Taleblazers is a community interest company that seeks to improve people’s lives by connecting them with folklore, storytelling, nature and the great outdoors. We do this through school workshops, community projects, programmes for young people with special educational needs and by discovering and retelling the stories we find in the world around us.
This post is being advertised due to the expansion of our Plymouth and SE Cornwall provision. There are no hard deadlines for application but we envisage completing the recruitment process by the end of term (mid-July) with the new post holder commencing work in September 2026.
We particularly like working with people who buy into the ethos of the organisation and are motivated to help us to grow it. Alternative Education tutors support our young people by planning, delivering and evaluating 1-1 and small group sessions. The programmes we run incorporate activities such as art, gardening, science, environmental education, forest/beach school and bushcraft, with an outdoor element always at the heart of the programme. They are differentiated both at programme and session level to maximise engagement and to ensure our offer is student-centred. The young people we work with on these sessions are usually struggling to access mainstream education and require high levels of individual support.
We are not purely an intervention service and we aim for all our students to leave our programmes with an external qualification or award of some type (currently John Muir Award, Arts Award, Duke of Edinburgh and/or National Navigation award). We are specifically looking for people who specialise in bushcraft/outdoor leadership, art and primary education and can work in more than one of these areas.
Responsibilities
The post holder will have the following responsibilities and duties:
- Planning and delivering a programme of activities in one of the fields above (or by agreement an area of the tutor’s own interest), either on a 1-1 basis or with small groups as required.
- Assessing young people’s documentation (eg EHCP) to ensure activities planned are differentiated for the student’s needs.
- Ensuring session costs remain within an agreed budget.
- Collecting and transporting young people in own vehicle as required.
- Keeping accurate records of the student’s provision plan and completing any other required administration as required (eg half-termly reports, attendance at or reporting to reviews, evidencing awards)
- Managing safety and risk on their sessions and reporting any areas of concern to their supervisor.
- Following all Taleblazers policies and procedures, particularly those with reference to safeguarding, and raising safeguarding concerns in an appropriate and timely manner.
- Contributing to the blog and social media.
Person SpecEssential
- Background in education in a primary or secondary environment or in a specialist SEND provision (min 1 year)
- Experience of working with young people with special educational needs (min 1 year)
- L3 First Aid qualification (Outdoor or Paediatric)
- L2 Safeguarding
- Mountain Training/Forest School qualification
- Student-centred approach
- Enjoys working with young people outdoors
- Ability to work and plan independently
- Experience and training to support working with specific SEN presentation(s)
- Empathic, calm, patient and friendly
- Can do attitude – wants to make a positive difference to young people
- Buys into the wider ethos of Taleblazers and shares our interests
Desirable
- Previous employment in SEN-facing role
- Teaching qualification
- Experience in advocacy, counselling or student support
- Experience of assessing EHCPs, designing interventions and reporting on their outcomes
- Willing to contribute to organisational development
Mandatory Qualifications
- L3 or above outdoor qualification – for example L3 Forest School Practitioner, L3 Lowland Walk Leader, MLTB qualification such as Lowland or Hill and Moorland Leader, SW Moorland Leadership Scheme
- L3 Outdoor or Forest School First Aid (16 hours) (in last three years)
- L2 Safeguarding qualification (issued in last 12 months)
- PREVENT L1 (issued in last 12 months)
- Online Safety (as directed) (issued in last 12 months)
Renumeration
£23.25 per hour (at 1st September 2025).
A session is usually up to three hours with an additional hour to be worked as flexitime each week. This is utilised for planning and updating provision plans. We would expect you to be available for 4-6 sessions on a normal week.
You will also be required to attend meetings as requested, including our weekly team meeting.
Company email address and access to Office 365.Additional training to support progression.
Pay: £23.25 per hour
Benefits:
Work Location: On the road
