- Employment
- Permanent Term time (39 weeks a year)
- Salary
- £23,563.47 Actual ( £27,500 FTE)
- Location
- Guildford
- Hours
- 35hrs per week
Are you passionate about delivering a high quality alternative provision for children and young
people aged from 8 to 19 years old and eager to be part of an exciting new chapter? We’re excited
to announce the expansion of our 555 service, and we’re looking for dedicated staff to join our
new team in Guildford!
BENEFITS – What is in it for you?
• To work for an organisation who truly consider work life balance and have high expectations
for our outcomes not only for those who use our services but for our teams as well.
• Free Training – We regularly invite all our staff to free training courses including Disability
and Inclusion Awareness, Medication Administration, Safeguarding, First Aid, Makaton and
more!
• Free DBS – As we require all staff to have a DBS before they start with us, we have decided
to offer this free of charge.
• Pension & Health Care Cash Plan – All our staff have access to a NEST pension and Simply
Health care plan
You’ll be great if you have:
• A minimum of 2 years experience of working within the childcare and/or youth sector and
experience of leadership and management within the sector.
• Experience of managing behaviour that challenges.
• The ability to prioritise tasks, apply common sense and good judgement.
• An understanding and commitment to the development of high quality, interesting, fun and creative play opportunities for disabled children, even those with behaviour which requires extra support. Being passionate about providing activities that include all children on scheme.
• An ability to demonstrate the skills necessary to motivate, encourage, organise, lead and supervise the staff team in a professional manner in an informal environment
• This is a physically and emotionally demanding post; the post holder must be resilient, adaptable and have the ability to carry out the physical aspects of the role. These include (but are not exclusive to) physically supporting children, for example on and off equipment, during personal or intimate care, and lifting and chasing in an emergency.
DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES –
Children and Young People and their families
• To oversee the day-to-day delivery of activities and an approach that will adapt to the needs
of individual children and young people who attend the service. This includes researching
appropriate trips into the community that will promote independence, life skills, be exciting
and have a focus on the interests of the children and young people. Children and young
people need and deserve a varied and high quality play and leisure programme in which
they can thrive.
• To be responsible for and to support staff to protect children and young people from harm.
The Manager is responsible for reporting any concern about a child or young person’s
welfare or safety in accordance with Challengers Safeguarding Policy and Procedures and
local authority procedures for protecting children from harm.
• Ensure that all children and young people’s information is up to date and shared with the
555 team who work directly with them. This includes keeping a record of the professionals
working with the families and any relevant education providers.
• The Manager will liaise with the Service Manager on a regular basis about any changes with
the children and young people who attend 555. This includes cancelation of session/
changing of sessions, behaviours and any other relevant changes.
• To ensure that children and young people who attend with challenging behaviour have
behaviour plans in place that are reviewed on a regular basis in collaboration with the
Behaviour Support Team.
• To ensure that the children and young people at 555 are supported physically and
emotionally as required. The children and young people we work with are often in difficult
and stressful situations and you will need to support them, showing appropriate physical
and emotional affection at all times.
Staff
• To be a role model to all staff and to provide ongoing support and encouragement to the
staff team in an appropriate manner.
• To inform Service Manager and HR of any complex staff issues including persistent sickness
and conduct.
• Identify and prioritise training needs of staff and to liaise with Service Manager and Training
Lead to deliver appropriate training to staff including inductions
• To be responsible for a rota that ensures an appropriate number of staff in line with budget.
If there are any changes to number of staff needed at 555, this must be reported to the
Service Manager
• Ensure that there is appropriate trained staff on site at all times
• To liaise with Service Manager and Recruitment team when there are recruitment needs.
• Monitoring staff hours including sickness and holiday. Ensuring that staff are completing the
expected hours of their contracts.
• Communicate regular updates with the staff team through morning briefings, end of day
debriefs, team meetings and supervisions
Health and Safety
Be responsible for the day to day maintenance and security of the building. Reporting any
concerns to the Caretaker.
• Be responsible for supporting the staff teams to comply with the Health and Safety at Work
Act (2018)
• Conduct and oversee the use of checklists related to day-to-day inspections and
maintenance for toys, equipment and building.
• To be a key holder and be an emergency contact for the alarm system
• To support staff teams to maintain a clean, tidy, secure site and environment – treating all
buildings, structures, toys and equipment used by children and young people with respect
and care.
Management and Administration
To assist the Service Manager and Administration Team to maintain records of attendance,
income, expenditure (including petty cash) and general correspondence
• To support in the completion of any monitoring required my the local authority with the
Service Manager when required.
• To represent Challengers at meetings with external agencies as appropriate.
• When necessary ordering and sourcing equipment that is ‘fit for purpose’ and within the
budgets agreed with the Service Manager.
• To deliver 555 in accordance with Challengers systems, policies and procedures. And to
participate in and contribute to the development of Challengers schemes and systems.
ABOUT US – Challengers is a voluntary sector organisation providing play and leisure services to disabled children
and young people across Surrey, Hampshire and in Richmond, Kingston, and Chichester.
Our 555 Service offers urgent support to families of disabled young people aged 8 – 19 who are
currently out of education. This may be due to awaiting a suitable school placement, because the
young person has been excluded, or because their current school place cannot provide the
appropriate support. We offer a fun, safe space at Challengers during the day where our highly
trained staff help young people build their confidence, and prepare them for a successful return to
school.
Challengers is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people
and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be
subject to an enhanced DBS Check and satisfactory references.
Confidence can sometimes hold us back from applying for a job- There is no such thing as the perfect
candidate. Challengers is a place where everyone can grow. We follow equal opportunities so
however, you identify and whatever your background you bring with you, please apply if this is a role
that would make you excited to come into work every day.
Closing Date – 08/01/2025
Interview Date – Week of 13/01/2025