Youth and Play Practitioners

Our Youth and Play Practitioners will play a pivotal role in the Children, Young People and Families (CYPF) team, working as a core team of practitioners to ensure the smooth running of our programmes and services. In this role you will be part of a small and dynamic team which delivers a wide range of programmes and activities, both from Tulse Hill Adventure Playground and in conjunction with local schools. The work of the Children, Young People and Families team is diverse and varied. Our current services include open access adventure play and youth activities at our Adventure Playground, school holiday programmes with off-site trips and activities, mentoring, a Young Leaders programme offering paid work experience to young people, and working together with our youth partnerships Building Young Brixton and Lambeth Peer Action Collective.

We are in an exciting time of development for the team. To support our range of children and young people, our team will be made up of specialist Youth Workers and Play Practitioners bringing in relevant skills and experience. Whilst you will work across all of our Children, Young People and Families services you will have a specific focus:

As a Youth Worker you will:

  • Focus on supporting our secondary age cohort
  • Plan and run appropriate and engaging activities
  • Provide structured interventions to support vulnerable young people
  • Work with referral partners to provide additional support and activities
  • Foster relationships with families and local schools

As a Play Worker you will:

  • Focus on our primary age cohort
  • Use your knowledge of Playwork Principles to plan and run appropriate and engaging
    activities
  • Foster relationships with families and primary local schools

Both roles will include an element of mentoring, relevant training will be provided to give you the necessary skills to deliver this.

To be successful in this role, you will act as a trusted practitioner in all our service delivery, advocating for children’s right to play throughout our programmes. You will work as part of the team on the delivery and planning of all sessions, ensuring that the children’s and young people’s ideas are central to the construction of a varied and engaging play environment. You will understand the wide-ranging challenges facing young people and will be flexible in adjusting your practice to meet these needs. While practitioners may have a primary focus (primary or secondary age), all staff are expected to work flexibly across all age groups, programmes and delivery model including open access play, targeted youth work, mentoring and school link sessions.

How to apply

Please complete the application form and the applicant monitoring form, and send these across to recruitment@high-trees.org with ‘Youth and Play Practitioner’ in the subject line.

Please specify in your supporting statement which specialism you would like to be considered for and outline your experience in this area. Please also state if you would like full or part time hours.

We are seeking applications from practitioners at differing levels in their careers. If you feel like your skills and experience match the role specification please do submit an application or contact faye.maher@high-trees.org for an informal conversation about the role.