Forest School Practitioner

Job purpose: To provide services as a forest school practitioner for Forest Pathways, a programme of forest school activities for pupils in Bradford schools, aiming to benefit pupils’ mental health and wellbeing and engagement with school. 

Hours: 37.5 hours per week

Salary: £20,400 per annum plus pension contribution

Contract: 3 years (includes probationary period of 3 months)

Start date: November 2019

Reporting to: Get Out More Managing Director

Work location: Working in locations around Bradford district

Office base: Airedale Enterprise Services, Sunderland St, Keighley, BD21 5LE

Get Out More CIC is a social enterprise on a mission to help people engage with nature to feel better in mind and body. We run outdoor programmes, including forest schools, outdoor play and community engagement programmes for people of all ages across West Yorkshire. We use local woodlands, parks and natural spaces to bring people together, be active and feel good, working towards our vision: communities and nature growing healthier together.

Forest Pathways is an exciting 3-year programme of woodland outreach projects with 25 schools in the Bradford district, to include primary, secondary schools and Alternative Provision Institutions. The programme will use a progressive forest school approach, from taster sessions to full forest school programmes, to increase community forest and woodland outreach activities for children in disadvantaged areas of Bradford district. 

In July 2019 Get Out More was one of 5 organisations in the UK to be awarded funding for Community Forest and Woodland Outreach Projects as part of The Children and Nature Programme, supported by the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for Education, and administered by Natural England.

We are looking for a skilled, experienced and enthusiastic forest school practitioner to deliver this exciting new programme. The practitioner will be self-motivated and a good communicator, able to confidently liaise with schools and engage groups of children ranging in age and background. We are a successful, award-winning organisation and thanks to ongoing growth, are now looking for the right person to join our friendly team.

Main duties:

• Develop awareness of the programme and recruit eligible schools through promotion, liaising with schools, taster events etc
• Lead high quality forest school sessions in schools in Bradford district (3 schools per term) to engage pupils and promote mental wellbeing
• Facilitate a range of activities ensuring sessions are engaging, age appropriate, fun and adhere to Get out More’s policies and procedures
• Ensure project monitoring is completed and submitted in line with the requirements of the funders
• Contribute to the project planning and evaluation process to support the development of a replicable and sustainable model
• Attend team and line management meetings and appraisals
• Work on other Get Out More programmes as required, depending on availability.

Person specification - essential criteria:

• Forest School Level 3 qualification including up to date Outdoor First Aid qualification
• Skilled and experienced forest school practitioner with a passion for working in the outdoors and enthusiasm to share it with others
• Satisfactory Enhanced DBS check
• Enjoy working with children (primary and secondary age) from a range of backgrounds and commitment to supporting their physical, social and emotional development through forest school activities
• Skilled and knowledgeable in a range of age-appropriate outdoor activities including games and crafts, and able to share skills in line with good practice, policies and procedures
• A good communicator, friendly and polite and able enthuse and motivate others
• Good planning and organisational skills and able to work to deadlines
• Proactive at prioritising, problem solving and getting things done
• Have access to own transport to reach settings
• Able to use judgement and intellect to work on own initiative
• Friendly and polite with excellent people skills and a sense of humour
• A team player with a willingness to work co-operatively
• Committed to Get Out More’s vision and the success of the venture.

Application:

If you feel you have the skills and experience to join our team, please email Annie Berrington (annie@getoutmorecic.co.uk) with a CV (max 2 sides of A4) and covering letter outlining what you can bring to Get Out More and specific, recent examples of how you meet the job specification. 

Include the names and contact details of 2 people, at least one of whom should be a recent employer or contract holder, who are able to provide references relating to your work and on your suitability for this post.

Deadline: Wednesday 25 September 2019, midnight.

Interviews of shortlisted candidates will take place during week commencing 30 September.

Documents: Forest School Job Description