Ealing Mencap -Job Description

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Job Title: Travel Training Development Worker

Salary:£22,392 – £23,976 depending on experience

Full Time: 40 h/w term time and 35 h/w during school holidays

Fixed term term ending 31/3/2016, with options to extend dependant on funding

Location:

1x Hillingdon post –Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge, UB8 1UW.

Responsible to: Hillingdon Travel Training Coordinator.

Overall Purpose of the Job:

  • To teach young people with disabilities aged 11-25 years to travel independently to school or college using public transport.
  • To ensure that systems and resources are in place on the Travel Training Project to promote safety, best practice and efficient use of resources at all times.
  • To develop current strategies and create new ones to ensure the project continues to move forward.
  • Working with families, schools and other agencies to promote and develop a positive culture of safe independent travel.

Main Duties and Responsibilities are:

Travel Training:

  1. To enable young disabled people to develop effective road safety and independent travel skills, while following a specific route.
  1. To use Ealing Mencap’s travel training programme to assess each student’s travelling skills and evaluate their learning.
  1. To undertake risk assessments for each student to identify risks both during travel training and when they are travelling independently.
  1. To create a person centred, week by week, training programme for each student.
  1. To develop accessible resources for working with each student to facilitate learning or improve behaviour/cooperation.
  1. To keep parents and carers informed about all aspects of the training programme and support them throughout the placement
  1. To meet with families and school/college staff to resolve issues and/or review the progress of each individual, as required.
  1. To undertake initial assessments to determine students’ suitability for travel training, as required.
  1. To recruit, set up and supervise placements with student buddies, travel buddies and volunteers as directed.
  1. To attend training sessions as developed by Ealing Mencap.
  1. To keep up to date records and reports on progress of young people using a PC and Ealing Mencap’s database.
  1. To adhere to Ealing Mencap’s code of conduct and follow working policies at all times.

Organisational:

  1. To devise and present workshops for groups of young disabled people on various aspects of travel training.
  1. To work closely with schools to promote and set up travel training / school partnerships.
  1. To devise and deliver training and induction to mainstream students and volunteers who are learning the role of a travel buddy or trainer.
  1. To attend and contribute to regular Travel Training Project team meetings and Ealing Mencap team meetings.
  1. To be involved in the writing of policyand publicity materials for the project as required.
  1. To develop training resources to be used by all staff with students, with particular focus on accessible resources.
  1. To create referral systems and lists of students ready for travel training for all members of the staff team, liaise with travel trainers, schools and SEN transport to achieve this.
  1. Develop training sessions to be delivered to groups or individual students during the school day.
  1. To regularly review and update assessment and risk assessment systems for the project.
  1. To promote the project with parents, professionals and young people.
  1. To liaise with other travel training projects or travel initiatives across the London area, in consultation with the project manager.
  1. Liaise with TFL and other transport providers to resolve travel related issues, as appropriate.
  1. To attend regular supervision with the line manager.
  1. Majority of Travel Training placements and hours worked will be within Hillingdon however you will be required to work into Ealing and Hounslow as required when necessary and reasonable.
  1. To complete reasonable additional responsibilities as directed by your line manager.

Ealing Mencap - Person Specification

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Job Title: Travel Training Development Worker

To apply for this job you must be able to demonstrate and state on your cover letter how you meet the criteria below. Please address each point in turn.

eSSENTIAL:

Qualification/ Experience.

  1. Experience of working with children/young people, or people with disabilities/additional needs.

Knowledge/skills

  1. Knowledge and understanding of the needs of young disabled people with regard to life choices and independent travel.
  1. Can demonstrate an understanding of the issues and dilemmas facing parents/carers when supporting the independence of young disabled people.
  1. Good inter-personal and communication skills with disabled young people, including those whose use of spoken language may be limited, and with their parents/carers.
  1. Excellent writing skills:Able to tailor style and tone depending on audiences and purpose.
  1. Basic knowledge of issues around safeguarding children and the protection of vulnerable adults
  1. Confident computer user in Microsoft Office Suite.
  1. Confident communicator: Able to communicate effectively and appropriately depending on the audience and message.

Competencies/behaviours required

  1. Ability to organise your workload independently and effectively, according to agreed priorities and targets.
  1. Ability to work sensitively and patiently with young disabled people in one to one situations.
  1. Ability to set your own goals and targets and to work effectively to meet these.
  1. Ability to work creatively to support people in a person centred way.
  1. Able to manage and resolve conflict situations and to deal with challenging situations and behaviours.
  1. Ability to contribute to meetings with a variety of agencies to ensure that travel training issues are fully represented.
  1. Ability to use your initiative, and to have the confidence to suggestnew ideas and opinions at meetings.
  1. Ability to work in partnership with other agencies and understand the challenges and benefits this brings.

Circumstances

  1. As you will be supporting students to travel from home to school, the role involves early starts from different locations around Hillingdon. Successful applicants must be ableto get to different areas of Hillingdon in the mornings, and be able to cope with early starts.
  1. Able to access and successfully negotiate the bus, tube and rail services around London, and be able to support a young disabled person whilst on these.

Desirable:

Qualification

  1. Degree level qualification or a relevant social care qualification

Experience

  1. Experience of working with children/young people with disabilities in a teaching setting.
  1. Experience of travel training, buddy schemes or other transport initiatives supporting disabled people to travel.
  1. Experience of creating teaching materials or designing training programmes.
  1. Experience of presenting workshops, or speaking to large groups of people.
  1. Direct experience of person-centred planning

Knowledge/skills

  1. Able to write risk assessments