Senior Practitioner (SEND)

BARNARDO'S; Lancashire; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Cycle2work scheme

Health cash plan

20% store discount

Employee assistance programme

Learning and development offer

Sick pay from day 1

Buy up to 5 additional annual leave

Job summary

Barnardo's Include Me 2 Service in Lancashire seeks a Senior Practitioner (Project Worker 2) to manage a caseload of children and young people with SEND, deliver group sessions across Lancashire, and travel across Chorley, South Ribble, Pendle, Burnley, Preston and West Lancashire.

The role is 30 hours per week with 2 evenings and one weekend day, requires a UK driving licence to drive a 9-seater minibus, and offers a permanent contract with a salary of £29,507.00 (FTE) or £23,924.59 (Pro Rata)

Qualifications

• Must hold UK driving licence and be willing to work towards Level 3 CYP Workforce qualification (or equivalent).
• Experience of working directly with children and young people (SEND).
• Ability to communicate effectively with children, parents and carers.
• Understanding safeguarding and commitment to Barnardo's safeguarding policies.

Responsibilities

• Manage a caseload of Children & Young People.
• Lead and oversee group delivery and sessions.
• Line management and supervision of Play Workers and other staff.
• Attend meetings with professionals and maintain stakeholder relationships.
• Plan, deliver and record sessions; ensure safeguarding and safety policies are followed.
• Provide a safe, fun and inclusive environment for all service users.

Skills

Driving licence

SEND experience

Communication skills

Safeguarding knowledge

Level 3 CYP Workforce (or equivalent)

Education

Level 3 Children & Young People Workforce qualification (or equivalent)

Job description

Are you looking for a newchallenge? Do you enjoy working with children & young people and positively impacting their lives? We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Practitioner to join our friendly, passionate and dedicated team at our Include Me 2 Service based in Lancashire on a full time, permanent basis.

About the Service:

Our Include Me 2 Service is a short breaks service facilitating group sessions across 6 locations in Lancashire for children & young people aged 4 – 18 with a wide range of Special Educational Needs/disabilities, offering them opportunities to get involved in play and leisure activities such as arts & crafts, cooking and trips out in the community whilst offering valuable respite to their families. We are a fun-loving team looking for an enthusiastic, happy and kind individual to join us as our Senior Practitioner (Project worker 2)!

Location:

The post holder will be based in Lancashire and must be flexible to travel to Blackpool and across the wider Lancashire locality, delivering sessions in Chorley, South Ribble, Pendle, Burnley, Preston, and West Lancashire.

Working Pattern:

30 hours a week to include 2 evenings (until 7:30/8pm) and 1 weekend day. Other working days are flexible and can be discussed at interview.

Essential Requirements to evidence in your written application:

• Must hold a valid UK driving licence, as driving our 9 seater minibus is an essential part of the role.
• Must holdORbe willing to work towards Level 3 Children & Young People Workforce qualification (or equivalent)
• Experience of working directly with children & young people (SEND)
• Ability to communicate effectively with children & young people, parents and carers.
• Ability to demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding and the commitment to adhere to Barnardo's safeguarding & child protection policies/procedures.
• Driving licence & access to own vehicle desirable but not essential.
• Most importantly, you will need to enjoy the challenges and rewards of working with children & young people!

Some of the main responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• To manage a case load of Children & Young people.
• To Lead and have Oversight of group delivery.
• Line Management responsibilities and completing supervisions with our Play Workers & As and When staff.
• Attending meetings with other professionals and maintaining good working relationships with external stakeholders.
• To contribute to the planning, delivery and recording of sessions and activities.
• To ensure the sessions run smoothly and our safeguarding and Health & Safety policies and procedures are adhered to at all times.
• To provide a safe, fun and inclusive environment for all our service users.

When completing your application please refer to your skills knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification, Job Description and Additional Information document (if applicable). This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described.

Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible.

We appreciate our colleagues' dedication and their commitment to delivering excellence in the vital work we do, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values.

We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people.

We are committed to a rounded colleague experience with an approach to both pay and rewards that are fair, attractive, and progressive. This is in support of our strategic ambition to ensure Barnardo's is a place everyone can belong, grow and thrive.

The salary range advertised is in line withour pay principles, for consistency and fairness while recognising the skills and experience applicants bring to the role. Appointing salaries can be discussed further at appointment stage; we do seek to appoint within this range always exercising responsible stewardship.

Workplace Offer: What it means for you

Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, in the community, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or depending on the role any combination of these. Please read through the advert carefully to understand the remits of hybrid working that will be specific to the role.

Barnardo's require colleagues to be UK residents, based in the UK and to complete their roles from within the UK (with the exception of colleagues providing Barnardo's services in Jersey and colleagues who live in the Republic of Ireland providing services in Northern Ireland)

• Annual Leave entitlement for full-time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days per annum, after 3 years Barnardo's service, 29 days per annum, after 5 years Barnardo's service and 30 days per annum, after 7 years Barnardo's service. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata
• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our Buy Your Leave scheme
• Service related sick pay from day 1
• Cycle2work scheme
• Interest free season ticket loans
• 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
• Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
• Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer

*T&C's apply based on contract

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

• Reference number:23757
• Job Title:Senior Practitioner (SEND)
• Location:Lancashire
• Locality:Lancashire
• Contract type:Permanent
• Hours:30
• Salary:£29,507.00 (FTE) £23,924.59 (Pro Rata)
• Closing Date:18 October 2026

Additional Info

• Information Sheet for Applicants Applying for Positions Working with Children and Vulnerable Adults (updated July 2021).pdf (107.00 KB)
• Barnardo's Workplace Offer Visual Summary.pdf (27.58 KB)
• Recruitment of Ex-Offenders Policy Dec 2024.pdf (164.07 KB)
• Project Worker 2 - Job Description and Person Specification.pdf (262.63 KB)
• Project Worker 2 additional Information.pdf (17.00 KB)