At a Glance
- Tasks: Support children with autism and ADHD in a fun, outdoor adventure playground.
- Company: Join a national charity dedicated to inclusive play and support.
- Benefits: Flexible hours, hands-on experience, and a supportive team environment.
- Other info: Opportunity for personal growth and professional development in a vibrant setting.
- Why this job: Make a real difference in children's lives while developing your skills.
- Qualifications: Empathy, creativity, and experience with disabled children are essential.
The predicted salary is between 10360 - 10360 £ per year.
Location: Hackney Adventure Playground, Spring Lane, Big Hill, Hackney, London E5 9HQ
Hours: 15 hours per week worked across Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Contract: Fixed term until February 2027.
Salary: £10,360 per annum
Role Overview: Supporting the Play Service Manager of a specialist Adventure Playground, which is part of a National Charity. Working to a strengths‑based paradigm, the Support Worker will take a neuro‑affirming approach to autism and ADHD, valuing lived experience and recognising AuDHD traits as valid differences rather than deficits. The role focuses on reducing barriers, meeting physical needs, and enabling the manager to work effectively and sustainably in ways that align with their strengths, energy, and communication style. All support will be collaborative, consent‑led, and responsive, with approaches agreed together, adjusted as needed, and reviewed regularly to ensure they reflect changing needs.
Key Responsibilities
- Physical and sensory support: Adjusting the environment to support regulation, focus, reduce sensory overload and reduce the risk of compromising back health/movement. Proactive planning to have systems and responses in place in case of overwhelm, anxiety or stress. Provide support when signs of overwhelm appear, including supporting regulation, reducing demands, or adjusting the environment. Offering practical support with mobility, care and back‑related needs during periods of pain. Prompting and supporting regular breaks (e.g., comfort breaks, movement, hydration and food) in ways that feel helpful rather than interruptive.
- Communication support: Support facilitating effective, clear, respectful communication within the core and wider staff teams and with external partners. Helping interpret or clarify others' communication when it may be indirect, ambiguous, or challenging to process. Supporting others in understanding the manager's communication style, tone, and intent, including times when they have difficulty framing words and have reduced language capacity. Working in ways that reduce the impact of rejection sensitivity, including careful framing of feedback, expectations, and challenging information. Adapting information and new materials into formats and learning styles that are accessible and meaningful for them. Providing support with tasks involving potential conflict or heightened emotional load e.g. staff appraisals, performance management discussions, responding to queries. Gently supporting awareness of rigid or fixed patterns of thinking when these create barriers and exploring alternative perspectives collaboratively rather than prescriptively.
- Organisation, data handling and administrative support: Support in creating and maintaining consistent, logical filing systems (physical and digital). Supporting the review, restructuring, and re‑categorisation of existing organisational systems. Collaboratively building in regular review points for organisational systems, documenting processes clearly, and supporting others to follow them. Assisting in identifying and exploring software/tools to support work. Excel/MS Office systems. Supporting financial administration, such as petty cash, expense reports, and invoices. Taking minutes for meetings and supporting accurate record‑keeping. Assisting in collating information for reports. Supporting the development of systems for staff training and education e.g. videos, site‑based training, accessible resources.
- Scheduling, prioritising and task support: Managing schedules, diaries and appointments. Helping co‑ordinate site rotas, meetings and team schedules. Reminding and supporting attendance at personal appointments that impact work. Answering and screening phone calls, when appropriate. Collaboratively drafting, sending and managing emails and letters. Supporting task completion by providing ongoing prompts and reminders where needed, recognising that one‑off prompts may not be sufficient. Working together to identify priorities and set aside protected time for key tasks. Supporting awareness of organisational changes, administrative requirements, and new policies relevant to the playground. Exploring and reviewing task‑management tools and software together. Identifying personal triggers or pressure points in advance and planning supportive strategies.
Person Specification
- Empathy and Patience
- Creativity and Initiative
- Professional Integrity
- Resilience
- Comfortable around active, outdoor and creative play in an Adventure Playground environment.
- Confident IT user, able to navigate bespoke database systems; MS Outlook; MS Excel and MS Word.
- Strong organisational skills – Ability to manage time, tasks, and priorities efficiently and calmly.
- Ability to work as part of a Team demonstrating a cooperative, positive approach to working within a group.
- Effective communicator, with understanding and practical experience of different communication styles.
- Experience working in a collaborative, consensual and supportive manner with a flexible, non‑confrontational and personalised approach.
- Understanding of the presentation of stimming, masking, demand avoidance and AUdhd profiles.
- Experience of working with/supporting disabled children and young people.
- Experience working within the disability, SEND, Social Care, Play or youth sectors; therapeutic/arts.
- Confident with different forms of social media.
- Knowledge around neurodiversity issues and contemporary theories such as Monotropism, Double Empathy, Language hypothesis, Neurodiversity paradigm.
Location: Most work will be on‑site in Hackney, but there will sometimes be meetings/training/visits off‑site. There may occasionally be travel outside London. When the manager is physically unable to get to the site, then work from home options may be available.
This role will require an enhanced DBS for Child and Adult workforce.
Support Worker - Hackney in London employer: Kids
Join our dedicated team at Hackney Adventure Playground, where we prioritise a supportive and inclusive work culture that values empathy and creativity. As a part of a national charity, you will have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact in the lives of disabled children and young people while benefiting from professional development and training opportunities. Our flexible working arrangements and commitment to neurodiversity ensure that every employee can thrive in their role, making this an exceptional place to grow your career.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Support Worker - Hackney in London
✨Tip Number 1
Get to know the organisation! Research Hackney Adventure Playground and its values. Understanding their approach to autism and ADHD will help you connect with the team during interviews.
✨Tip Number 2
Practice your communication skills. Since the role involves supporting effective communication, think about how you can demonstrate your ability to adapt your style to different needs during your interview.
✨Tip Number 3
Show off your organisational skills! Be ready to discuss how you've managed schedules or tasks in previous roles. Bring examples of how you’ve created systems that work for you and others.
✨Tip Number 4
Apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, it shows you’re serious about joining the team at Hackney Adventure Playground.
We think you need these skills to ace Support Worker - Hackney in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your application to reflect the specific skills and experiences that match the Support Worker role. Highlight your understanding of neurodiversity and how you can support the Play Service Manager effectively.
Showcase Your Experience:Don’t hold back on sharing your relevant experiences, especially those involving working with disabled children or in similar environments. We want to see how your background aligns with our values and the needs of the role.
Be Clear and Concise:When writing your application, keep it straightforward and to the point. Use clear language to describe your skills and experiences, making it easy for us to see why you’d be a great fit for the team.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to submit your application through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your details and ensures you’re considered for the role. Plus, it’s super easy!
How to prepare for a job interview at Kids
✨Know the Role Inside Out
Before your interview, make sure you thoroughly understand the job description. Familiarise yourself with the key responsibilities and person specification. This will help you tailor your answers to show how your skills and experiences align with what they’re looking for.
✨Showcase Your Empathy and Patience
As a Support Worker, empathy and patience are crucial. Prepare examples from your past experiences where you've demonstrated these qualities, especially in challenging situations. This will help you connect with the interviewers and show that you can handle the demands of the role.
✨Communicate Clearly and Respectfully
Effective communication is key in this role. Practice explaining complex ideas simply and clearly. Be ready to discuss how you would adapt your communication style to meet the needs of different individuals, especially those with neurodiverse traits.
✨Prepare Questions That Matter
At the end of the interview, you’ll likely have the chance to ask questions. Prepare thoughtful questions about the team dynamics, support systems in place, or how they approach collaboration. This shows your genuine interest in the role and helps you assess if it’s the right fit for you.
