Re: Roma Early Education Champions

Re: Roma Early Education Champions

(Ref: REEC)

Date: 22nd June 2017

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for your interest in the above post. Enclosed is a pack containing:

1.Background Information (for the RSG’s latest Annual Report, please see Altmore Children’s Centre latest report, please see

2.Job Description

3.Person Specification

4.Application Form

5.Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form

6.Rehabilitation of Offenders Form

Please send your completed application form to: Recruitment Panel, Roma Support Group, P.O. Box 23610, London E7 0XB or email to ating the subject: Job Application Roma Early Education Champion (Ref REEC).

Please note that the deadline for completed applications is Thursday, 13th July 2017at 5pm. Applications received later will not be considered. I would also like to stress that we do not accept CV’s.

Interviews will be held at the Roma Support Group’s office in Canning Town. You will be informed by telephone if you have been short listed, therefore could you provide us with daytime and evening telephone numbers. If you do not hear from us, please assume that your application has not been successful. Unfortunately, we cannot reply to those that have not been short listed.

We wish you every success with your application and thank you for your interest in the Roma Early Years Project.

Racheal Inns, Altmore Children’s Centre Manager and Child Protection Lead

Sylvia Ingmire,Roma Support Group

ROMA EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROGRAMME

Job Description

Title: Roma Early Education Champions (two posts available)

Location: L.B. Newham, London

Responsible To: Altmore Children’s Centre

Purpose of Job: You will help to develop early education provision for

Roma children (0-5 years old) by working with their

parents and local service providers, and contribute to

creating culturally sensitive play-based early learning

environment for young Roma children.

Job Reference: Ref: REEC

Hours: Up to 7 hrs per week (Part-time/ Sessional)

Salary: £10 per hour

This post is funded by the Altmore Children’s Centre for until 31st December 2018.

Job Outline:

The roles of two Roma Early Education Champions will form a vital part of the Roma Early Childhood Education Programme, which aims to overcome the disadvantages faced by young Roma children in East London by: a/ developing early years education provision to create apositive foundationfor learning; b/ empowering Roma parentsto contribute to early years education and prepare their children to enter mainstream education.

The Roma Early Education Champions will work in partnership with local Roma parents; Altmore Children’s Centre and the Roma Support Group and contribute to creating high quality, play-based and culturally sensitive early learning environment for Roma children. The post-holders will be supported through participation in a comprehensive induction process, on-going supervision and benefit from training to develop their professional capacity in the field of Early Childhood Education.

Context of the Job:

The Altmore Children’s Centre has been rated outstanding by the latest Ofsted’s report. It is funded by London Borough of Newham and offers a wide range of activities for the local community including a community baby clinic, antenatal birth clinic, breastfeeding support and baby massage. The centre has links with health visitors, community midwives and speech therapists. It signposts families to a range of providers that offer adult education, volunteering opportunities, and activities designed to support parents and carers back into employment and training.

The majority of the families who use the centre are of Indian heritage. A growing number of families using the centre are of Sri Lankan origin. The area is one of the 20% most deprived wards nationally. The children’s centre has 1598 children under five in its area. About 30% of children and adults who use the centre come from homes that are dependent on benefits and where no-one is in work.

The Children’s Centre has collaborated closely with the Roma Support Group to engage local Roma families, encourage their engagement in the education system and understand more of how they can support their children’s development and inclusion.

In this project the school (of which the Children’s Centre is a part) has provided funding for two additional Roma Early Education Champions from the Slovakian Roma and Romanian Roma community who are known to live in the locality but few of whom access the services of the Centre.

The Roma Support Group (RSG) is a registered Charity and a Company Limited by Guarantee. The organisation was established in 1998 in order to improve the quality of life of Roma refugees and migrants. At present the organisation delivers the following projects and services: Advice and Advocacy for Roma Families,Aspiration Project,Roma Art Development Project, Sport activities, Policy, Information & Campaigning Project, publishing and disseminating resources and Roma Support & Engagement Programme across the UK.

The need and demand for RSG’s work is reflected in casework statistics. At present RSG provide assistance to over 2,500 Roma refugees and migrants from Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Lithuania, and Balkan countries. RSG centres are located around high concentrations of Roma people in the London Boroughs of Newham and Hammersmith & Fulham.

The Roma Early Education Champions will be expected to work as a member of a team under the overall supervision of Altmore Children’s Centre and work with the Roma Support Group. S/he will be line-managed and supported by Altmore Children’s Centre with theRSG Roma Early Childhood Education Project. However, they will be expected to perform many of the duties outlined below independently and work on their own initiative.

Main Duties and Key Responsibilities:

Delivering an outreach service for Roma refugee and migrant parents to popularize the Roma Early Childhood Education Programme

Working with the Early Years Teacher, Early Childhood Advisor and the RSG Project Coordinator to provide early childhood education based on play, learning, fun and creativity

Assessing Roma parents’ needs, and facilitating their input and contribution, including supporting them to attend focus groups meetings

Co-facilitating Focus Group Meetings with Roma parents in order to ensure their meaningful engagement

Contributing to developing written materials on Roma early education programmes

Attending in-house and external training delivered by the Early Years Teacher and the RSG Project Coordinator, as well as external training in the field of Early Education and Care, Child Protection, Health & Safety, First Aid, etc

Co-facilitating cultural training and good practice workshops for Early Years Professionals

Recording/ monitoring outreach activities accurately and in accordance with requirements of the project, while ensuring that all information regarding individual beneficiaries is kept confidential.

Other Duties:

Attending the Roma Early Childhood Education Steering Group, which will meet 4 times per year and whose aim is to oversee the development of the project;

Adhering at all times to Altmore Children’s Centre Equal Opportunities Policy, Outreach Policy, Health and Safety Policy and other procedural guidelines

Additional Information:

Because you will be working with children, you will undergo a DBS check before you commence your work.

Terms and Conditions:

1. Salary: £10per hour

2. Hours of Work: Up to 7 hours per week

3. Location: London Borough of Newham

4. Probation period: This appointment is subject to a 3 month probationary period.

Person Specification for Roma Early Education Champions

Experience & Knowledge / Essential / Desirable / Assessed by:
Application/ Interview
Excellent understanding of Roma culture / √ / Application & Interview
Experience of working with Roma refugees and migrants / √ / Application & Interview
Fluency in spoken: English, Slovak(or Romanian) and/or Romanes / √ / Application & Interview
Must demonstrate an interest in Early Years education and a commitment to learning / √ / Application & Interview
Must demonstrate an interest in empowering and supporting others to identify their needs and contribute to solutions / √ / Application & Interview
Experience of administration processes, e.g.: timesheets, maintaining work records, etc. / √ / Application & Interview
Experience of working closely with other agencies to develop appropriate support services for beneficiaries / √ / Application & Interview
Skills & Abilities
Must be a confident and effective communicator / √ / Application & Interview
Ability to communicate cross-culturally and in a variety of settings / √ / Application & Interview
Ability to listen to others and work in a non-judgmental way / √ / Application & Interview
Ability to establish a trust relationship with parents and children / √ / Application & Interview
Ability to work effectively as part of a team / √ / Application & Interview
Must have a willingness to travel across Newham to outreach different Roma families, training sessions and other requirements of the Project / √ / Application & Interview
Must have a willingness to attend training courses as required / √ / Application & Interview
Must have a willingness to participate in regular supervisions with the line manager / √ / Application & Interview
Others
Must demonstrate a commitment to learning and personal development / √ / Application & Interview
Willingness to undertake Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks / √ / Application & Interview
Willingness to work some unsociable hours, e.g. after-school hours and evenings / √ / Application & Interview
Relevant Personal Characteristics
Reliable / √ / Application & Interview
Tactful when dealing with people / √ / Application & Interview
Awareness of the importance of confidentiality in all aspects of the work / √ / Application & Interview
Commitment to and understanding of Equal Opportunities / √ / Application & Interview
A flexible approach and ability to work creatively / √ / Application & Interview
A sense of humour! / √ / Application & Interview

ROMA EARLY EDUCATION CHAMPION

APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT

This form will be photocopied, so please type your answers or write clearly in black ink. Please use the same size (A4) paper for any additional pages.

Please return the form to: The Recruitment Panel; Roma Support Group, P.O. Box 23610, London E7 OXB or email to

Please read the guidance notes for applicants before completing this form.

Post Applied For (Ref No): Roma Early Education Champion - Ref: REEC

How did you find out about the post?

(Please answer this question.)

1. PERSONAL DETAILS

Surname:

First Name(s):

Address:

Tel. No.:

Mobile:

2. REFERENCES

Please give the details of two referees, not relatives, the first of which should be your present or most recent employer. Please note that referees may be approached prior to interview, so please indicate if this is a problem.

Referee 1 / Referee 2
Name: / Name:
Address: / Address:
Tel./ Mobile No: / Tel./ Mobile No:
Email: / Email:
Occupation: / Occupation:

3. SUMMARY OF EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS

(Most recent first)

Dates / Institution, Qualifications obtained

4. OTHER RELEVANT TRAINING

(Most recent first)

Dates / Details of Training

Please continue on a separate sheet if necessary

5. YOUR WORK EXPERIENCE

Please give details of your present job or, if you are not working, your last job.

Name and address of employer (and type of business): / Dates of employment:
Position held: / Salary: / Other benefits:
Please give a brief description of your duties and responsibilities:
Reason for leaving or seeking new employment:
Notice period:

6. PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT

Please give details of your previous jobs. Put your most recent job first. Give details of any gaps in your employment history including unemployment.

Dates: / Name & Address of Employer / Duties & Achievements / Reasons for Leaving
.

Please continue on a separate sheet if necessary.

7. SUPPORTING STATEMENT

In this section you should demonstrate how you meet the requirements for the job. Relate your skills and experience to each area of the Person Specification. If you feel you need more space, please continue on a separate sheet.

8. DECLARATION

The Roma Support Group with Altmore Children’s Centre reserves the right to confirm the factual basis of any information you have provided. If any particulars given, by you, in this application form are found to be false or if you wilfully omit or suppress any material facts you may be liable to dismissal if appointed.

I declare to the best of my knowledge the information provided on this form is correct.

Signed: ……………………………………………………………. Date: ………………………………………………

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

We are committed to take positive steps to ensure that no-one is treated less favourably on the grounds of race, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnic or national origin, colour, creed, religion, disability or age (legal restrictions excepted).

To assist us in monitoring our policy, and for no other reason, please answer the following questions.

This information is treated as strictly confidential and this form will not be used in the selection process.

Completing this section of the application form is voluntary.

Position applied for: ……………………………………………………………………………………….

Surname: ………………………………………………………. First Name: …………………………………………..

Please show which group best describes your ethnic origin/ descent by ticking one of the boxes below:

Bangladeshi □ Indian □ Roma/Gypsy □

Black African □ Pakistani □ Other □

Black Caribbean □ White □Chinese □

If “Other”, please state:

2. Have you a disability we should know about?

If yes, please give some further details:

REHABILITATION OF OFFENDERS ACT 1974

(EXCEPTION) ORDER 1986 FORM

Name (in full, please print): ______

Post Applied for:______

We would draw your attention to the following statement:

“Because of the nature of the work for which you are applying, this post is exempt from the provisions of Section 4 (2) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1986. Applicants are, therefore, not entitled to withhold information about convictions and cautions which for other purposes are “spent” under the provisions of the Act”.

The following questions must be answered by all applicants. You should provide details about all pending or spent prosecutions, convictions and cautions. The information should include the approximate date, the offence and the Court or Police Service which dealt with the offence.

DO YOU HAVE A PROSECUTION PENDING OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN CONVICTED AT A COURT OR CAUTIONED BY THE POLICE FOR ANY OFFENCE?

YES/ NO (please tick)

IF YES PLEASE GIVE DETAILS AND DATES IN THE SPACE BELOW.

DECLARATION:

I understand that, if it is found that I have withheld information or included any false or misleading information above, I will be disqualified from the appointment, or, if already appointed, this will render me liable to dismissal without notice. I understand that the information will be kept securely by the Roma Support Group and Altmore Children’s Centre.

I hereby declare that the information I have provided is accurate.

Signed: Date:

Please return this form with your Application Form.