Outdoor Learning and Forest School Instructor

Full Job Description

Job title:              Forest School and Outdoor Learning Instructor

Salary:                 £20,000 - £28,000 per annum (actual)

Location:             Heath Farm School, Kent

Hours:                 32.5 hours per week; Monday - Friday / 8.45am - 3.15pm

Contract:             Permanent; Term time only

About the role

We are seeking to appoint an innovative Forest School and Outdoor Learning Instructor to work with our Outdoor Learning Lead on our forest school and outdoor learning projects.

You will be skilled at engaging and motivating pupils who find learning a challenge in this all-age special school for pupils with specific learning difficulties including SEMH, ASD/ASC and ADHD. You will play a key role in the school, and the development of the projects, as we strive to further develop new curriculum pathways and effective provision to engage all pupils.

Our large on-site outdoor classroom and horticulture areas are used as part of our curriculum and will be subject to further enhancement and development.

About the School

It is an exciting time to join Heath Farm School. Under the leadership of the forward-thinking headteacher, the school and its team are currently in the process of embedding a purposeful and unique ‘Heath Farm Curriculum’, launched in 2019 that fully meets the holistic needs of our students.

We are an independent SEN school that offers a unique and stimulating environment where every pupil is able to make outstanding progress in their personal development and enjoy success in their education.

Our students present with a wide range of needs, including social and emotional issues, learning difficulties, mental health problems and associated conditions. However, they are able to enjoy extraordinary outcomes and be happy at school. All classes have excellent ratios of at least 2:1 students and adults. Typically, classes have between 6-8 students.

As an independent SEN school, we are far removed from the toxicity and bureaucracy found in so many other schools and we are able to abandon ineffective and traditional methods in favour of new, highly effective and tailored initiatives – essentially, we do what we know is right for the students in our care.

Who are we looking for?

Above all else we are looking for someone with the right attitude and outlook on what education should be about. Ultimately this is about an unconditional love and care for our students, a commitment to meeting their needs and providing them with the best education possible, and a passion for developing and demonstrating the skills students will need to be successful in later life.

You should have a Level 2/3 Forest Schools Programme Leader Certificate and a keen interest in nature and the outdoors, coupled with the willingness to spend most of your working week in the outdoors carrying our practical activities. If you are a professional with the ability and ambition to support outstanding learning for children and young people with special education needs, then this is the role for you.

Why join Acorn Education & Care?

• £20,000 - £28,000 per annum (actual)
• 32.5 hours per week
• Permanent! Term Time Only!

Benefits

Your health and wellbeing are important to us, so you’ll get an exceptional reward package including:

• Life Assurance
• Pension scheme with options to increase your contributions
• “Your Wellbeing Matters” – access to a wide range of first-class mental health support services and physical health checks

And a market-leading benefit offering through our Flexible Benefits Platform, Vista, enables you to choose the package that’s right for you, including:

• A wide range of health, wellbeing, and insurance benefits
• 100’s of discount options valid in the UK and abroad
• Cycle to Work Schemes
• Electric Car Purchase Scheme
• Critical illness cover

And that’s not all, we place the outcomes of the children and vulnerable young adults in our services at the heart of everything we do, so you’ll wake every day in the knowledge that your role will have a significant positive impact on the lives of others.

We are committed to the safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All successful applicants will be subject to a fully enhanced DBS.

How to Apply

To arrange a visit and/or speak to the Headteacher, please call Jason Pearn on 01233 712030.  Please read the attached Job Description and Person Specification.