Sessional children play worker jobs

Young Carers Sessional Worker  

Do you enjoy working with young people? Are you interested in supporting Young Carers by delivering engaging activities that promote wellbeing, reduce isolation and give them a break from their caring responsibilities? 

Then this job is for you! 

Job Title: Young Carers Sessional Worker 
Location: London, Wandsworth – Wandsworth Carers’ Centre (office-based and community/outreach) 
Contract Type: Sessional / Zero Hours Contract 
Salary: £15 per hour 
DBS Check: Enhanced required 

We are seeking a flexible, reliable, and enthusiastic Sessional Worker to join our Young Carers team. The primary focus of this role is to provide consistent support at our weekly Young Carers After School Club, which takes place every Thursday during term time from 4:30pm – 6:00pm. The club is delivered across two age groups (5–11 and 12–16 years), and regular attendance and commitment to supporting both groups each week is an essential requirement of the role. 

You will work alongside the Young Carers team to deliver engaging, age-appropriate activities that promote wellbeing, reduce isolation, and provide children and young people with a fun, safe, and supportive break from their caring responsibilities. You will encourage participation, build positive relationships, support behaviour where required, and help ensure every young person feels welcomed, included, and valued. 

You will also play an active role in planning and preparing for the After School Club as well as assisting with the set-up before each club and the clear-up afterwards to ensure the space is safe, organised and welcoming. 

In addition to the weekly After School Club, you will support the delivery of our school holiday programme, including trips, workshops, activity days, and special events, subject to your availability. This will include contacting families, promoting upcoming activities, recruiting and booking young carers onto both the After School Club and holiday activities, supporting attendance, and helping to ensure activities are well attended by those who would benefit most. 

From time to time, you may also support outreach and engagement activities, including attending community events, working with local schools and partner organisations, and helping to identify hidden Young Carers so they can access the support and opportunities available through our service.

  This is a sessional role, therefore hours are not guaranteed but will be offered based on project need.

Key Requirements Include: 

• Experience working with children, young people, or vulnerable groups 

• Ability to communicate sensitively and effectively with young people and their families 

• Reliable, punctual, and flexible 

• A strong understanding of professional boundaries and confidentiality 

• Willingness to work evenings and weekends 

• Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusive practice 

About Wandsworth Carers’ Centre: 

We are a busy, ambitious charity operating at the heart of the Wandsworth community since 1995, helping thousands of people across the borough in unpaid Caring roles. We give information and advice, organise respite, offer complementary therapies, deliver training, provide peer support, arrange fun events and much more.  In short, we are the Carer's friend and advocate, often helping Carers through difficult times. 

Wandsworth Carers’ Centre is an inclusive employer. We are committed to building a diverse organisation that represents the communities we serve and ensuring inclusion in everything we do.

Benefits of working for Wandsworth Carers’ Centre: 

Friendly team and working environment, contributory company pension, ongoing training and development opportunities and an employee assistance program. 

Closing date: 31st August 2026

Please note we will be interviewing candidates as suitable applications come in and therefore reserve the right to close this vacancy before the stated closing date. We encourage applications as soon as possible. 

About us 

Loughborough Community Centre (LCC) was established in Brixton in 1981, as a positive outcome from the Brixton Uprisings. We operate from the Max Roach Centre in Brixton. 

Our vital and multi award-winning project has been on the frontline before and during the pandemic supporting vulnerable and disadvantaged children and their families. We are in a positive position to grow the team to increase our impact for the community.

What we do: 

Core offer...

• Rosebuds Preschool (2 - 4yrs)

• Afterschool and Holiday Play Project (0 - 13yrs) 

• Family Support 

Our mission:  
A safe place where children, young people and families can come together, to play, learn and thrive.  Join us and become part of a happy, motivated and friendly team who support the social, emotional and learning needs of our intergenerational community, through our embedded approach of Listening, Collaboration and the Creation (LCC) of meaningful activities.

About you

You will provide high-quality education, care, and family support, ensuring children experience a safe, nurturing, and inclusive environment where they can thrive. Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, you will bring strong leadership, early years knowledge, and a commitment to creating enabling spaces that support children’s learning, development, wellbeing, and family engagement. 

You will be confident in meeting all legal, statutory, and setting requirements, with a strong understanding of your professional contribution to maintaining high standards across Rosebuds Preschool, and the wider family and play services delivered by LCC at the Max Roach Centre. 

Role Title: Early Year Professional (added area of responsibility) / Senior Practioner 

Hours: 35 hours per week, 7.5 hours per day Monday to Friday (Hours will include some afterschool wraparound, occasional evenings and weekends).

We value work life balance and are willing to consider term time only or all year round.  

Salary: £28,392 (FTE) depending on experience and up to an extra £3,640 per year incentive for added area of responsibility. Potential FTE £32,032. 

Location: Rosebuds Preschool at Max Roach Centre, in person

Contract: Permanent – 6 months probationary period

Benefits of working with us: 

• Highly Competitive Salary 

• Team Of People Who Actually Care 

• Concessional Preschool Place

• Employee Assistance Programme for Staff Mental Health Wellbeing and Support 

• Birthdays Off 

• Regular Socials and Team Building Opportunities. 

• Free Enhanced DBS Checks 

• Well-Established Career Path and Training Opportunities 

• Workplace Pension Scheme

• Induction and Supervision Programme

• Personal and Professional Development Plan 

• Fresh Fruit, Tea & Coffee available for all staff 

You will have experience of:

• Planning, delivering, and evaluating high-quality learning experiences in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework, supporting children’s individual development, curiosity, and wellbeing.

• Working collaboratively as part of an early years professional team to maintain and continuously improve the quality of practice, provision, and outcomes for children.

• Operating within a Key Person system, building secure, nurturing relationships with a designated group of children and supporting their individual needs, development, and family relationships.

Main duties include:

• Contribute to the responsibility for providing a high quality of education and learning, ensuring that staff are properly deployed, and to offer appropriate stimulation and support to the children attending the setting.

• Contribute to the responsibility towards drawing up long-term, medium-term and sessional curriculum plans which take into account the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), and to monitor the effectiveness of the setting’s curriculum; this may include working with external professionals.

• Advocate for early years curriculum based on outdoor learning through play. 

• Contribute to the responsibility of drawing up and implementing the daily programme of activities and events.

• Comply with current Ofsted inspection requirements for achieving a ‘Good’ or above rating.

• Contribute and support the key person system, ensuring parents/carers are aware of their child’s key worker and that key workers regularly and effectively engage with their key children’s parent/carer.

• Contribute to the responsibility for the implementation of systems for observation and record keeping so that children’s progress and achievements are effectively and regularly assessed and to monitor the effectiveness of assessment procedures.

• Understand and appreciate the importance of monitoring and evaluation in a preschool based setting. 

• To carry out visits and inductions for new children and to ensure a smooth settlement. 

Deadline for applications is Friday 7th August 2026. Interviews will take place througout August 2026.

Job Title: Youth Work Co-ordinator

Location: Charlestown Youth Centre, Southdown Crescent Blackley Manchester M9 7DQ

Join Greater Manchester Youth Federation (GMYF) — a long-established charity running vibrant youth centres across Greater Manchester. We’re dedicated to raising aspirations and creating opportunities for young people, especially those facing disadvantage, through exciting activities, outreach, and outdoor adventures. Our approach champions youth voice, inclusion, and building confidence and resilience. We offer outdoor education, including residentials at our own Ormside Mill site in Cumbria and other sites nationwide.

Purpose of Role:

The Youth Work Co-ordinator plays a key role in the day-to-day delivery of high-quality youth work within the centre and the wider community. Working closely with the Centre Manager, the postholder coordinates sessions, leads delivery in practice, and provides guidance and support to youth workers during activities.

This is a hands-on practice leadership role, combining direct youth work with responsibility for session planning, staff co-ordination during delivery, pastoral support, and contribution to residentials and projects. The role supports, but does not replace, the Centre Manager’s accountability for staff line management, safeguarding leadership, and overall centre management.

In the absence of the Centre Manager, the Youth Work Co-ordinator acts as the senior on site lead for day-to-day centre operations and youth work delivery, while not holding line management or strategic authority. This responsibility relates to immediate operational safety and session delivery only, and does not include line management, budgetary authority, or strategic decision-making.

Key Responsibilities:

Youth Work Delivery and Session Leadership

• Lead and deliver high quality, inclusive, and young person-centred youth work across centre based provision, outreach, streetbased work, community settings, and outdoor activities.
• Co-ordinate day to day youth work delivery, ensuring sessions and activities (on site and off site) are engaging, purposeful, and responsive to young people’s needs.
• Work with the Centre Manager and wider GMYF team to contribute to programme planning, curriculum development, and forecast of events planning including centre based, outreach, and community-based youth work.
• Take a lead role in session planning, recording, and evaluation to ensure learning, participation, and youth voice remain central across all settings.
• Model excellent youth work practice and set clear expectations for delivery during sessions, outreach activity, and community-based work.

Team Co-ordination and In Session Support

• Co-ordinate and support youth workers and volunteers during sessions, providing clear guidance and practical leadership.
• Deliver session-based briefings and debriefings, ensuring staff are clear on expectations, roles, safeguarding responsibilities, and session focus, and that key information, incidents, and outcomes are accurately recorded and handed over when the Centre Manager is not on site.
• Provide coaching, mentoring, and reflective support to staff to strengthen practice and confidence.
• Support the Centre Manager with staff development and performance processes through practice-based feedback and reflective support during delivery, where required.

Safety, Safeguarding and Inclusion

• Act as a key operational safeguarding contact on site, supporting the Centre Manager and following GMYF safeguarding procedures.
• Record, report, and escalate safeguarding concerns promptly and accurately.
• Promote a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment for all young people.
• Provide in-session pastoral support by shaping the environment and staff responses so young people feel safe, included and able to participate, using restorative and de-escalation approaches to support wellbeing and relationships.
• Provide timely, proportionate interventions to de-escalate behaviour and support positive outcomes for young people, modelling restorative and trauma-informed practice during sessions.
• Work with external agencies and partners to support young people’s needs where appropriate.

Centre Operations and Activities Support

• Support the Centre Manager with daily site checks, risk assessments, and health and safety requirements, escalating issues as required.
• Lead safe evacuation and implement fire or lockdown procedures when acting as the senior on-site lead in the absence of the Centre Manager, ensuring young people, staff and visitors are accounted for and safe.
• Maintain accurate attendance, visitor, and session records.
• Use Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Teams, Word and PowerPoint) and organisational systems (e.g., Views/Evolve) to support communication and maintain accurate records, monitoring and reporting.
• Support Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) checks and report building or equipment issues.
• Manage petty cash and resources responsibly in line with GMYF procedures.
• Support the effective use of centre spaces, equipment, and materials.
• Open and close the centre safely in line with GMYF procedures when acting as the senior on-site lead.

Residentials, Projects and Quality Development

• Support off site visits, residentials, holiday programmes, and special projects e.g. Events
• Lead or co lead residentials and trips as part of the youth work team, providing pastoral care and in session coordination of staff and young people.
• Work collaboratively with the Outdoor Education Team, recognising their role in activity planning and instruction, while the youth work team leads on pastoral support and group dynamics.
• Work collaboratively with Youth Work Co-ordinators and teams across GMYF centres to support consistency of youth work practice, coordinate provision linked to forecasted activity, residentials, and external events, and contribute to shared learning and best practice.
• Contribute to monitoring, evaluation, and reporting processes, including funding and quality frameworks.
• Support the centre’s self-evaluation and continuous improvement processes.

Professional Conduct and Representation

• Uphold GMYF’s values, policies, and professional standards always.
• Build positive, respectful relationships with young people, colleagues, families, and partners.
• Demonstrate a commitment to continuous professional development (CPD) and reflective practice, using supervision, peer learning, and feedback to continuously improve practice.
• Represent the centre and GMYF positively in the community and at relevant meetings and events.
• Undertake any other duties commensurate with the role, as directed by the Centre Manager.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

Qualifications & Professional Development

• Level 3 Qualification in Youth Work (or equivalent), or demonstrable experience delivering youth work practice, with a commitment to work towards a Level 3 where not already held.
• Commitment to safeguarding, continuous professional development (CPD), and reflective practice
• Willingness to undertake further relevant professional qualifications and development as required

Experience

• Experience delivering youth work in a centre based, community, or outreach setting
• Experience leading sessions and co-ordinating activities involving other staff or volunteers 
• Experience of safeguarding practice, including recognising concerns, recording information, and escalating appropriately
• Experience working with children and young people who face barriers to participation – such as neurodivergence, experiences of trauma, or social exclusion.

Knowledge & Skills

• Good understanding of safeguarding, risk management, and inclusive practice in youth work 
• Ability to foster positive relationships and support young people in managing behaviour through restorative, relational and de-escalation approaches 
• Ability to plan, co-ordinate, and evaluate engaging, young person-centred sessions 
• Confident communication and interpersonal skills with young people, families, colleagues, and professionals
• Ability to maintain accurate records, including session records and incident logs
• Competence using Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Teams, Word and PowerPoint) and able to learn and use organisational systems (e.g. Views/Evolve) for recording, monitoring and reporting.

Leadership & Personal Attributes

• Ability to provide calm, visible, hands-on leadership during sessions and activities
• Sound judgement and confidence when acting as the senior on site practitioner in the absence of the Centre Manager
• Ability to work collaboratively with Centre Managers, Youth Work Co-ordinators, wider GMYF team and a range of stakeholders including schools, community partners, and families
• Commitment to equality, diversity, safeguarding, and young person-centred practice
• Resilience, adaptability, and the ability to manage competing priorities in a busy operational environment

Additional Requirements

• Willingness to work flexibly, including evenings and occasional weekends and residentials
• Willingness to complete required training (e.g. First Aid, safeguarding, fire safety) within agreed timescales
• Enhanced DBS check

Desirable Criteria

• Degree-level qualification in Youth Work or a related discipline.
• Experience supporting, mentoring, or guiding youth workers, sessional staff, or volunteers in practice.
• Experience supporting offsite activities, residentials, holiday provision, or targeted programmes.
• Experience contributing to or supporting monitoring, evaluation, or reporting processes