Salary: £24,800 pro rata plus £1,700 Island Allowance,

Location: Western Isles

Contract/Hours: Permanent – 2 part time positions available,

1st position- 15 hours per week (2 days a week) in Castlebay school in Barra

2nd position- 30 hours per week (4 days a week) in Lionacleit school in Uist.

Reward: 29 days annual leave PLUS bank holidays, professional qualifications, excellent training and development opportunities, flexible maternity, adoption and paternity packages, up to 7% employer contribution pension, discount portal with your favourite brands.

Vulnerable children in the UK need your help

Wherever you work in the Action for Children family, you'll be helping to change the lives of the most vulnerable children in the UK.

Last year, we helped more than 670,000 children and families across the UK. From direct work in communities to national campaigning, we are focused on making sure every child has a safe and happy childhood, and the foundations they need to thrive.

Why Action for Children?

Working here is more than a job. Everyone in the Action for Children family is passionate about protecting and supporting children. It's the sense of purpose that drives us every single day. Because we know that, when we work together, we can make a huge difference to bring lasting improvements to vulnerable children's lives.

A bit about the role

Our service provides support to improve the mental health and emotional wellbeing of children and young people. Evidence shows that an early support model of delivery is most likely to deliver sustainable improvements and prevent escalation to CAMHS or counselling referrals. Action for Children have established services across the Outer Hebrides and offer regular supervision for all staff along with access to relevant training resources.

The service will be based in the 2 secondary schools across Uist and Barra and aims to improve the mental and emotional health of our children and young people, promoting wellbeing and resilience.

One post will be based in Lionacleit school in Uist 4 days a week whilst the second post will be 2 days a week in Castlebay, Barra.

How you'll help to create brighter futures

• Delivering wellbeing support, led by the needs of children/young people.
•  We deliver 1-1 support and run groups for the young people.
• Working directly with children and young people, who can self-refer, referred from guidance staff or from partner agencies, on a 121 basis as well as through group sessions.
• Focussing on resilience in relation to key themes such as anxiety, friendships, attendance, behaviour, mental health, physical health, impact of poverty as well as specific needs such as substance misuse, domestic violence and bereavement.
• Working with families as needed.
• Using CBT-based programmes, The Blues, Bounce back and Decider skills (full training will be provided).

Let's talk about you

Our job description for the Wellbeing Practitioner outlines the requirements of the role but the ‘must-haves' are: 

• Ideally an HNC or degree in a relevant subject.
• An understanding of the mental health issues faced by children and young people.
• Experience of working with children and young people.
• Experience of working in partnership with other agencies.
• Knowledge of working to accredited programmes.
• The ability to produce written reports to agreed standards and formats.
• Access to a car. The job requires the ability to travel according to the needs of the job, with reasonable adjustments, if required, according to the Equality Act.

Good to know

Application Process

There are five sections to complete: Personal Details, CV, Supporting Statement & Information, Equality & Diversity, Submission & Declaration.

Talent Pool. We know talent when we see it. But sometimes we find the right person but not for the right job. We'd love to keep your details for when the right job comes up. Let us know if you'd rather we didn't.

Contact: Jessica Jarvis, Recruitment Partner via email; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Diversity, equality and inclusion

At Action for Children, we're dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace. We actively encourage applications from Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic and disabled candidates as they are under-represented within Action for Children. We want to take deliberate and purposeful action to ensure equal opportunity to all groups in society and for Action for Children.

Male staff are under-represented within our Children Service roles. We would like to encourage more male applicants for our Children Service roles.

Don't meet every single requirement?

Studies show that women and Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic people are less likely to apply for a job unless they meet every qualification. So, if you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with the job description, we'd love you to apply anyway. You might just be the perfect person for this role, or another role within the Action for Children family.

Want to know more about Action for Children?

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