Play Specialist - 25 hours per week

Posted 10 hours 3 minutes ago by NHS

Permanent
Full Time
Temporary Jobs
Yorkshire, Sheffield, United Kingdom, S5 9
Job Description
Are you looking for a workplace where you're welcomed eachday by supportive & friendly colleagues?

Where you're part of a dedicated team?

Where your work contributes to delivering the highestquality care, and every day ends with the knowledge that you've made ameaningful difference to a child or young person?

If your answer is yes, then Bluebell Wood Children's Hospicemight just be the perfect place for you.

Join our Family Support Team as a Play Specialist and bringmore than just your skills, bring your purpose.

Were looking for someone who's driven by a genuine desireto make a difference. You take ownership of your work, act with integrity, andshow up as your authentic self. You value individuality, your own and othersand thrive in a team that celebrates diversity, creativity, and compassion.

The role

To work as part of our Family Support Team to plan, develop and lead a wide range of therapeutic play opportunities for babies, children and young people with complex, life shortening illnesses to support developmental, therapeutic and palliative care needs in a range of environments.

Main duties of the job The requirements:

To fulfil the role effectively you will be a creativeindividual who fosters an inclusive approach in all that you do to meet theneeds of babies, children and young people. You will have experience of workingwith children and young people who have complex needs, offering bespoke supportas an integral part of the service offer.

About you:

Tosucceed in this role, we are looking for someone who will embody our values,work confidently with key attention to detail, engage with everyone in ourhospice, and has an absolute willingness to learn.

Inreturn, we can offer you a fantastic working environment and the followingbenefits:

25days annual leave plus bank holidays with the option to buy and sell

Employeeassistance programme - including mental health care and out of hours GPaccess

Acommitment to your professional development

Matchedpension scheme of 5% of salary

BluebellWood enhanced maternity and paternity pay (unrelated to NHS conditions)

Enhancednight shift pay.

Subsidisedlunch

Freetea and coffee

Eligiblefor NHS Blue Light Card

Ifyou are passionate about making a difference, we cannot wait to hear fromyou.

About us About us:

Ourvision at Bluebell Wood is for every baby, child and young person with a lifelimiting condition to access specialist palliative care, where and when theyneed it. You will join our fantasticteam where we all play our part in achieving our vision and creating anincredible culture for everyone.

Our services

Our uncompromisable support services are wide-ranging andbespoke to each family. We providesymptom management, end-of-life care, post-death care, short breaks,counselling, sibling support groups, music therapy, home visits and more.

We supportfamilies across a large geographical area, including South Yorkshire, NorthNottinghamshire, North Derbyshire and parts of North Lincolnshire. The hospiceis easily accessible from Barnsley, Rotherham, Doncaster, Sheffield and NorthNotts. We have free secure on-site parking for families, staff and volunteersto use.

Every yearwe need to raise £6.7m to keep our doors open and only around 17% of our incomecomes from government sources, the rest must be raised through fundraisingactivity.

Job responsibilities TITLE OF POST: Play Specialist

ACCOUNTABLETO: Head of Family Support

About us

Our Vision

For every baby,child and young person with a life limiting condition to access specialist

palliative care,where and when they need it.

Our Mission

Whether in thehospice, at home or in partnership with another provider in a differentsetting, babies, children and young people will experience the samehigh-quality palliative and end of life care, and beyond, alongside specialistfamily support.

Our Values

We have worked together to create a new set ofvalues which represent our aims as an organisationand these align perfectly with our overallstrategy, ensuring that every decision we make and every action we takeis guided by these principles.

JOB PURPOSE

To plan, developand lead a wide range of therapeutic play opportunities for babies, childrenand young people with complex, life shortening illnesses to supportdevelopmental, therapeutic and palliative care needs in a range ofenvironments.

MAIN DUTIES &RESPONSIBILITIES

Work independently and alongside colleagues tovisit children and young people in their home, school or hospital to providebespoke age-appropriate therapeutic play services.

Manage a caseload of children and young people identifiedas needing temporary targeted intervention.

Ensure the hospice is well resourced with a widerange of stimulating and therapeutic activities pertaining to play.

Plan, develop and facilitate group workopportunities, designed to promote the benefits of therapeutic play forchildren and families.

Evaluate the effectiveness of service provision byproviding regular opportunities for feedback.

Support in identifying gaps in the service and makerecommendations regarding service delivery and development.

Keep clear and accurate records to document visits,bookings and all communication with individuals and family members.

Support and educate colleagues in the delivery of therapeutic play as part of a holistic approachto pain management, distraction techniques and general wellbeing.

Maintain links with other agencies,hospices, and non-statutory services to share good practise on serviceprovision and support where necessary.

KEY TASKS:

Work with babies, children and young people,during in house stays, providing bespoke opportunities for play suitable totheir needs and preferences.

Develop one-page profiles for children and youngpeople to capture key information about their needs and preferences.

Create and maintain dedicated space within thehospice to promote play, stimulation and fun.

Complete robust riskassessments for all therapeutic play provision; both group and individual, toensure full health and safety compliance.

SKILLS REQUIRED:

Demonstrable knowledge and experience ofsafeguarding children and vulnerable young adults.

Theoretical knowledge of child development, witha clear understanding and ability to apply play preparation, distractiontherapy and post procedural play skills.

Sensitiveand empathetic of the complex needs of others.

Inclusive and adaptable in approaches to workingwith individuals and groups with varying needs and abilities.

Creative, fun and engaging.

COMMUNICATION:

Utiliseskills to effectively communicate with children and young people with a rangeof communication preferences to promote and maintain inclusivity.

Establishand maintain effective communication with families, including using verbal,email and telephone communication.

Establishand maintain effective communication with relevant individuals and groups tosupport children, young people and family members; including key members of thehospice; volunteers; service users; statutory and voluntary organisations.

Understandthe importance of, and maintain, the need for confidentiality in all individualand hospice matters.

GENERAL:

All Bluebell Wood employees are required to:

Abide by the Health & Safety at Work Act

Adhere to policy and procedures around safeguardingchildren and young adults

Respect confidentiality applying to all Hospiceareas

Work within Hospice policies and procedures

Demonstratable understanding and application of theprovisions of GDPR

Comply with the Hospice no smoking policy

Participate in and contribute to team meetings

Co-operate and liaise with colleagues

Behave in a professional manner at all times

Act as an ambassador for BluebellWood Childrens Hospice, reflecting the objectives and values, and to alwayswork in the best interests of the charity.

All Bluebell Wood employees are expected to:

Demonstratea commitment to their own development, to take advantage of education andtraining opportunities and develop their own competence

Supportand encourage harmonious internal and external working relationships

Make apositive contribution to fundraising and raising the profile of the Hospice

This job description is not exhaustive.It will be subject to periodic review and may be amended followingdiscussion between the post-holder and employer.

Person Specification Experience
  • Significant and relevant experience of working with children, young people (aged 0-25 years old) and families receiving palliative care and/or with complex health needs and/or disabilities
  • Demonstrable knowledge and experience of therapeutic play and child development
  • Experience of working with wider multi-disciplinary teams/others
  • Demonstrable experience of designing and facilitating group work.
  • Demonstrable experience of working with children and young people with various communication needs and preferences.
  • Demonstrable experience of planning and delivering services to children and young people across a wide age and capability range.
  • Experience of supporting in the recruitment, training and supervision of volunteers.
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