Do you want to work with disabled children and young people?
Are you available in school holidays?

Western Corner is setting up new holiday play schemes for disabled children and young people as part of Oxfordshire’s Aiming High programme. We are looking for staff in the Oxford, Witney, Wallingford, Wantage/Didcot, & Faringdon areas. Convenient working locations will be agreed with post holders.

As part of a team you will provide a high quality service to meet the needs of disabled children and young people, and promote the well-being, happiness and inclusion of disabled children and young people attending holiday activities.

You will have previous experience of working with disabled children and young people and hold a relevant NVQI or equivalent qualification through experience.

Due to the nature of the work, where specified, posts are offered on a part time or Sessional basis, as and when required. When applying please quote the relevant reference number.

Holiday Activity Assistant

Location:

Oxfordshire

Reward Band:

Ancillary A (SAXN)

(Sessional)

Reporting to:

Activity Leader

Job purpose:

• To work in partnership with parents, professionals and carers to promote the well-being, happiness and inclusion of disabled children and young people within the Specialist Holiday Activities.Assist in the provision of a high quality service to meet the needs of disabled children and young people.

Key activities:

• To assist in the provision of a welcoming and safe environment for all children and young people and their parents /carers/visitors.
• To work closely with disabled children and young people their parents / carers and other professionals in the Specialist Holiday Activities and within the community to care for each child’s individual needs.
• To work alongside the project workers to support a culture of excellence in play and leisure activities throughout the Specialist Holiday Activities being prepared to lead by example and support volunteers.
• To encourage children to be independent, make choices and become aware of the needs of others.
• To use models of communication to enable children’s voices to be heard in the evaluation and decision making process.
• To record, store and share information appropriately with regard for confidentiality and safe practice.
• To work as a member of the team, to plan, prepare, deliver and evaluate activities with guidance from senior staff.
• To attend all relevant training, planning meetings and supervision.
• To assist in the transportation of disabled children and young people and families, including acting as escort or authorised driver.

Attainments:

In order to be considered for this post you will have to demonstrate that you already have:

Experience

• Experience, paid or unpaid, of working with disabled children and young people
• Experience of assisting creative and leisure activities

Qualifications

• Relevant NVQI or equivalent qualification through experience

Work based knowledge

• Knowledge and understanding of disability issues
• Knowledge of safeguarding children
• Knowledge of Health and Safety, Manual Handling and People Moving

Skills

• Clear and concise communication skills appropriate to respond positively to disabled children and young people
• Ability to take messages

Core competencies:

In order to be successful in this role you will be able to demonstrate that you have the ability to:

Managing People

Leading Others:

• Participates fully as a member of a team

Innovation:

• Improve work methods to achieve higher levels of efficiency
• Learns from experience

Leading Change

Communicating with Others:

• Communicate effectively with others in own area on day-to-day matters

Building and Maintaining Partnerships

• Maintain friendly, helpful and supportive relationships with immediate colleagues
• Participates fully in team activities

Managing Continuity

Managing Resources:

• Supports the efficient use of resources
• Shares relevant information with others

Providing Service to Others:

• Provide services to others, internal and external
• Treats others with respect and dignity
• Complies with safeguarding requirements
• Works in partnership with children and young people so their views and ideas are listened to and taken seriously

Producing Results

Managing Yourself:

• Take steps to improve performance
• Takes initiative and is aware of own learning needs.

Agreeing and Meeting Targets:

• Focus on what needs to be done
• Meet service and quality standards

Special Job Circumstances:

This post has the following special circumstances:

• Availability to work during school holidays: - Specialist Holiday Activities for disabled children and young people operate in school holidays throughout Oxfordshire, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the areas of Didcot, Farringdon, Oxford City, Wantage & Witney.
• Some weekend/evening work for the purposes of staff training and/or supervision.
• Some residential time away from home for team development and/or training.
• Direct work with disabled children and young people with moderate and severe learning impairments, attending to individual care needs which will include; Administration of medication, lifting and personal care tasks.
• Travel across the county to attend training, meetings, and to provide additional staff cover at other venues.

(Please note: if you have difficulty meeting these conditions because of a disability or family circumstances the appointing manager will discuss it with you in order to consider reasonable adjustments to the job or working conditions)

Relevant Personal Characteristics:

So that you personally can succeed in this role and The Society you will require:

• To actively promote the values of The Children’s Society in your day-to-day work
• At all times to carry out your responsibilities with due regard to the Children’s Society’s commitment to keeping children and young people safe.
• A commitment to ensuring the needs and rights of disabled children and young people are upheld through their active participation in the work of the project and the Society.
• Resilience to supervise and keep safe children and young people with challenging behaviours.
• A commitment to diversity and dignity at work, in working relationships and practice.
• The ability to work both independently and as part of a team
• To maintain confidentiality in all aspects of the work of the project and of the Society
• To be flexible and adaptable and be able to cope with changing priorities and demands.