Play Worker
| Posting date: | 21 May 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £25,878 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 07 June 2026 |
| Location: | Lancashire, North West England |
| Remote working: | On-site only |
| Company: | Barnardo's |
| Job type: | Contract |
| Job reference: | 23058 |
Summary
Are you looking for work this Summer? Do you enjoy working with children & young people and positively impacting their lives? We have an exciting opportunity for 6 Play Workers to join our friendly, passionate and dedicated team for a 6 week fixed term contract at our Include Me 2 Services based in Lancashire.
About the Service:
Our Include Me 2 Service is a short breaks service facilitating group sessions 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 Play Worker!
Locations:
We have various sites across Lancashire and Blackpool (must be willing to travel either by own transport or via our minibus service which would be incorporated into your working hours)
Working Pattern
This post is 5 days a week to include weekends (9am – 5pm) for 6 weeks commencing 16th July – 30th August 2026, The working hours for this role will be all hands on with the Children and Young people.
Preferred days to be discussed at interview (Our services run between Monday and Sunday)
Essential Requirements to evidence in your written application:
Must be available and willing to commit to 5 days a week between 16th July – 30th August 2026
Experience of working with children & young people (gained either in employment or volunteer capacity)
Ability to work well as part of a team
Ability to communicate effectively with children & young people
Ability to demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding and the commitment to adhere to Barnardo's safeguarding & child protection policies/procedures.
Awareness of various factors impacting the families we work with such as poverty
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 contribute to the planning of sessions and activities.
Delivering and recording group sessions.
Facilitating activities and days out.
To ensure the sessions run smoothly and our safeguarding policies and procedures are adhered to at all times.
To provide a safe, fun and inclusive environment for all our service users.
About the Service:
Our Include Me 2 Service is a short breaks service facilitating group sessions 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 Play Worker!
Locations:
We have various sites across Lancashire and Blackpool (must be willing to travel either by own transport or via our minibus service which would be incorporated into your working hours)
Working Pattern
This post is 5 days a week to include weekends (9am – 5pm) for 6 weeks commencing 16th July – 30th August 2026, The working hours for this role will be all hands on with the Children and Young people.
Preferred days to be discussed at interview (Our services run between Monday and Sunday)
Essential Requirements to evidence in your written application:
Must be available and willing to commit to 5 days a week between 16th July – 30th August 2026
Experience of working with children & young people (gained either in employment or volunteer capacity)
Ability to work well as part of a team
Ability to communicate effectively with children & young people
Ability to demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding and the commitment to adhere to Barnardo's safeguarding & child protection policies/procedures.
Awareness of various factors impacting the families we work with such as poverty
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 contribute to the planning of sessions and activities.
Delivering and recording group sessions.
Facilitating activities and days out.
To ensure the sessions run smoothly and our safeguarding policies and procedures are adhered to at all times.
To provide a safe, fun and inclusive environment for all our service users.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.