Forest School & Scout Leader To Outdoor AP Mentor | Burnley

Tradewind Recruitment; Burnley; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 33,000; Full time

Job summary

Tradewind Recruitment LTD. seeks an Outdoor Education Mentor / Forest School Practitioner for an Alternative Provision in Burnley. The role focuses on practical leadership outdoors, helping 11–16-year-olds connect with nature and build resilience.

No QTS required, DBS essential, 8:30–4:30, Monday to Friday, term-time with 13 weeks holidays. Applicants should have Forest School qualifications, outdoor first aid, and the ability to work effectively with disaffected youth in a supportive woodland

Qualifications

• Experience as a Forest School Leader or outdoor education instructor.
• Experience working with youth in Alternative Provision or similar settings.
• Ability to plan and lead outdoor learning activities safely.
• Awareness of safeguarding in a school setting.
• DBS enhanced disclosure current or willing to process.

Responsibilities

• Plan and lead practical woodland tasks including bushcraft and fire-lighting.
• Support pupils with SEHM/ social emotional health needs through outdoor learning.
• Help students progress through entry-level awards and DofE modules.
• Foster teamwork, resilience and self-regulation through outdoor challenges.
• Maintain safety records and risk assessments for sessions.

Skills

Forest School Leader

Outdoor Education

Youth Engagement

Education

Forest School certificates

Tools

CPOMS

Job description

Job Title

Outdoor Education Mentor / Forest School Practitioner (Alternative Provision)

Job Details

• Location: Burnley & Surrounding East Lancashire (BB10 / BB11 / BB12)
• Contract Type: Full-Time, Temporary-to-Permanent
• Salary: Up to £33,000 per annum upon permanent appointment.

Swap the Scout Hut or Forest Clearing for a Purposeful School Career

Are you an active Scout Leader, Guide Leader, Forest School Leader, Bushcraft Instructor, or Outdoor Pursuits Coach looking for full-time, stable daytime work doing what you love?

You do not need Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or traditional classroom experience. In an Alternative Provision (AP) setting, practical leadership, outdoor resilience, fire-lighting, shelter building, and the natural ability to connect with young people outside four walls are ten times more powerful than a textbook.

We are recruiting an Outdoor Learning & SEMH Mentor to join our specialist Alternative Provision school in Burnley. You will work with Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 learners (ages 11-16) who struggle in traditional mainstream schools due to social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) needs, ADHD, autism, or trauma. Using outdoor tasks, woodland projects, and experiential learning, you will help them rebuild self-worth, emotional regulation, and teamwork.

Why Scout & Forest School Leaders Excel in Alternative Provision

• Natural Co-Regulation: The outdoors is the ultimate low-arousal environment. Whittling a stick, tending a fire, or navigating a trail naturally calms a deregulated nervous system far better than a noisy corridor.
• Micro-Group Ratios: You aren't herding a class of 30. You will work with micro-groups of 3 to 6 pupils, supported in the woods and grounds by experienced pastoral teaching assistants.
• Balanced School Hours: 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM, Monday to Friday. No weekend camp shifts, no late evening scout hut meetings, and 13 weeks of school holidays every year.
• Clear Route to Permanent: A structured 12-week agency transition offering immediate placement security, weekly PAYE pay, and a direct path to a permanent school contract up to £33k.

Key Responsibilities

• Hands-On Outdoor Sessions: Plan and lead practical woodland tasks-including bushcraft, safe tool use (bow saws, billhooks, whittling), fire craft, camp cooking, shelter building, and nature conservation.
• Nurture & De-Escalation: Apply consistent, calm boundaries and low-arousal techniques to support pupils experiencing frustration, anxiety, or emotional deregulation.
• Life Skills & Practical Accreditation: Help students work towards entry-level awards, John Muir Awards, Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) modules, or functional life skills badges.
• Teamwork & Co-Regulation: Encourage peer communication, resilience, and personal responsibility through structured outdoor challenges.
• Safety & Safeguarding: Maintain safe dynamic risk assessments across outdoor spaces, tool stores, and off-site nature reserves, recording daily pastoral notes on school tracking systems (e.g., CPOMS).

Who We Are Looking For

• Background: Experience as a Forest School Leader (Level 2 or 3), Scout/Guide Leader, Outdoor Education Instructor, Bushcraft Practitioner, Duke of Edinburgh leader, or Park Ranger/Conservationist.
• Youth Rapport: Genuine empathy, grounded presence, and patience with vulnerable teenagers who may have experienced school exclusion or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).
• Weather Resilience: Comfort working outside in all Lancashire weather conditions-boots on the ground, rain or shine.
• Qualifications: QTS is not essential. Outdoor First Aid, Forest School certificates, or DofE Assessor awards are advantageous, but character and ability to engage disaffected youth come first.
• Safeguarding: Commitment to safer recruitment; must hold or be willing to process an Enhanced Child Workforce DBS registered on the DBS Update Service.