Horticulture Instructor in Rotherham

Employer Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Wathwood Hospital Town Rotherham Salary £25,760 - £27,476 per annum (pro-rata) Salary period Yearly Closing 26/10/2026 23:59

Horticulture Instructor

NHS AfC: Band 3

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Job overview

We are seeking to recruit a technical instructor for our horticulture department, part-time 30 hours per week, at Wathwood Hospital. The horticulture department is set within beautiful grounds which overlook South Yorkshire. We have resources which includes large polytunnels, animal enclosures, and a café which we use to support patient care.

This role supports patients with their reintegration into the community as part of their mental health rehabilitation and recovery. As a horticulture technical instructor you will be supporting patients in group and individual sessions to engage in gardening-related activities and animal care, as well as other practical, creative and social activities in the horticulture department, the wider hospital, and in the community.

The horticulture site has a café which is open to the public on the weekends, therefore there will be an element of working with food, and liaison with the public will be a regular part of the role. This role includes working on weekends and bank holidays on a rotational basis.

Interviews will be held on 5th November.

Main duties of the job

To facilitate specific individual and group therapeutic horticultural activities within the hospital grounds and in the community.

To have oversight of the maintenance of all horticulture areas including the polytunnels, allotment, fields, and greenhouse.

To maintain animal husbandry for the wellbeing of animals which are on-site at Wathwood Hospital, including feeding the animals and maintenance of their housing.

To utilise available green space to promote recovery and well-being. This includes offering hospital-based gardening related activities; particularly for those patients unable to access the external horticulture area.

Risk assessment and risk management in the horticulture department. To be part of writing and reviewing activity-based risk assessments, producing protocols, patient guidelines and undertaking patient and staff inductions.

To assist in the running of the café on a weekend alongside the café staff and volunteers, including some catering duties.

Working for our organisation

#TeamNottsHC comprises over 11,000 dedicated colleagues who #MakeADifference every day. We deliver intellectual disability, mental health, community health, forensic, and offender healthcare services across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, and South Yorkshire. Our care is provided from over 200 sites, spanning community locations, acute settings, and secure environments, including prisons.

We are one of the largest mental health and community Trusts in the East Midlands and one of Nottinghamshire's biggest employers. We also host national and regional services, such as the National High Secure Deaf Service and the Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health.

We offer a variety of employee-led staff networks, including Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) groups, the Green Champions network, the Freedom to Speak Up network, the Health and Wellbeing Champions network, and the Menopause Champions network. These networks play a vital role in supporting our diverse workforce and promoting a culture of inclusivity.

The health and wellbeing of our colleagues is a top priority. We invest significantly in this through our in-house occupational health and staff counselling services, supported by a dedicated Health and Wellbeing team.

The Trust is committed to reducing its carbon emissions, with a specialised Energy and Environmental team working to ensure compliance with environmental legislation, enhance our environmental performance, and achieve our net-zero commitment

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To support in the provision of individual and group programmes related to therapeutic horticulture, both within the unit and the community.

To contribute to the therapy provision at Wathwood Hospital under the direction of senior occupational therapy staff.

Providing ongoing support to patients and staff to include horticultural skills, animal husbandry, environmental awareness, safe use and maintenance of potentially dangerous machinery and tools and community engagement through the Farm Shop and Café. Food hygiene training to support working in the café is required.

To work as part of a team to deliver therapy using practical, vocational, creative, and leisure activity, to provide services for individuals experiencing mental ill health and/or personality disorder.

Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £20.00 (standard) or £41.00 (enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first 2 months of employment.

You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. An annual fee of £16 per year applies.

Person specification

Values and Behaviours

• All colleagues are expected to demonstrate that they act in line with Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Values: Trust Honesty Respect Compassion Teamwork
• All colleagues are expected to demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and how it applies to their role. The Trust’s expectations are highlighted within our EDI Policy, and associated EDI and Human Rights legislation

Physical Requirements

• Ability to undertake relevant mandatory training and engage in the management of violence and aggression
• Occasional requirement to exert intense physical effort throughout the period of work to respond to incidents

Qualifications

• GCSE 5-9 (A*-C) or equivalent in Maths and English
• NVQ level 3 or equivalent experience in a related vocational area, animal care, healthcare.

Training

• Willingness to complete and engage in further training appropriate to the role.
• Training specific to mental health care

Experience

• Experience of working with individuals within a healthcare setting.
• Experience of organising and facilitating group and individual patient sessions.
• Experience and understanding of working in a team setting, liaising with colleagues, other agencies and services.
• Experience of maintaining written records.
• Experience and understanding of working in a team setting and communicating with a range of other colleagues and services
• Experience of working in forensic settings

Knowledge

• Understanding the purpose of rehabilitation and recovery in mental health care
• Knowledge of health and safety within the workplace and patient clinical risk issues
• Awareness of confidentiality and professional boundaries in a healthcare setting
• Understanding of Wathwood Hospital medium secure unit and its purpose

Skills

• Ability to demonstrate a non-judgmental and positive attitude towards working with mentally disordered offenders
• Ability to motivate others
• Ability to work independently and prioritise own workload
• Ability to work effectively without direct supervision
• Good verbal and written communication and ability to communicate in a range of forms
• Good IT skills to enable effective delivery of services
• Other skills relevant to the post.

Contractual Requirements

• Ability to work flexibly to meet the needs of the service
• Requirement to work weekends and bank holidays on a rotational basis

Additional Information

• We reserve the right to close the post early once we have received a sufficient number of applicants.
• The Trust believes in treating everyone with dignity and respect and encourages applications from all sectors of the community. We guarantee an interview to candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum essential criteria.
• In submitting an application form, you authorise Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to confirm from your previous or current NHS employer and other prior employers; previous NHS service details and personal data held about you. This data will be transferred using NHS Electronic Staff Record and third party systems via an automated process and only used for the purposes of obtaining and maintaining accurate employment records, should you be appointed to the post. Should you require any further information please refer our Privacy Policy shown on the Trust website, please click here for more information.
• For eligible posts, DBS disclosures are mandatory before commencement of employment. If you are in a position that is deemed a regulated adult and/or child care role, you will not be able to start your employment until we have received a satisfactory DBS Disclosure. The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Convictions which would otherwise be considered as 'spent' will also be checked as part of an Enhanced DBS Disclosure.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Emma Parr Job title Occupational Therapy Professional Lead Email address emma.parr@nottshc.nhs.uk Telephone number 01709 870822 Additional information

Informal visits and enquires are encouraged. For further information please contact Emma Parr (Occupational Therapy Professional Lead) on 01709 870822 or Emma.Parr@nottshc.nhs.uk

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