend training in these areas.
10. Contributing to the accountability of the centre through assisting in the maintenance of agreed records including statistics, registers, risk assessment records, contracts, evaluations, accident books, financial transactions etc.
11. To support volunteers and placement students helping with Play as required.
12. Attend occasional network meetings and events as required.
13. Contribute to the regular reports and evaluations on the project
14. To be proactive in ensuring that Doorstep’s Equal Opportunities policy is applied to all aspects of the work.
15. To be aware of and follow Doorstep Safeguarding Children procedures
16. To attend monthly staff meetings and supervision as required.
17. To attend training associated with the post as required.
18. To ensure that appropriate confidentiality is maintained.
It is in the nature of the work of Doorstep that tasks and responsibilities are in many circumstances unpredictable and varied. All staff are therefore expected to work in a flexible way when the occasion arises and tasks which are not specifically covered in their job descriptions have to be undertaken. These additional duties will normally be to cover unforeseen circumstances or changes of work, and they will normally be compatible with the regular type of work. If the additional responsibility or task becomes a regular or frequent part of the member of employee’s job, it will be included on the job description in consultation with the member of staff. All Doorstep staff must attend staff team events wherever possible and be available for some Saturday cover each year (calculated pro-rata according to weekly hours and detailed in individual employment contracts).
NB This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and is subject to an enhanced DBS Check.
This post is subject to funding being secured and maintained.
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Donnington Doorstep – Sessional Play or Youth Worker April 2015
Play or Youth Worker Person Specification/ Essential / Desirable
Skills, Qualities & Knowledge / · A warm and friendly, approachable person with good interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate with and relate to children & young people
· General understanding of the principles of play and/or youth work
· A positive and enthusiastic approach to being with children and young people
· An awareness of child development and children’s rights
· The ability to work with challenging behaviour.
· Some understanding of issues relating to disability.
· Ability to ensure Safeguarding and Confidentiality policies are implemented
· A non-judgmental and inclusive approach.
· Strong team player
· Commitment to the needs of children, young people and their carers.
· Ability to be creative in an unstructured environment
· Adaptable, flexible and open to change / · Knowledge of the different communities in the Oxford area.
· The ability to communicate in more than one language of the Oxford communities.
· British sign language, Makaton or other communication skills.
Qualifications & Experience / · Experience of play or youth work with children and young people aged 5 to 18
· Experience of working with people from a wide range of back grounds.
· An appropriate qualification
· Experience of Playwork with Under 5’s
Please note the specific nature of the post requires the following abilities as a minimum:
· Play workers must be able to communicate verbally in English
· Play workers must be able to set up and pack away activities and to supervise children and young people.
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