Children's Outdoor Adventure and Activity Co-ordinator

at  Park Blue Homes Ltd

WHAT WOULD I BE DOING?

• To plan and engage the young people in a wide range of innovative and exciting adventurous activities held both within the home and in the local area. This will involve group and individual activities such as rock climbing, kayaking, horse riding, paddle boarding, fishing, archery, bike riding etc.
• To be able to offer forest school based activities or bushcraft opportunities for children on a regular basis, either as part of an educational timetable or as recreational activities during the weekend or school holidays.
• To produce weekly activity planners for each child considering fun, educational, cultural, therapeutic, and adventurous activities. These will be organised in conjunction with the child’s individual assessments. The activities will be supported by the child’s staff team or directly with the activities coordinator.
• To assist in organising team building sessions for each Home and larger adventurous activities such as bouldering or canyoning every 6 months.
• Monitoring the level of engagement by staff and children in adhering to the activity planner, identifying areas that children are finding difficult and reporting back to the therapeutic and operations team.
• To attend monthly therapy meetings with the team to feedback and plan for the months ahead.
• To build and maintain positive relationships with the young people that may find it hard to engage and who will present a wide range of complex needs and behaviours, offering them a passionate and enthusiastic support to engage in more adventurous activities.
• To support with building confidence within the young people at Park Blue Homes and supporting them to reach their full potential.
• Maintaining accurate and clear records and reports.
• To support in organising external partners from the wider community to provide specialised activities.
• Organising creative ways to get our children moving and engaging within the home and within the wider community.

WHAT EXPERIENCE OR QUALIFICATIONS WOULD I NEED?

• Certification from a recognised body to provide land or water based activities.
• Basic or Advanced Bushcraft Training or Forest School Certification.
• Outdoor/Remote First Aid
• Understanding how to plan and assess risks for adventurous activities.
• A genuine passion for supporting young people within the care sector.
• A strong team player
• A passion and enthusiasm for the outdoor world and working with children.
• Resilience to keep going at difficult times and to feel confident in asking for support when needed
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• A driving licence.
• Experience working alongside children with challenging behaviour.
• Adventure Therapy Experience would be an asset, or the desire to take part in a course to understand and learn the therapeutic part of this role.
• Enthusiastic with skills in activity planning .

As an Children’s Adventure and Activity Coordinator, you will be key in helping our young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties and learning difficulties engage in a wide range of fulfilling and exciting activities.