ARTZ+ Sportz+ Assistant

Join the Artz+ Sportz+ Team and Make a Difference!

Are you passionate about making a positive impact in the lives of young disabled people? Do you love sports and arts? If so, we have the perfect opportunity for you!

At Artz+ Sportz+, we provide support to young disabled individuals across Dorset, offering them the chance to participate in a variety of exciting sports and arts activities during all school holidays and on Saturday Mornings throughout the year. Our service provides respite to parents and carers and makes a difference to young people’s lives providing social outlets and enriching activities.

What you will be doing:

As an Artz+ Sportz + Assistant, you'll be an integral part of our dynamic team, traveling to various sessions across Dorset in community and leisure settings. You'll work alongside a fantastic group of support staff and two team leaders, ensuring that every session is a success. Your role will involve:

• supporting individual children or groups in activities like paddleboarding, ball sports, climbing, panto visits, crafts, music, dance, sensory days with bouncy castle and sensory activities and so much more
• supporting children with SEND so they can get the most out of our activities led by local artists, instructors, and coaches in delivering engaging sessions in village halls, schools, sports centres, and other venues all over the Dorset Council area
• ensuring the safety, happiness, and safeguarding of the young people in your care
• the role may involve intimate care and moving children following in-house training
• having a flexible approach to be able to manage behaviour that may be challenging (some training on this will be available)

Why Join Us?

• exciting Activities from structured sports to creative arts, no two days are the same
• be part of a caring and enthusiastic team dedicated to making a difference to children’s lives and supporting families
• benefit from annual in-house training, online courses, and other training opportunities including 1^st aid
• help deliver on the Council’s priorities by building stronger and healthier communities

About you:

• Qualifications - Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults

Experience

• Taking part in sport
• Working in a team
• Experience of working with children

Skills, abilities & knowledge

• A reasonable standard of literacy and numeracy to be able to plan sessions as well as follow written plans and instructions.
• Able to help lead sports sessions to groups
• Ability to analyse situations and create solutions to problems.
• Good communication skills
• Aware of health and safety, ideally in a sports environment and when working with young children
• Understanding of health and safety
• Effective interpersonal skills

Please note that this post is a casual part time post and there are no regular or set hours. Currently all of the work is during the school holidays and Saturday mornings and we would expect candidates to be available during these periods. 

Contact Tracy Cooper [email protected] / 01202 228918, or Heather Henshaw at [email protected], or Emily Austin at [email protected] / 01305 252263

At Dorset Council, we are working together to create a fairer, more prosperous, and more sustainable Dorset for everyone, now and in the future.

We: 

• provide essential services that support over 380,000 residents 
• work in partnership to make a real difference 
• value every role and the impact it has on our communities 
• support our employees to grow, develop, and thrive 

You will: 

• be part of a team that works together for a better Dorset 
• have access to a range of benefits and support 
• have access to range of training opportunities which will help with your personal development and career progression 

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation where different skills, perspectives, and backgrounds strengthen both our council and the communities we serve. 

We welcome applications from everyone and are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. If you declare a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role, we will offer you an interview. We also want our recruitment process to be accessible. If you need any reasonable adjustments, just let us know on your application. 

This role is UK-based, and we will need to confirm your Right to Work as part of the appointment process. We use generic job descriptions and person specifications, so the job title in any attachments may differ from the advert. If needed, we will provide additional details in a context statement. 

If you’re passionate about making a difference, we’d love you to join us. 

Find out more about how to apply.