Location
Civic Square, Tilbury

Hours
37 hours per week

Salary
£33,531 – £38,052 per annum

About the Role
Are you enthusiastic and passionate about working with children? Thurrock Council is seeking a Specialist Playworker to join our team, supporting children aged 4-18 with a broad spectrum of needs. This role involves direct work with disabled children, particularly those with complex needs, including managing and overseeing care planning and specialist health care tasks such as enteral feeding, suction, oxygen administration, diabetes management, epilepsy awareness, manual handling, and administration of emergency medication.

You will be responsible for training and supporting staff in specialist health care tasks and managing our complex needs group. Working closely with the specialist health care team, you will ensure all staff training is current and respond confidently to emergency situations.

The role requires collaboration with multiple agencies including Social Care, Education, Health, Children’s Community Nursing Team, and training providers. You will assess the needs of disabled children, provide specialist health care support, and work with families in their homes to build positive relationships.

Additional responsibilities include planning, leading, and facilitating short break sessions, maintaining a safe and enriching play environment, supporting children’s developmental needs, attending multi-professional meetings, maintaining case records, and promoting independence and life skills.

This is a permanent position offering the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of children and young people with complex needs.

Experience
Minimum of 3 years’ experience working with disabled children with complex needs in a professional setting.

About you
Enthusiastic and committed to supporting children with complex needs.
Ability to manage and oversee specialist health care tasks.
Confident in responding to emergency situations.
Strong communication skills and ability to work collaboratively with families and multi-agency teams.
Capable of planning and leading sessions and maintaining detailed observations and records.

Qualifications
Level 3 childcare qualification or equivalent is essential.
Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check with Children’s Barred List clearance is required.