Education officer jobs in ellesmere port, cheshire west and chester

Location: Homebased

Contract: Full time, fixed term 1 year contract.

Salary: Salary £34,000 per annum

Closing Date: 26 June 2025

If you have the creativity and skills to develop engaging and accessible elearning content that supports youth development, then joining Sea Cadets as a Senior Virtual Learning Officer could be a good move for you!

The Marine Society & Sea Cadets (MSSC) is a vibrant and growing charity delivering life changing nautical adventure for young people through the Sea Cadets to give them the best possible head start in life. We also provide personal and professional development opportunities for seafarers with the Marine Society. Working with our staff, cadets, and volunteers, we have built a vision and five-year strategy to take us forward and further improve the astounding contribution already made through our work to the lives of thousands of young people and seafarers, while fully supporting our volunteers who are vital to our success.

We are currently looking for a Senior Virtual Learning Officer to join our learning development team.

This role will be involved in the development of training covering subjects such as:

• Safeguarding
• EDI topics such as Autism and Gender Diversity
• Health and Safety
• Onboarding new adult volunteers to Sea Cadets

If you enjoy eLearning development this could be the role for you.

Responsibilities

• Work with course designers to develop new, and maintain existing, elearning and media content.
• Translate storyboards into interactive learning content, creating activities, graphics, animations, audio and videos, using tools such as Articulate (Storyline and Rise), Canva, H5P, Murf and Adobe.
• Ensure learning meets development guidelines, and is accessible, functional and engaging.
• Integrate learning content to create courses on our learning management system (Moodle).
• Test learning content, including using screen readers and other accessibility software.
• Help to maintain the guidelines for course development.
• Support the day-to-day administration of the Sea Cadets learning management environment
• Cultivate strong working relationships across multiple teams (internal and external)
• Stay up to date with latest system upgrades and advise on their potential impact on existing or new courses

Requirements

• eLearning development experience ( e.g. tools such as Articulate Storyline and Rise, or similar)
• Experience in media creation for graphics, sound and video editing.
• Good MS Office skills

Desirable

• Experience using Teams and SharePoint
• Knowledge of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
• LMS Administration experience (our platform is based on Moodle, Mahara and Alfresco but other LMS skills will be transferable)
• Subject matter knowledge in one of the following areas:
  • Supporting Autistic young people
  • Specialised educational needs
  • Other Equity, Diversity and Inclusion subjects
  • Safeguarding
  • Onboarding new people

For further information, please download the Recruitment Pack.

Benefits

• Some hybrid working opportunities
• Cycle to work scheme and Season Ticket Loan
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Life assurance (4x salary) for those that join the pension
• Private medical insurance
• Pension (employer contribution up to 10%)
• Wellbeing portal and EAP with 121 counselling
• Employee development: We are investing in our employees' development and have an annual calendar of learning and development opportunities, designed to support employees to develop into their roles and stretch them to achieve their full potential.
• National staff conference: All employees come together once a year to reflect on the past year and celebrate success at our staff conference. This is a great opportunity to listen to employees' views, and for employees to network, share information and socialise.

Additional Information

MSSC positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates from all backgrounds. Equity, diversity, and inclusion really matters to us, so we can best serve our beneficiaries from every community. We work to ensure a fair and consistent recruitment process and aim to be a charity where diversity of experience, identity and skills are valued and welcomed. MSSC is an equal opportunities employer.

We recognise our responsibilities to safeguard and protect the young people and vulnerable adults with whom we work. We do all we can to promote their health, safety and wellbeing, and we expect our staff to share this commitment and work in line with safeguarding policy, the MSSC’s values and ethos of inclusivity. We adhere to safer recruitment practices and therefore employment is subject to detailed pre-employment checks for successful candidates, including references and criminal disclosure checks and the completion of a disclosure questionnaire.

All successful applicants are required to attend safeguarding training and undergo a criminal record check, and successfully acquire MoD security clearance.

Help us support more young people! We’re looking for a driven, values-led (4 day week) Fundraising Officer to lead on community and corporate fundraising at a bold, youth-led mental health charity. With a flexible 4-day week, hybrid working, and the chance to shape our future, this is a rare opportunity to make a meaningful impact while growing your career. Join us in building fairer mental health support for young people across the UK.

About us and our vibe! 

Be Free Campaign is a bold, youth-led mental health charity working to address the deep inequalities affecting young people’s mental health – especially in racialised and marginalised communities. We deliver trauma-informed, culturally competent mental health education, early intervention, and outreach across schools, universities, and community settings.

Our mission is to challenge stigma, shift power, and provide meaningful support to young people often overlooked or underserved by traditional services. We combine lived experience with evidence-based practice to build a fairer, more inclusive mental health system. This role is vital in helping us grow our income and reach, so we can continue delivering on that mission.

The Role

We’re looking for a relational, driven and values-led Fundraising Officer to lead our corporate, community, and campaign fundraising. You’ll build partnerships, run fundraising initiatives, and steward donors to help us reach more young people across the UK.

This role will focus on:

Corporate and community partnerships
Donor campaigns and individual giving
Income tracking and stewardship

You’ll work alongside our Partnerships & Engagement Officer (who leads on challenge events and volunteering) and be supported by our Operations Manager. We’re aiming for £50,000–£75,000 in Year 1 income.

About You

* At least 1 year of fundraising experience or 2+ years in income generation
* Strong communication and relationship-building skills
* Confident working independently and managing your own time
* Comfortable using CRM systems (e.g. Beacon, Airtable, Salesforce)

* £28,000 for a 4-day week (32 hours) with flexible, hybrid working
* Supportive, values-driven team with space to lead your work
* Access to training, mentoring, and professional development

We particularly welcome applicants from underrepresented communities and those with lived experience of mental health challenges. If you’re unsure whether you meet all criteria, please get in touch – we’re happy to have a conversation.

Summary

The Education and Growing Faith department is looking to hire a Senior Programme Officer to support the church schools and the wider education sector. Working in the Operations Team, you'll be directly supporting the Head of Operations with project work and the wider NSE with system and process support. The role will offer the post-holder the opportunity to work across a range of areas such as communications, HR, grant management, reporting and governance. There will be a mix of longer strategic project work, and shorter task-based work.

About the Department/Role

The National Society for Education (NSE) is both an NCI and a Royal-charter charity. It's aims are to support Church schools and the wider education sector by developing leaders, shaping policy and growing faith.

The NSE leads the Church of England's national work in education in partnership with 41 Diocesan Boards of Education and approximately 4,700 Church of England schools. We also support the national education work of the Church in Wales, which includes around 150 schools. Our presence extends to work with community schools and academy trusts, as well as higher and further education through numerous chaplaincies, providing spiritual support and guidance to children and young people, and to adults.

We are a dynamic team, working remotely from our homes around the country. We gather regularly online, and fairly regularly in person.

What you'll be doing

The purpose of this role is to:

• Support the Head of Operations with policy development and reviews.
• Take responsibility for the continued development and management of the online Office Manual.
• Support the Head of Operations with due diligence tasks around new areas of work, taking ownership of discrete projects.
• Project manage areas of work as delegated by the Head of Operations, creating work plans, managing stakeholders, providing project reports regularly.
• Take responsibility for certain HR policy implementation such as designing and rolling out appropriate induction processes.
• Alongside the marketing staff, support the Head of Operations with the management of our internal and external comms.
• Lead the development of Asana (an online project management tool) use across the Operations Team.
• Provide Executive level support to the CEO, including diary management with high profile external stakeholders.
• Manage internal team days and residentials with the Events Manager.
• Work with the Head of Operations to manage the annual planning and reporting cycle.

About You

The Church of England is for everyone and we want to reflect the diversity of the community the Church serves across the whole country. Therefore, while of course we welcome all applications from interested and suitably experienced people, we would particularly welcome applicants from UK Minoritised Ethnicities (UKME)/Global Majority Heritage (GMH) and other under-represented groups. As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to recruiting disabled people. We offer interviews to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the role.

Essential

Knowledge/Experience

• Experience of working within multi-faceted and complex projects
• Experience of summarising and reporting on data to stakeholders.
• Experience of organising and storing information securely and systematically.
• Experience of writing training manuals to simply communicate policy and process.

Skills & Abilities:

• Strong analytical skills.
• Customer service skills and able to take responsibility for progressing stakeholder queries.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Strong time management and organisation skills, ability to keep track of key priorities
• Proactive and able to work under own initiative to suggest solutions to problems.
• Strong sense of ownership and ability to solve problems.
• High proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
• Key Attributes: Takes personal Responsibility, Organised methodical approach, Pride and commitment to high standards, Collaboration and team support.

Desirable

• Experience of project management of complex projects from start to end
• Experience of co-ordinating virtual events
• Advanced statistical analysis and Excel skills
• Proficiency in using survey technology, for example, Form Assembly
• Experience in using Project Management Software (Eg. Asana)
• Experience in marketing and comms work

Circumstances

Whilst this is a remote role, the post-holder will need to travel for the following reasons:

• National Society Team Days (3 per year)
• National Society Residential (2 days, including 1 overnight stay in the autumn)
• Ops Team Days (approx 3 per year)
• Other events where support is required

Please refer to the Job Description for more information about the role and person specification.

What we offer

Your Salary

• A salary of £40,572 per annum, plus age-related pension contributions between 8-15% of salary. We will also match any pension contributions you make up to an additional 3% of your salary.

Your Benefits

• 25 days annual leave (increasing to 30 days within 5 years) plus eight bank holidays and three additional days (pro-rated if working part-time).
• We welcome all flexible working arrangement requests. This is looked at in a case-by-case scenario and if this fits within the department's needs. We try to be as flexible as we can in your work pattern to support you with other commitments, and to give a good work-life balance.
• We offer many services and initiatives under our Family Friendly Programme, some of these include enhanced Maternity Leave initiative, Adoption Leave, Paternity Leave, & Shared Parental Leave. Structured induction programme and access to a range of development opportunities including apprenticeships.

• Automatic enrolment and access to Medicash (one of the UK's leading health cash plan providers), providing you with many services including reimbursements of routine dental treatment, optical, specialist consultations, and therapy treatments. Unlimited access to virtual GP & Private prescription service and health & Stress related helplines.

• Access to Occupational Health, and an Employee Assistance Programme 
• Access to the Department of Education Restaurant and Westminster Abbey with a plus-one guest.
• Apply for eligibility for an Eyecare voucher.
• Opportunity to join the Civil Service Sports & Social Club, and get involved in a range of staff networks, groups and societies.

Foothold Communications Officer

 Salary: £18k (£30k per annum pro rata)

Period of appointment:  This is a permanent contract.

Location: Remote/homebased

Part time: 21 hrs a week

 Like many benevolent fund charities, Foothold has a small staff team, but our impact is mighty!

We’re looking for someone who enjoys variety and takes pride in their work to join our flexible, remotely-based team as our new Communications Officer.

Hearing the challenges that the individuals we support are facing keeps us focused. As Communications Officer, you’ll play a key role in communicating the support our charity offers the engineering community, while also engaging our supporters by bringing our community’s stories to life.

We’re redefining relationships with long-standing communications partners, building new relationships, and building our presence across new platforms and communities.

As Communications Officer, you'll be pivotal in making sure our voice is heard through regular communications, and delivering our impact report and annual report.

We find creative ways of working as a team and look to showcase the individual talents and personalities that people bring to their role. At Foothold, you’ll have the opportunity to showcase and develop your skills across digital design, video and copy.

We encourage our team to be all-rounders, and you’ll be working closely and collaboratively with our Communications and Digital Events Officer, Digital Marketing Officer and fundraising colleagues to produce regular, engaging content.

This is a great opportunity to join a small, talented, and committed team as we test the best ways of engaging different parts of the engineering community, and how that engagement may evolve over time. You’ll help us evolve our communications and PR output, and in turn we’ll provide you with the support and autonomy to grow your skills.

We’re confident that you’ll enjoy working alongside the wider team and look forward to hearing from you.

Organisational benefits

· 32 days per annum annual leave plus Bank Holidays (plus office closure between Christmas and New Year)

· Flexible working arrangements

· Organisational commitment to training and development.

· SIPP pension with up to 9% employer contribution (subject to individual contribution)

· Life insurance and access to Smart Health services (AIG)

· Cycle to Work and Tech Scheme, childcare vouchers.

· Associate membership of the IET for one year paid for by Foothold, and access to Foothold services

If you have any further questions about the role, please contact our Head of Business and Volunteering Beverley Archer.

Informal Conversations: these can be arranged with the Jonny Rudge, Head of Fundraising and Communications, between the 3rd and 5th of June 2025

Closing date: applications should be submitted by 4pm on Friday 6th June 2025

Interviews will be held on Monday 16th June  2025 on Teams.

For more information about Foothold please visit our website

The For Baby’s Sake Trust is excited to announce that we are recruiting a Policy and Public Affairs Officer. This will be a crucial new role as we grow the Trust's reach and impact. You will be dedicated to developing our policy positions and driving external relationships with parliamentarians and change-makers to help break cycles of domestic abuse and give babies the best start in life.

If you share our passion for breaking cycles of domestic abuse and giving babies the best start in life, and you have at least 3+ years of working in policy and public affairs in a related field (ideally domestic abuse, children’s sector, or early years), this might be the perfect fit for you.

This position offers a wonderful chance to work with a friendly, dedicated team at an award-winning charity that significantly impacts families affected by domestic abuse. This is a part-time role (18 hours per week), reporting to the CEO, and comes with a permanent position and a salary of £17,304 per annum (£36,050 FTE). Plus, you'll enjoy the flexibility of working from home, with travel as required (usually to London).

To apply, please send your completed application form by 11.59 p.m. on Sunday 1st June. We're planning to hold interviews in a central location in London on Monday 16th June.

Once we receive your application, we'll provide you with the link to the equal opportunities monitoring form—this is confidential and voluntary and won't affect the selection process. If you have any questions about the role, feel free to email the recruitment team and a team member will get back to you as soon as possible.

For more information about The For Baby’s Sake Trust, please visit our website.

No agency contact please.

The For Baby’s Sake Trust is excited to announce that we're looking for a Digital Communications Officer (part-time) to join our team. This role is about helping us expand our digital reach, engage key audiences, and strengthen our online brand presence.

In this position, you'll have the opportunity to manage our social media content, oversee website administration, conduct email marketing, and execute paid and organic digital campaigns. You will also play a vital role in enhancing our digital content strategy, growing our audience, and ensuring brand consistency across all platforms.

If you share our passion for breaking cycles of domestic abuse and giving babies the best start in life, and you have at least 1+ years of experience coordinating social and digital channels for an organisation, this might just be the perfect fit for you. We seek someone who understands best practices and trends and enjoys finding creative solutions to support our growth and drive positive social change.

This position offers a wonderful chance to work with a friendly, dedicated team at an award-winning charity, making a significant, positive impact on families affected by domestic abuse. This is a part-time role (22.5 hours per week) reporting to the Communications Manager. It is a permanent position with a salary of £17,304 per annum (£28,800 per annum full-time equivalent plus 5% contributory pension). Plus, you'll enjoy the flexibility of working from home, with occasional travel.

To apply, please send your completed application form by 11.59 p.m. on Sunday 1st June. We're planning to hold online interviews on Monday 23rd June.

Once we receive your application, we'll provide you with the link to the equal opportunities monitoring form—this is confidential and voluntary and won't affect the selection process. If you have any questions about the role, feel free to email the recruitment team and a team member will get back to you as soon as possible.

For more information about The For Baby’s Sake Trust, please visit our website.

No agency contact please.

This is a freelance role, which involves travelling to sites across the UK, delivery will be in person from 9am-4pm on dates arranged in advance. 

• The Holocaust Educational Trust (HET) work to educate every person from every background in the UK about the Holocaust and its contemporary relevance. We believe that the Holocaust must have a permanent place in our nation’s collective memory. We work across the UK, providing a wide range of educational programmes.
• Over the course of our history, we have created and delivered innovative and meaningful learning experiences – teaching young people about the Holocaust and ensuring that our educational initiatives have a long term and positive impact on the people we reach. In June 2024, we launched Testimony 360: People and Places of the Holocaust, after several years of research and development.
• HET is looking for outstanding Educators to deliver our brand-new school programme, Testimony 360: People and Places of the Holocaust. Testimony 360 is an immersive, interactive digital education programme that combines eyewitness testimony with virtual site-based learning to offer students an unforgettable learning experience. Students use laptops and VR headsets throughout the lesson, so educators delivering the programme need to be confident and comfortable using this technology as part of their teaching (training will be provided). 
• The successful candidates will come from a teaching background and will work with a dynamic education team that is at the heart of our mission to educate people from every background across the country about the Holocaust. The successful candidate will be able to undertake national travel, to and from schools, to deliver the sessions. 

Sessions run on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

See the attached documents for the full job description and person specification information. Please click the 'Redirect to Recruiter' button to access the application form. 

Reports to: CEO

Role type: permanent

Hours: 28 per week

Salary: £21,945.95 per annum (pro rata, based on a FTE salary of £29,000)

Job Description: Training and Events Officer

The Training and Events Officer will play a key role developing and delivering high quality professional development, training, events, workshops to SLA members and wider audiences. The postholder will develop inspirational, insightful and innovative routes to supporting SLA members to deliver on their school library provision remit, enabling children and young people to reach their full potential. This is an exciting opportunity for someone passionate about school libraries, education and training.

You will work with the CEO, SLA colleagues and key stakeholders to develop and deliver a comprehensive training offer, including leading on logistics planning and delivery of our flagship annual conference. In addition, you will develop and maintain a calendar of exciting events and opportunities to share knowledge and insight, working with colleagues to ensure the offer is timely and informative. A confident facilitator and coordinator, you will be comfortable leading on training delivery, or recruiting and working with external facilitators in order to achieve specific outcomes.  Creative, with a flair for spotting opportunities for professional development, you will have a keen eye for detail and an ability to manage multiple workstreams and deadlines. Resource creation will be second-nature to you and you’ll be comfortable writing for adults and children, and young people.

Duties include:

• Logistics planning and delivery of the flagship event, SLA Annual Conference (currently called the Weekend Course) providing high quality professional development and networking opportunities to members 
• With CEO and key stakeholders, supporting the development of a comprehensive, engaging and exciting conference programme and recruit 40 exhibitors, plus event speakers as needed
• Supporting development of the training strategy working with the CEO to define aims and objectives
• Developing and maintaining a calendar of training, workshops and events aligned with the training strategy, working with the CEO and SLA colleagues, in particular the Outreach Support Officer
• Creation of supporting resources, toolkits and lesson plans to increase training engagement and impact

• Delivering and facilitating inspirational and engaging training and events as required (online and in person)

• Developing relationships with partners to produce high quality webinars, training and online events – including SLA members, funders, external stakeholders
• Exploring and evaluating business and funded models for training and events to ensure an income stream
• Working with external facilitators, recruiting them as needed, to deliver training and workshops, ensuring delivery is aligned with SLA requirements and outcomes
• Managing all training and events administration, planning and logistics

• Working with the Marketing and Communications Officer and Sales and Membership Officer, to ensure effective communication and promotion of training and events, providing timely information and updates as needed 
• Monitoring and evaluation of all training and events to ensure a high-quality offer, reach and impact that delivers on the SLA’s mission, applying learnings as needed

• Generating all event reports and updates as needed for internal and external use 
• Contribute to relevant SLA communications including TSL, newsletters and promotional materials

All team members contribute to office admin, maintaining member data and general office support.

To be successful in this role you should ideally demonstrate:

· experience of working in school libraries, the education sector and a strong understanding of the education landscape

· experience developing and delivering inspirational training, to small and large groups, both online and in person

· understanding of what works (and what doesn’t) for different formats and types of training and using evaluation to establish impact

· experience creating training resources, toolkits and teaching and learning resources

· a clear understanding of the curriculum and teaching and learning outcomes

· confidence in developing relationships with a variety of stakeholders

· an ability to manage own workload, prioritise and meet competing deadlines

· creativity and innovation, with a solution-focused approach

· an ability to work flexibly around training and event delivery and travel across the UK as needed

An understanding of business models in relation to training will be an advantage, as will experience planning events. Building relationships with all stakeholders will be an important part of this role.

The salary for this position is £21,945.95 (FTE £29,000) for 28 hours per week, and comes with a 6% employer pension contribution.

We are open to discussing flexible working patterns, condensed hours or other arrangements we may not yet have thought of. This is a remote working role, with monthly all team meetings which you will be required to attend, in addition to training and events across the UK. We strongly encourage candidates of all different backgrounds and identities to apply. Each new role provides us with an opportunity for us to bring in a different perspective and we are always eager to diversify our team. The SLA is committed to building an inclusive, supportive place, where you can do brilliant and rewarding work.

Why work for the School Library Association?

We are in an exciting period of growth in the history of the SLA, with a new CEO, coinciding with the opportunity to influence a new government. Plans to redevelop our offer are in progress and you will have the opportunity to influence new approaches and ways of working. We are a small, friendly team who support each other to deliver an excellent service to our members and passionately believe in the power of school libraries to transform children and young people’s personal, social and educational outcomes.

Annual Leave is 25 days plus bank holidays. We offer free mental health support and counselling sessions and brilliant discounts with a variety of retailers including up to 40% off Vue cinema tickets through our HR partner.

About the School Library Association

The School Library Association (SLA) is an independent charity and membership organisation that believes every pupil is entitled to effective school library provision. The SLA supports all those working in school libraries. We have been representing the school library sector for more than eighty-five years, with membership to the Association thought of as essential to all those who work in and around school libraries. Membership to the SLA provides training, support in advocating with senior leadership teams, incredible discounts and collegiate networking opportunities for everybody working in and with school libraries.

How to apply

To apply please send your CV and a covering letter (no more than one page) detailing the experience you have in relation to the job description, that you can bring to this role, and how your skills align with what we are looking for. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered. We truly appreciate all applications, but due to the volume we receive, we will not be able to provide individual feedback. No agencies please.

Deadline: Monday 2nd June, 9am. Please note we will be actively interviewing for this role; if you are interested apply as soon as possible as we may close recruitment early if the right candidate is found.

Wildlife and Wellbeing Officer

35 hours per week, temporary contract until September 2028

We are Chester Zoo

We’re not just an amazing, award-winning visitor attraction that’s home to over 37,000 incredible animals inside 128 acres of stunning gardens. We’re not just the UK’s most popular zoo. We’re a major wildlife charity that’s committed to the recovery of endangered species, globally. And, as the world faces an extinction crisis, we’re making a hugely significant contribution to conservation at a time when it’s needed most. We are Chester Zoo and we prevent extinction.

The Role

We now have an exciting new role for a Wildlife and Wellbeing Officer to join our Conservation Education and Engagement Directorate. This role is part of the Networks for Nature project team.

Networks for Nature spans c60 square miles from the River Dee to the River Mersey, including Chester and Ellesmere Port. This is a collaborative partnership project working with Cheshire West and Chester Council, The Land Trust, Cheshire Wildlife Trust, Canal and River Trust, and Sustrans with the aim to drive nature recovery in a mixed-use landscape, creating diverse habitats for species to thrive now and for years to come. We will empower communities to have an active role in conservation action and stewardship and will focus on making nature more accessible to and inclusive for everyone to enable connection and improve wellbeing. To find out more about Networks for Nature visit Networks For Nature | Conservation at Chester Zoo.

As a Wildlife and Wellbeing Officer, you’ll work closely with the Wildlife and Wellbeing Assistant Manager and Networks for Nature project staff to engage and empower communities to make a real impact on conservation efforts and to improve access to nature. You will support with maintaining and establishing community relationships, supporting the development and delivery of a programme of wildlife and wellbeing activities and supporting in building the capacity of community groups, community leaders and other stakeholders within the Networks for Nature project area. You will deliver a broad range of activities, including Family Wildlife Clubs, Wildlife and Wellbeing Clubs, Community Action Days, activities linked to Green Social Prescribing and activity stands within community settings.

Due to the working rota of 10 days in 14 and working every other weekend, there will be some cross-over between the activities delivered within this role and the Community Volunteer Officer role.
 

We’re looking for someone who can:

• Activity Planning & Delivery: Help plan and run a broad programme of wildlife and wellbeing activities to community groups, including Family Wildlife Clubs, Wildlife and Wellbeing Clubs, Conservation Action Days, activities linked to Green Social Prescribing and activity stands at community events. Effectively adapting each activity to meet the needs of each group.
• Community Relationships: Develop and maintain relationships with community groups to support their continued participation in the project and commitment to creating habitats for UK Wildlife. Including administrative support, dealing with queries via email and telephone and attending meetings, consultations and networking events.
• Content Creation: Research and contribute to the development of resources and new engagement activities designed to support participation in the Networks for Nature project.
• Measuring Impact: Work closely with the Wildlife and Wellbeing Assistant Manager to support in the delivery of an evaluation programme for the Networks for Nature project, including collection and collation of data from project participants, initial analysis of results and presenting findings to key stakeholders.
• Safety & Risk Assessments: With support from the Wildlife and Wellbeing Assistant Manager, ensure that all activities are safe and appropriately risk assessed.
• Developing Expertise: Proactively develop own expertise as a conservation educator, focused on community engagement, UK wildlife and nature and wellbeing.

What makes Chester Zoo a great place to work?

Well, where do we start? Here goes…

We’re a huge team of conservationists, scientists, educators, animal welfare experts, marketeers, visitor experience professionals, environmental policy influencers; the list goes on. Each and every one of us is on a mission to make Chester Zoo the best in the world, and our planet a better place.

As the UK’s biggest and best zoo, we have ambitious goals, exciting plans, and there’s always lots going on here. We’re an inclusive and diverse organisation, made up of over 600 permanent and 500 temporary team members, and we know how important it is to invest in our colleagues to help boost their career development. We have ambitious goals, and we want you to be with us for the long term on our exciting journey.

Our working environment could not be more different from a typical office – where else can you see critically endangered orangutans from your office window, or stroll among rare giraffes and tigers on your lunch break?

The Package

• Fixed term contract until September 2028
• 35 hours per week
• Salary £23,893.59 per annum pro rata
• The postholder will work 10 days over 14, working every other weekend and with two regular days off in the week
• 33 days annual leave plus the option to buy or sell up to 5 days (pro rota)
• Staff pass so you can visit the zoo during your time off, plus multiple complimentary tickets for your friends and family
• Cycle to work scheme
• Healthcare plan and employee assistance programme
• Discounted gym membership
• Discounts on cinema tickets, restaurants, high street shops and more via Perks
• Pension scheme with generous employer contributions up to 9%

Our Requirements

• An understanding & affinity to the organisation’s mission, vision & values, with a strong interest in the conservation of UK nature.
• Experience delivering educational and wellbeing focused activities with a range of different audiences, preferably within an environmental education or conservation focused organisation.
• Experience developing quality resources for learning.
• Experience of delivering activities/training with a range of audiences.
• Sound working knowledge of computer software systems e.g. Microsoft Office Suite
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Excellent communication and literacy skills including by phone, face to face and via email/online discussion boards
• Excellent time management, administration and planning skills.
• Experience of working in a busy office environment as part of a team & on own initiative
• Full driving licence

Although not essential, the following would be desirable:

• Knowledge and understanding of the health and wellbeing benefits of accessing nature and the models used to deliver these benefits.
• Experience working with audiences with special educational needs and/or mental health challenges and/or socio economically deprived.
• Experience working collaboratively with community partners.
• Experience monitoring and evaluating engagement activities in a community context.

Due to the nature of the organisation and the role, this post is subject to a DBS check.

The closing date for applications is midnight 1st June 2025

Shortlisting of applications and interviews for the role will take place while the advert is live; the advert will close once the successful candidate is found and it is possible this will be prior to the advertised end date. Candidates are therefore encouraged to submit applications as soon as possible.

Networks for Nature is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players.

The Community Engagement Officer is an essential role in fostering strong relationships with current and prospective members of the School Library Association community. The postholder will provide frontline support, drive online and in person engagement through outreach initiatives, and contribute to the growth and sustainability of the membership base. This is an exciting opportunity for someone passionate about school libraries, education, and community-building.

With a particular focus on coordinating and supporting our Branch network, you will collaborate on initiatives for development, delivery and new projects as they come online. You will be the first port of call for advice and expertise relating to school libraries and enabling our members to more effectively support their school communities. Supporting the delivery of online and in-person networking events and workshops for members, you will work with your SLA colleagues, in particular the Training and Events Officer, to deliver a high-quality member offer and to ensure member needs are reflected in all offerings. The ability to travel to training and events across the UK is essential. Duties include:

Branch network and member support

• Work with the CEO to develop the SLA Branch Network and accompanying strategies
• Identify opportunities for developing initiatives to grow and develop the Branch network community, that will deliver on the SLA mission
• Develop strong relationships with local, regional and national stakeholders to support network growth and enable members to take full advantage of all relevant opportunities available to them
• Provide advice for SLA members on all aspects of school libraries, ensuring they are supported and can be as effective as possible in their school communities 
• Drive engagement and development of online communities as part of the branch network

 Training and events

• Work with the Training and Events Coordinator to support and deliver a calendar of exciting, engaging and informative events
• Support the delivery of online and in-person networking events and workshops with a focus on the Branch network community
• Represent the association at relevant events and for programmes (e.g., conferences, webinars, book awards) to promote membership and services
• Support training and event delivery (online and in-person), engaging and inspiring audiences as needed
• Support development of training programmes, toolkits and resources using member insight to inform

Outreach and communications

• Coordinate the mentoring scheme and ensure it is promoted effectively, with necessary support and development available to mentees and training for mentors
• Use your sector insight to identify opportunities for development of research and other initiatives, maintaining links and horizon scanning
• Provide SLA consultancy aligned with strategic approaches, supporting schools with development of their libraries, reading and information literacy provision to help children and young people reach their full potential
• Contribute to SLA communications such as TSL, newsletters, updates, and promotional materials
• Oversee the book review process in support of TSL, our quarterly journal
• Supporting management of the SLA resource library, working with colleagues to ensure alignment
• Support outreach to new audiences

Building relationships and an ability to foster collaboration and community engagement will be an important part of this role. All team members contribute to office admin, maintaining member data and general office support.

To be successful in this role you should ideally be able to demonstrate:

· experience of working in school libraries, the education sector and a strong understanding of the education landscape

· clear understanding of the curriculum and teaching and learning outcomes

· knowledge of children and young people’s literature

· experience developing and delivering inspirational training, to small and large groups, both online and in person

· experience creating training resources, toolkits and teaching and learning resources

· ability to galvanise and inspire others with flair and creativity

· the ability to manage own workload, prioritise and meet competing deadlines

· the ability to work hours flexibly around event and training delivery

An expert communicator, you will be experienced in developing relationships with a variety of stakeholders at all levels. Experience of consultancy, schools’ engagement and outreach would be advantage.

The salary for this position is £19, 594.59 (FTE £29,000) for 25 hours per week, and comes with a 6% employer pension contribution.

We are open to discussing flexible working patterns, condensed hours or other arrangements we may not yet have thought of. This is a remote working role, with monthly all team meetings which you will be required to attend, in addition to training and events across the UK. Working patterns can be negotiated. We strongly encourage candidates of all different backgrounds and identities to apply. Each new role provides us with an opportunity for us to bring in a different perspective and  we are always eager to diversify our team. The SLA is committed to building an inclusive, supportive place, where you can do brilliant and rewarding work.

Why work for the School Library Association?

We are in an exciting period of growth in the history of the SLA, with a new CEO, coinciding with the opportunity to influence a new government. Plans to redevelop our offer are in progress and you will have the opportunity to influence new approaches and ways of working. We are a small, friendly team who support each other to deliver an excellent service to our members and passionately believe in the power of school libraries to transform children and young people’s personal, social and educational outcomes.

Annual Leave is 25 days plus bank holidays. We offer free mental health support and counselling sessions and brilliant discounts with a variety of retailers including up to 40% off Vue cinema tickets through our HR partner.

About the School Library Association

The School Library Association (SLA) is an independent charity and membership organisation that believes every pupil is entitled to effective school library provision. The SLA supports all those working in school libraries. We have been representing the school library sector for more than eighty-five years, with membership to the Association thought of as essential to all those who work in and around school libraries. Membership to the SLA provides training, support in advocating with senior leadership teams, incredible discounts and collegiate networking opportunities for everybody working in and with school libraries.

How to apply

To apply please send your CV and a covering letter (no more than one page) detailing the experience you have in relation to the job description, that you can bring to this role, and how your skills align with what we are looking for. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered. We truly appreciate all applications, but due to the volume we receive, we will not be able to provide individual feedback. No agencies please

Deadline: Monday 2nd June, 9am. Please note we will be actively interviewing for this role; if you are interested apply as soon as possible as we may close recruitment early if the right candidate is found.

Interpretation and Digital Officer

35 hours per week, temporary contract until September 2028

We are Chester Zoo

We’re not just an amazing, award-winning visitor attraction that’s home to more than 37,000 incredible animals inside 128 acres of stunning gardens. We’re not just the UK’s most popular zoo. We’re a major wildlife charity that’s committed to the recovery of endangered species, globally. And, as the world faces an extinction crisis, we’re making a hugely significant contribution to conservation at a time when it’s needed most. We are Chester Zoo and we prevent extinction.

The Role

We now have an exciting new role for an Interpretation and Digital Officer. This role is part of the Networks for Nature project team.

Networks for Nature spans c60 square miles from the River Dee to the River Mersey, including Chester and Ellesmere Port. This is a collaborative partnership project working with Cheshire West and Chester Council, The Land Trust, Cheshire Wildlife Trust, Canal and River Trust, and Sustrans with the aim to drive nature recovery in a mixed-use landscape, creating diverse habitats for species to thrive now and for years to come. We will empower communities to have an active role in conservation action and stewardship and will focus on making nature more accessible to and inclusive for everyone to enable connection and improve wellbeing. To find out more about Networks for Nature visit Networks For Nature | Conservation at Chester Zoo.

As an Interpretation and Digital Officer, you'll work closely and collaboratively with a wide range of in-zoo teams including the Networks for Nature project staff, Interpretation, Digital Learning, Marketing, PR, Fundraising, and will also link with the project partners. You’ll be responsible for the development of interpretation and promotional materials for the project. This will include interpretation materials at partner and community sites, resources for event activities and promotion of the project via e-newsletters, social media and other digital channels, such as the Wild Wander app.

We’re looking for someone who can:

• Develop content for interpretation elements across the landscape, working with designers and overseeing installation.
• Commission others or develop a broad range of digital and promotional materials, including content for e-newsletters, leaflets, digital media and other collateral to promote the project to a wide range of audiences (from those directly involved and supporters, to local residents and the wider public).
• Work collaboratively with zoo teams to schedule and plan delivery of communications content, providing any assets needed, so that the project is communicated consistently and regularly to key audiences.
• Ensure brand consistency across all areas of work.
• Support the ongoing development of the Wild Wander app, working with app developers, project team and partners to create new content and monitor its ongoing usage, adapting as needed in response to feedback.
• Ensure all work is delivered safely and compliantly, follow policies, standard operating procedures and ensuring compliance with all relevant guidelines and legislation, such as copyright law, GDPR, CDM and DDA compliance.
• Contribute to project monitoring through the collation of relevant KPI data and through providing regular reports to the Project Board and Steering Group.
• Monitor budgets associated with the interpretation and digital content elements of the project.
• Proactively develop own expertise in the areas of interpretation and digital engagement, keeping up to date with best practice, researching excellence and sharing practice both internally and externally.
   

What makes Chester Zoo a great place to work?

Well, where do we start? Here goes…

We’re a huge team of conservationists, scientists, educators, animal welfare experts, marketeers, visitor experience professionals, environmental policy influencers; the list goes on. Each and every one of us is on a mission to make Chester Zoo the best in the world, and our planet a better place.

As the UK’s biggest and best zoo, we have ambitious goals, exciting plans, and there’s always lots going on here. We’re an inclusive and diverse organisation, made up of over 600 permanent and 500 temporary team members, and we know how important it is to invest in our colleagues to help boost their career development. We have ambitious goals, and we want you to be with us for the long term on our exciting journey.

Our working environment could not be more different from a typical office – where else can you see critically endangered orangutans from your office window, or stroll among rare giraffes and tigers on your lunch break?

The Package

• Fixed term contract until September 2028
• 35 hours per week, generally Monday-Friday with occasional need to work evening or weekends
• Salary £25,602.68 per annum pro rata
• Potential for home working up to two days per week
• 33 days annual leave plus the option to buy or sell up to 5 days (pro rota)
• Staff pass so you can visit the zoo during your time off, plus multiple complimentary tickets for your friends and family
• Cycle to work scheme
• Healthcare plan and employee assistance programme
• Discounted gym membership
• Discounts on cinema tickets, restaurants, high street shops and more via Perks
• Pension scheme with generous employer contributions up to 9%

Our Requirements

• An understanding & affinity to the organisation’s mission, vision & values, with a strong interest in the conservation of UK nature.
• Subject knowledge: Degree level qualification or equivalent experience
• Excellent copywriting skills, with experience in a comparable setting of writing for diverse audiences and for a range of formats including digital channels and interpretation signage. Proven ability to communicate scientific or technical content to audiences of different ages and abilities.
• Research skills: the ability to find information and source quality materials (such as films, maps and images), seek copyright clearance for their usage and edit into appropriate formats for a range of audiences.
• Commissioning of content: The ability to brief designers, printers, photographers, filmmakers and other contractors on projects and requirements.
• IT skills: Skilled in the use of all key Microsoft packages and use of digital technologies for public engagement.
• Organisational skills: Excellent time management, administration and workload planning skills are essential. Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects, meeting deadlines and ensuring appropriate quality control.
• Interpersonal skills: Excellent diplomacy and interpersonal skills. Ability to work effectively under own initiative and as part of a team, to work under pressure and to collaborate with various stakeholders across the zoo and beyond.

Although not essential, the following would be desirable:

• Experience of developing and installing interpretation in a zoo, aquarium, museum or similar environment is desirable, ideally with experience working in outdoor locations.
• Experience or qualification in subject relevant to science communication and/or interpretation is desirable.
• A working knowledge of UK conservation and/or ecology.
• Full driving licence

The closing date for applications is midnight 1st June 2025. Interviews will take place on 10th June 2025.

Shortlisting of applications and interviews for the role will take place while the advert is live; the advert will close once the successful candidate is found and it is possible this will be prior to the advertised end date. Candidates are therefore encouraged to submit applications as soon as possible.

Networks for Nature is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players.

Community Volunteer Officer

35 hours per week, temporary contract until September 2028

We are Chester Zoo

We’re not just an amazing, award-winning visitor attraction that’s home to over 37,000 incredible animals inside 128 acres of stunning gardens. We’re not just the UK’s most popular zoo. We’re a major wildlife charity that’s committed to the recovery of endangered species, globally. And, as the world faces an extinction crisis, we’re making a hugely significant contribution to conservation at a time when it’s needed most. We are Chester Zoo and we prevent extinction.

The Role

We now have an exciting new role for a Community Volunteer Officer to join our Conservation Education and Engagement Directorate. This role is part of the Networks for Nature project team.

Networks for Nature spans c60 square miles from the River Dee to the River Mersey, including Chester and Ellesmere Port. This is a collaborative partnership project working with Cheshire West and Chester Council, The Land Trust, Cheshire Wildlife Trust, Canal and River Trust, and Sustrans with the aim to drive nature recovery in a mixed-use landscape, creating diverse habitats for species to thrive now and for years to come. We will empower communities to have an active role in conservation action and stewardship and will focus on making nature more accessible to and inclusive for everyone to enable connection and improve wellbeing. To find out more about Networks for Nature visit Networks For Nature | Conservation at Chester Zoo.

As a Community Volunteer Officer, you'll work closely with the Community Volunteer Assistant Manager and Networks for Nature project staff to engage and empower volunteers to make a real impact on conservation efforts. You’ll be responsible for day-to-day volunteer administration, recruitment, and support, while helping to deliver exciting activities, including hands-on conservation projects and training sessions. This is your chance to be at the heart of the Networks for Nature project, contributing to positive change in nature while gaining valuable experience and skills.

Due to the working rota of 10 days in 14 and working every other weekend, there will be some cross-over between the activities delivered within this role and the Wildlife and Wellbeing Officer role.

We’re looking for someone who can:

• Event Planning & Delivery: Help plan and run volunteer events, training, and networking opportunities for community volunteers and Wildlife Champions.
• Logistical Support: Provide support for activities like networking, micro-volunteering, and conservation action days, from small coffee mornings to large events for up to 250 participants.
• Engagement Monitoring: Track participant feedback through surveys and regular check-ins. Collate data about participation in community activities, share data with funders and internal teams.
• Daily Volunteer Engagement: Manage volunteer communications such as emails, newsletters, recruitment, rosters, and event sign-ups. Provide support, encourage engagement, and offer pastoral care as needed.
• Safety & Risk Assessments: With support from the Community Volunteer Assistant Manager, ensure all activities are safe and well-planned, creating personal risk assessments with volunteers if required.
• Training & Development: Assist with training sessions for volunteers and Wildlife Champions to enhance their skills, leading parts of the training when needed.
   

What makes Chester Zoo a great place to work?

Well, where do we start? Here goes…

We’re a huge team of conservationists, scientists, educators, animal welfare experts, marketeers, visitor experience professionals, environmental policy influencers; the list goes on. Each and every one of us is on a mission to make Chester Zoo the best in the world, and our planet a better place.

As the UK’s biggest and best zoo, we have ambitious goals, exciting plans, and there’s always lots going on here. We’re an inclusive and diverse organisation, made up of over 600 permanent and 500 temporary team members, and we know how important it is to invest in our colleagues to help boost their career development. We have ambitious goals, and we want you to be with us for the long term on our exciting journey.

Our working environment could not be more different from a typical office – where else can you see critically endangered orangutans from your office window, or stroll among rare giraffes and tigers on your lunch break?

The Package

• Fixed term contract until September 2028
• 35 hours per week
• Salary £23,893.59 per annum pro rata
• The postholder will work 10 days over 14, working every other weekend and with two regular days off in the week
• 33 days annual leave plus the option to buy or sell up to 5 days (pro rota)
• Staff pass so you can visit the zoo during your time off, plus multiple complimentary tickets for your friends and family
• Cycle to work scheme
• Healthcare plan and employee assistance programme
• Discounted gym membership
• Discounts on cinema tickets, restaurants, high street shops and more via Perks
• Pension scheme with generous employer contributions up to 9%

Our Requirements

• An understanding & affinity to the organisation’s mission, vision & values, with a strong interest in the conservation of UK nature.
• Experience in working with volunteers
• Strong administrative and organisational skills, with some experience organising events and training
• Experience of delivering activities/training with a wide range of audiences
• Sound working knowledge of computer software systems e.g. Microsoft Office Suite
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Excellent communication and literacy skills including by phone, face to face and via email/online discussion boards
• Excellent time management, administration and planning skills.
• Experience of working in a busy office environment as part of a team & on own initiative
• Full driving licence

Although not essential, the following would be desirable:

• Working knowledge of volunteer management systems
• Experience monitoring and evaluating volunteering activities

Due to the nature of the organisation and the role, this post is subject to a DBS check.

The closing date for applications is midnight 1st June 2025

Shortlisting of applications and interviews for the role will take place while the advert is live; the advert will close once the successful candidate is found and it is possible this will be prior to the advertised end date. Candidates are therefore encouraged to submit applications as soon as possible.

Networks for Nature is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players.

As a key member of the newly formed Programme Delivery Team, you will contribute to the growth, reach, and impact of Leadership Skills Foundation programmes among underserved and under-represented individuals and communities. Your work will play a vital role in benefiting thousands of young people across the UK.

We are looking for an energetic and innovative relationship-builder who can establish and manage partnerships with local community groups across England.  Through strong relationship management, you will play a key role in identifying learnings through the programmes delivery and will be confident to use the learnings to influence future strategy and delivery plans.

The role requires someone who is excited by the challenge of trying new things and working differently through a test and learn approach.  You will need to be comfortable working collaboratively as well as independently and want to pro-actively lead on making a positive social difference to the individuals and groups benefitting from our programmes.

The role will initially be a fixed term contract (to July 2027) but we aim to secure further funding for the role to extend. 

Main duties and responsibilities

Responsible for co-ordinating, engaging and managing multiple local community organisations across c. 5-7 locations in England to deliver leadership programmes with identified target audiences, groups and individuals.

Design, develop and manage a delivery plan for the Programme, which engages key stakeholders, and is based on the principles of co-creation, trust and flexibility.

Support identified stakeholders to test adapted leadership skill programmes and learn from the delivery to inform future delivery.

Through learnings from local delivery partners and working with research colleagues, develop a shared understanding of the needs and barriers young people in underserved communities face in accessing leadership skill development and volunteering opportunities.

Work with colleagues in the Innovation team to provide support to local delivery partners to address and overcome these barriers to engage the target audiences.

Deliver training, support and orientation to local delivery partners

Work with the Programme Research Manager to establish a delivery feedback loop to inform the development of learning resources and programmes to overcome the needs and barriers young people in underserved communities face. 

Provide opportunities for the research plan, developed by the Programme Delivery Research Team, to be implemented to drive the improvement of strategic, business and operational planning and delivery.

Provide connectivity between your work/engagement with delivery centres and the work of the Business and Market Development Teams. 

Work with the Programme Research Manager to capture and share best practice to support the wider adoption across community and partner networks. 

Work collaboratively to successfully influence and deliver agreed programme objectives and key results.

Maintain a working knowledge and up to date awareness of the landscape and audiences the Leadership Skills Foundation works with and aspires to work with.

Key Relationships

Internal

• Head of Programme Delivery (line manager)

• Programme Delivery Research Manager

• Programme Delivery Research Executive

• Innovation Officers

• Finance Manager

External

• Local delivery centres and partners

• Strategic partners including organisations such as Sport England and Active Partners

• Research and insight partners

Skills, experience and knowledge

Essential

• Strong experience of proactively supporting and managing local and regional stakeholder relations.

• Experience of working with community organisations and good understanding of the voluntary and community landscape

• Experience of supporting individuals/teams and organisations to deliver projects and programmes.

• Confidence to act as the lead contact point for the local delivery of a nationally funded programme.

• Experience of working flexibly, responding to need and opportunities

• Familiarity with delivering and carrying out operational workplans and working collaboratively with teams to achieve them

• Effective resource management

• Analytical thinking and evaluation skills- experience of using data and insight to learn, adapt and tell stories 

• Strong interpersonal, presenting and communication skills with the confidence and ability to adapt styles to different groups. 

Desirable

• A proven track record in leading and delivering purpose-driven programmes.

• Experience of delivering/managing test and learn projects

• Experience of working with under-represented/under-served young people

• Experience of Place-based working and community development

• Experience of supporting programme innovation, development, and design. 

• An understanding of the sport and physical activity landscape in England.

• Experience of delivering informal education, employability or skill development programmes

Personal qualities

• A people- person with strong interpersonal skills to initiate, engage with and build strong and impactful relationships with a range of external stakeholders.

• A confident, collaborative individual that wants to lead and make a positive social difference.

• Effective and confident communicator, able to inspire and engage stakeholders.

• Detail-orientated, organised and capable of balancing multiple and complex priorities.

• A team player, flexible and able to respond positively to evolving opportunities and challenges in a fast-paced environment. 

• Optimistic and energetic outlook, keen to maximise the positive change that the programme can deliver.

• Self-starter and independent thinker; able to solve problems and instigate solutions.

• Takes initiative and responsibility for their own workload.

• Adaptable to operational requirements with an openness to give and receive constructive feedback as part of a growth mindset.

• The ability to multi-task and manage partner relationships at various stages

• Comfortable working from home, with regular travel across England as required

DFN Project SEARCH offer an evidence-based supported internship model which takes place entirely in the workplace.  The programmes provide continuous support to young adults with a learning disability, and autistic people who are aged between 16 – 24 with an Education Health and Care Plan, or equivalent, in their final year of education.

You will be required to identify opportunities to develop and grow DFN Project SEARCH programmes across a geographical area with the aim of supporting the organisation to ensure that as many people as need it have access to DFN Project SEARCH programmes.

In addition, you will be required to develop strategies to ensure that the operational programmes in your area are achieving at least the average outcomes expected for young people in our programmes and so you must be committed to continuous improvement.

You will be specifically required to develop strong partnerships and train and support colleagues within your area. You may also be required to support colleagues promoting DFN Project SEARCH in other areas, further European projects as required and contribute to the development of relevant UK focussed materials.

As a Programme Specialist you will be expected to:

• Demonstrate effective project planning and preparation so that each project delivers achieves the highest quality programme possible and outstanding employment outcomes for the interns.
• Establish effective working relationships with schools, colleges, local authorities, employers and the project professional staff to promote the building of excellent, high quality partnerships at each site to ensure the effective running of programmes and promote sustainability in a volatile environment.
• Take an active part in decision making, planning and audit processes of each project
• Ensure that you implement DFN Project SEARCH policy and have a clear understanding of required quality standards and criteria which constitute effective teaching and learning