Circle is a children and families charity working at the heart of communities across central Scotland. Our purpose is to improve the lives of children by strengthening families.

Circle’s approach builds on strengths, is solution focussed and uses a whole family approach to create a family environment that promotes healthy development in children.

The Fathers’ Worker (as part of our West Lothian Project) will provide support to fathers affected by substance use who have care of or contact with their children, or are looking to establish contact, by:

• enabling fathers and male carers to develop their parenting capacity and relationships with their children

• supporting fathers and male carers to address their substance use and attendant risks

• working with fathers and male carers to promote a safer lifestyle for the family

The post is funded by Corra Foundation and West Lothian Council until June 2025

We offer excellent staff benefits including a competitive salary, generous pension contribution, flexible working, an employee assistance programme and generous annual leave. We are committed to finding the right people for the jobs that we advertise.

Applicants should possess a qualification in social work, social care, health or education, and have relevant experience.

Harmeny Education Trust is a sector-leading children’s charity providing therapeutic care and education for children with complex additional support needs. We work with children of primary up to early secondary stage, both on a day and all-year-round residential basis.

Harmeny is situated in a beautiful 35-acre woodland estate, which includes residential and education accommodation, community garden, orchard, wildlife habitats and children’s play areas. Harmeny is located in Balerno on the outskirts of Edinburgh, at the foot of the Pentland Hills; we are easily accessible by bus and there is ample parking.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Education Support Worker to join our dedicated Education Team to provide individual learning support for one of our pupils as well as promote engagement within the classroom and other learning environments.

The position is offered on a fixed-term basis, for approximately 12 months (August 2022 – July 2023). The post-holder will be required to work 30.5 hours per week during term time only.

Candidates should have a willingness and ability to work with children who have additional support needs. We are particularly keen to employ a member of staff who has knowledge and awareness of how to support children with Autism, enjoys the outdoors, who loves rugby, enjoys cycling, is flexible and adaptable to the needs of the child and their environment and most of all someone who is relaxed and funny!

A fuller job description and person specification can be found using the link below. Harmeny is a values-led organisation and a good fit with our ethos is as important to us as having relevant experience.

A benefits package is offered including the following:

• A competitive salary of £14,667.16 to £15,237.41 per annum plus an additiona
• 5% allowance where applicable (full-time equivalent salary is £19,779 to £20,548 per annum)
• Enhanced sick pay of up to 13 weeks (after probation)
• Pension scheme
• Policies that promote a healthy work-life balance
• Access to perks such as massage therapy and fitness equipment

This is an excellent opportunity for a motivated individual to join an established and successful organisation. The post-holder, together with colleagues in Care, Education and Support Services, will have the opportunity to contribute positively to the lives of some of the nation’s most vulnerable children, ensuring that Harmeny continues to offer an excellent service.

We are highly committed to the professional development of all our staff and the postholders will access comprehensive training and development opportunities.

The Welfare Rights Assistant will be responsible to the Project Manager for supporting the delivery of the Financial Inclusion work within the Glasgow Service for single parent families. The role will include the provision of crisis and welfare rights support, outreach activities and supporting the delivery and co-ordination of welfare rights and money management sessions for single parents.

About Aberlour Sycamore Children’s Houses

Aberlour Sycamore Services’ vision is to provide warm, loving homes for children where everyone learns, laughs, grows into their future and is treasured always. At any one time, the residential houses within Sycamore require additional support to help to maintain stability and balance within the teams. This can be due to short or long term sick leave, adults on annual leave or maybe to provide additional capacity when a house is under pressure, e.g. when welcoming a new child or young person to come and live with us or we are looking to free up adults to focus on a particular area of work. This role is intended to help provide this additional stability/capacity.

What we are looking for....

We are looking for individuals who can integrate seamlessly into our existing teams, working alongside them and relief adults to support excellent service delivery. You will have a knowledge and understanding of the importance of attachment, trauma and how this can impact on an individual’s development. At times our children express their distress through their behaviour and the role can be emotionally and physically challenging; we are therefore looking for someone who is resilient, understands that behaviour is a means of communication and is trauma responsive.

You will be skilled in building therapeutic relationships with the children, young people and young adults to enable them to feel safe, loved and cared for.

You must have the ability to quickly build your relationships with the adults, whichever house you go to work in. The nature of the role is such that you could be working to cover a shift or longer periods as required, including days and wakened nightshifts and you may also be supporting young people to attend school or participate in other learning programmes. You must therefore be able to quickly adapt to the working environment within each house. This includes covering our Red Squirrel house in Tayside.

You will be comfortable with working within Aberlour’s culture embracing respect, integrity, innovation and the ability to challenge. Demonstration of these qualities will be particularly important in this role given that you will be dipping in and out of the different teams. You must be able to be an exceptional role model for other staff and the young person.

Undertaking the role of Peripatetic Residential Worker will afford you the opportunity to develop and build on a range of transferrable skills which are valued in a range of employment: you will be able to demonstrate excellent flexibility and adaptability with exceptional interpersonal skills, ability to work with different teams and different children, young people and young adults living within our Sycamore Houses.

At Aberlour we want to make sure every child and young person has the love, support and opportunity they need to reach their potential. If you share the same vision, we want you to join our team. At Aberlour we have strong values - Respect, Integrity, Innovation and Challenging - which influence our everyday work. If you choose to apply for this role please tell us about your values in your supporting statement.

For an informal discussion please phone Andy Finlay, Admissions and Programmes Manager on 07854958120,

What we offer...

As well as a supportive team and excellent training opportunities, we want all our employees to feel valued and rewarded for the vital work they do. When you work with us, we'll recognise your efforts with generous annual leave, an excellent employer pension scheme and a range of deals and discounts across various retailers.