Instructor WCC621418

As an Instructor in our London Team, you too can make a powerful contribution. Every child should have the opportunity to experience the great outdoors, to feel the wind in their hair and the squelch of mud underfoot. Without access to a traditional Forest School, our urban Forest School is an opportunity for inner city children to explore and be inspired by the limited green space that they do have.

As an Instructor, you will plan, lead and assist with Forest School programmes, outdoor learning workshops, afterschool clubs, holiday activities and birthday parties. You will monitor the success of sessions and think of innovative ways to improve them.

You will have a welcoming, open-minded approach. Children may be unfocused and over-excited, some may run straight in, while others might be cautious. It will be your responsibility to guide, reassure and think of learning techniques to engage all the children. It is very rewarding to see the children come to embrace the experience. By the end of a session, even the most hesitant child could be rolling logs to look for worms or busy building a den in the bushes.

The team is made up of three members of staff, working together to inspire the children of Westminster. They are part of the much larger Sayers team, which operates in a residential centre in Surrey. Occasionally, you may go there to receive training and/or to support staff.

Alongside your colleagues, you will manage communication and bookings with schools. You will ensure that paperwork is up to date and attend to any other additional admin work. You'll participate in keeping classrooms clean and tidy; managing the edible garden; and ensuring that the site is safe every day, reporting concerns when needed.

For this role, you will need to undertake regular CPD courses, as well as keeping your Outdoor Paediatric First Aid certificate and enhanced DBS up to date.

The role is 3 days with additional occasional weekend work. Days to include Tuesdays, at least one of Monday and Friday and one other day. You will be working with our long term Home Educated Group one day a week.

Ideally, you have at least one year's experience of leading Forest Schools. We would like for you to have experience working in outdoor settings and natural habitats. This will be complemented by a qualification as a Forest School leader level 3 and paediatric first aid. It would be desirable if you had a degree in science, geography, environmental studies, outdoor education or a related field.

You have good communication skills, both written and verbal. In particular, you know how to be friendly and approachable to young children. You are comfortable adapting to teaching children of different ages in outdoor settings. You have a quick mind for managing risk and are organised. Working alone suits you, as does working alongside colleagues.

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF GRACE'S PASSION AND DEDICATION

The Environment & Communities Directorate in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories. Where dedicated people like Grace are using their skills and passion to progress environmental action in the heart of London.

It was at university where Grace first started campaigning for improved recycling facilities, water refill stations, and other eco-friendly initiatives. When she saw the real difference people could make when they came together, she knew she wanted to dedicate her career to community action for the planet.

When she joined us as Principal Engagement Officer, Climate Emergency, she quickly established herself as a passionate advocate for community outreach, engaging various stakeholders across Westminster in the social causes, impacts and solutions to climate change, air pollution, and biodiversity loss.

Grace became a driving force behind our first Citizens' Climate Assembly, which took place across two weekends in the summer of 2023. Fifty residents were chosen at random from across our diverse communities to come together, learn about the climate emergency, and deliberate how we overcome the barriers to becoming a net zero city by 2040. The assembly produced several recommendations which have informed the evolution of our Climate Emergency Action Plan. Due to the success of this initiative, we're holding more assemblies to continue community involvement in local decision-making., Westminster is an amazing place. We are home to more than 200,000 residents from all backgrounds, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and three-quarters-of-a-million people work in Westminster. Westminster City Council's strategy is to work towards a Fairer Westminster. A Fairer Westminster is one in which our communities are at the heart of our decision-making and help to determine the city's future. By working directly with our communities and other partners, we can build a more inclusive city that celebrates our diverse communities, and where residents, workers and visitors from all backgrounds will feel welcome and safe.

At Westminster City Council, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive workplace and employer of choice. We encourage and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that, at all levels, represents the communities we serve. We champion equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, has a sense of belonging and is empowered to be their best, that is the Westminster Way. To find out more about how we do this visit https://www.westminster.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/public-health-strategy-policies-and-reports/equality-duties

As a forward-thinking Council we appreciate that people work in different ways, therefore our staff benefit from working a range of flexible working patterns as well as Agile working.