Team Jak Foundation- Jak's Den

Busy few days for Team Jak!

Today our Board and SLT met to discuss our next three year strategy and what a great day it was!

Lots of really positive discussions and plans for the way ahead (but totally forgot to take a photo!)🩵

Also yesterday our Sarah and Tiffeny were guests at the Kings Royal Garden party at Holyrood Palace representing Team Jak Aberdeen💙-at least they got better weather than Allison Aimie Grandad Walter Granma Ish and Hazel had last year ☔️☔️☔️👑

They even took Mini TJ with them who had a great day- well done ladies you both looked fantastic! 👑

Ahaaaar Mateys! We had loads of mini denners fun today as the Good Ship Jak’s Den set sail for Neverland with sensory tuff tray, pirate and fairy crafts and fabulous music time with the amazing Rachel TJ.

Huge thanks to also Luise Taylor, Lauren TJ & Ellie TJ for their ship shape fun!

See you tomorrow as we join the Lost Boys gang!

Today we send all our love to all parents everywhere who have lost a precious child and welcome you to say their name and add a photo of your precious Angel below💙💜💛

Welcome to Summer at Team Jak. Our Summer theme for this week was "Neverland" and we started it off today with Allison leading our pirate themed cosmic yoga, next up we made pirate hats, eye patches, fairy doors and lovely rainbow art pixie's and pirates. The children enjoyed a lovely picnic lunch of sandwiches, hot chicken nuggets and chopped vegetables prepared by Jen and Ellie. We even enjoyed some treasure hunting in the garden and everyone won a lucky coin.

Look forward to continuing our theme on Thursday 1230 pm for lunch 1-3pm for activities.

Hope to see you all soon.

Good luck to our friends from Midwich who are embarking on the first of their Three Peaks at Ingleborough today!

Thankyou so much for choosing Team Jak and keep us posted on your progress 💙💜💛

***We are hiring***

We are looking for a qualified and experienced Play Worker to join our magical team.

Post: Playworker

Location: Livingston – with travel to Glasgow and Edinburgh hospitals

Responsible to: Chief Operating Officer

Salary: £8.60- £11.44 per hour

Hours: 8.5 weekly plus 15 extra per month for both Sundays (average of 3.5 pw so average of 12 hours per week with more as required.)

Working pattern: Thursday 11am-4pm, Friday 12pm-4pm and 2 Sundays per month 9.30am-5.30pm plus extra hours as agreed & paid at same rate

Apply to - [email protected] with full cv and covering letter by Wednesday 10th July.

Team Jak purpose and values

Team Jak exists to ensure that no child, young person, or their family in Scotland should face cancer, related illness, or bereavement alone, and they will get the support they need during their journey and beyond.

We do this by providing emotional, social, and practical support to children and young people with cancer and related illnesses, their family, friends and those bereaved. This includes running ‘Jak’s Dens’ in Livingston and Aberdeen and pop-up sessions in Fife and Glasgow- safe, welcoming, and friendly places where children, young people and families can be themselves, have fun and receive support. We also provide counselling, music therapy, peer support sessions and hospital outreach to engage families staying in hospital for treatment, school, and home outreach, and much more!

We are looking for an enthusiastic, friendly, and fun Playworker who loves being around children and young people to join our team and help create smiles and ease the journey for those affected by cancer and related illnesses.

Team Jak has 5 core values we embody to ensure our staff, and families, experience the absolute best of what we must give. These are:

Ambition – high goals and aspirations!

Collaboration – working in partnership with others.

Compassion – respecting the unique worth of every person.

Creativity – imagination and innovation.

Empowerment – working with hope.

If these values resonate with you, and you have experience that would lend itself to this role, we would love to hear from you.

The role: Playworker

We are recruiting an enthusiastic and committed Playworker to join our CYP Services Team, to ensure children, young people and families affected by cancer receive the tailored support they need whether they are in hospital, able to visit Jak’s Dens or are at school or home.

No two days are the same when you are a Team Jak playworker. One day you might be running Mini Denner sessions for Under 5s being creative with messy play, and the next you could be helping our Teens with mindfulness crafts or gaming!

Our playworkers play a vital role in allowing children and young people to feel “normal” and have some fun by taking them away from the worry of their cancer journey during their time in Jak’s Den or being in hospital. This role is perfect for someone who enjoys spending time with children and young people, creating smiles, and empowering them to have fun, and helping them and their families create memories to treasure.

You will work closely with other members of the service delivery team at Jak’s Den HQ in Livingston to support our children, young people, and families to ensure they receive the bespoke support they need to help them through their cancer journey and beyond.

Key tasks and responsibilities:

Play an active role in the set-up, delivery, and development of creative and recreational activities, in line with the organisation’s values, aims and policies.

Engage children in creative play suitable for the different ages and interests of children.

Encourage and enable children and young people with cancer and related illnesses and siblings and friends to play and socialise in an inclusive way that supports the development of their emotional wellbeing.

Operate and maintain the facilities in a safe, clean and tidy condition in accordance with Team Jak’s policies, ensuring the safety of the children and young people within Jak’s Den at all times (e.g. the undertaking of risk assessments, fire drills, maintaining hygiene standards for immunocompromised young people, an awareness of allergies, the maintenance of hygiene in food preparation, and the supervision of children during sessions).

Work with children and young people as individuals and as part of a group, within Team Jak’s premises and out with the premises where appropriate including hospital support on a Tuesday in Glasgow and Wednesday in Edinburgh if required.

Develop and maintain professional relationships with parents, carers, and other organisations, ensuring there is always adequate communication with staff, volunteers, parents, and carers to understand and appreciate the child’s needs.

To contribute data to our database systems in order to support our work and support our children and families (e.g., inputting stats).

To contribute to evaluations and feedback and operate as a reflective practitioner.

Occasional leading of sessions, as the service requires.

Attend and contribute to staff meetings and training sessions as required.

Maintain and develop awareness of ongoing developments in play work, youth work and related areas.

To maintain a high degree of confidentiality in accordance with the Data Protection Act in respect to staff, clients, and activities.

As the role of Playworker is a varied one, and how families engage with our services regularly fall outside normal office hours there will be occasion for you to work out with your contracted office hours. Team Jak operates a TOIL scheme (Time off in Lieu scheme) so that time can be taken back during the working week with the agreement of your line manager, or in cases of extra being required you will be paid (nb normal hourly rates apply for any extra hours).

Additional responsibilities (standard across the organisation):

To be committed to, and adhere to Team Jak’s vision, mission, and values.

To comply with Team Jak Child Protection and Adult Protection policies and procedures and with National Guidance.

To comply with Team Jak code of conduct.

To actively consider the involvement of children, young people, and families with whom we work, in all areas of practice.

To observe all health and safety requirements.

To work within and promote policies in relation to Equal Opportunities and anti-discriminatory practices.

The post holder may also need to cover additional duties over and above those listed above. These will normally be to cover temporary unforeseen circumstances or changes in work and will usually be compatible with the regular type of work. If an additional task or responsibility becomes a regular or frequent part of the job, it will be included in the job description in consultation with the post holder.

Key relationships

This role will work regularly with:

Team Jak Chief Operating Officer and Director of Services

Team Jak Staff and Volunteers

NHS Staff from our partner hospitals and throughout Scotland

Person Specification – Playworker

Candidates will be evaluated against the Person Specification, by either/and the application (A), task (T) or interview (I).

If you are concerned that you do not meet some of the criteria, we urge you to get in touch for a discussion with the recruiting manager.

Skills & Experience

In receipt of an SVQ 3 or higher in a relevant discipline (Childcare) or working towards relevant qualification.

Building effective relationships.

Experience in working with children, young people, adults, and families.

Experience of supporting bereaved families and families suffering trauma / grief (or willingness to learn)

Food Hygiene certificate

First Aid certificate

Working with volunteers


Knowledge

Knowledge and experience of facilitating indoor and outdoor play opportunities and environments and leading recreational activities

Demonstrable understanding of, and experience in, the value of play and working with children and young people with cancer and related illnesses

A commitment to put equal opportunities and the rights of the child into practice

Knowledge of child protection practice, GIRFEC, The Promise and UNCRC

Skills

Ability to communicate effectively, professionally and with warmth across different methods including verbal and written and including across challenging topics such as death and grief.



An enthusiasm for helping people and delivering high quality support with compassion.



Familiar and competent with basic use of MS Office including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint



Previous experience of using Microsoft Dynamics or other databases.



Creativity and initiative to develop and implement innovative ideas.



Resilience and the ability to manage the emotional impact of working with trauma and grief*


Other

Commitment to Team Jak’s vision, mission, and values.

Commitment to and understanding of the principles of participation.


Commitment and promotion of equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practices at work.

Awareness of personal responsibility in relation to health and safety.

A willingness and ability to travel to attend meetings, events and deliver services.

Driving license and use of car for business use, willingness to travel across the country as required to deliver service activity

*Team Jak is a positive and friendly organisation however the work that we do can often be emotive and challenging as we engage regularly with families facing difficult circumstances including bereavement. Team Jak recognises the emotional weight of this and a core part of our support for all staff includes regular counselling session across all roles.

You will be required to undergo a full PVG registration before commencement of role.

References will be sought before commencement of role.

Please refer to the Candidate Pack for further information about benefits and policies.

Today at mini denners the kids had lots of fun - for the last session before school holidays our theme was Summer (despite it raining outside). We enjoyed ice cream for snack and did lots of messy play designing our giant cone.

Thank you to everyone for coming and to all our fab staff and volunteers.

What an amazing day at West Calder High School Jak Trueman Football Festival!

The day has been full of fun laughs football burgers soak the teacher face painting balloon modelling other goodies and fabulous performances from the hugely talented brass ensemble 💙🎶.

It has been an honour and privilege to tell Jaks story once more to the school he attended and also catch up with some of his awesome teachers.

It was very poignant also to dedicate the day to two other very special people -

Jack Lees one of our own angels who also came to this school who sadly died at the end of November and also to one of Jaks awesome teachers loved by all Peter Morris who sadly died at the beginning of the academic year.

How lovely to do a minutes clap at the S3 football for Jack and S5/6 for Mr Morris.💙💙

Massive massive thanks must go to everyone who made today special including all the fabulous pupils who organised all the stalls including Jacks friends and his girlfriend Abbey for all their hard work, to the fabulous PE department for all their hard work and fabulous organisation of the tournament which went on all day in year groups, to Mr Payne Miss Watt and all other staff for arranging activities and setting up, the super talented music department, and a huge huge thankyou to Mrs Sharp who again took charge of the full day arranging meetings and activities beforehand to make it such a mahoosive success!🌟

It has been amazing to see all the staff and pupils work together and “play together” to fulfil the school and Team Jaks values of ambition respect equality compassion collaboration creativity and empowerment in what has been a very special day and lovely last week of term activity to complete!

Huge apologies for anyone I’ve missed individually and we will share the amount raised when it’s all been counted! 🌟

Thankyou again to ALL staff and pupils for an outstanding day of fundraising and friendship!

Have a lovely summer 💙💜💛❤️🌟

This morning Colette and Allison were invited along to St Stephens Primary in Coatbridge to their P7 Leavers Assembly to receive a cheque from the school’s recent Welly Walk for Team Jak which raised a phenomenal £1387.70!🌟

Thankyou so much everyone for working so hard to raise so much money!

Thank you also for inviting us to share in your special leavers assembly - it brought back so many memories for Allison as a teacher and all these special moments that make up a young person’s school journey💜.

Colette has really enjoyed presenting mindfulness with every class in the school this term and also working with a group of children on our Bag of Worries programme.

It has been an honour and privilege and we look forward to supporting you in the future also.🧑🏻‍🎓

Have a wonderful summer and good luck to all the fabulous p7s on their next journey to high school!😊

Thank you again to all St Stephens superstars 🌟💙🌟

This morning we held our volunteer training for our volunteers, it was a session on child protection and self care. Thank you to everyone who managed along.

Also a big Team Jak welcome to Allan, Malia and Amera who stayed on and also did New Volunteer Induction training - all ready now to start volunteering just in time for our Summer Club.

Our volunteers are a fabulous asset to us and we couldnt do what we do without you - Thank you all.

Thank you to the committee of Dunfermline Children's Gala and everyone who stopped by our stall and supported us. We raised an amazing £675.25 and had a fabulous day.

Thank you to Tommy Stafford, Russell Tayor, Gary Lees and Sarah Tuff for all your help setting up on the day.

Thank you all for helping us to create smiles and ease the journey for our many families.

Come see us at Dunfermline galaday today in Dunfermline Glen. We are here with our famous tombola (3 for a pound), lucky dip and merchandise.

Come help us raise funds and awareness x

While Hazel and Russell were at Dunfermline Gala Day, Allison, Rhona, Margaret, Rachel, Lauren and Aimie had the best day at our First Aid and Paediatric First Aid training at Jaks Den HQ.

Led by Brian from the fabulous Training Ltd (belonging to our lovely Ambassador Kelly and her hubby Kevin), we laughed, shrieked, cringed, played and most importantly learned and practiced many different emergency aid scenarios!

We especially enjoyed the practical challenges and found the fun exercise for choking a really powerful way of learning the right spots to “hit” if ever required!

Our little Annie and other mannequins were also well used with us all learning/ refreshing baby, child and adult cpr.

Thank you so much Brian- we really did have a great day and every one of us now feels so much more comfortable having refreshed and updated our skills🌟💙🌟

Come see us at Dunfermline galaday today in Dunfermline Glen. We are here with our famous tombola (3 for a pound), lucky dip and merchandise.

Come help us raise funds and awareness x

A massive thankyou and good luck to members family and friends of the fabulous Glenrothes Loyal Rangers Supporters Club and in particular our friend Ronnie Bayne for their sponsored walk around Loch Level today in aid of Team Jak and the Larder Leslie.
Ronnie as always your hard work has paid off- the Sun is shining and the sea of blue around loch leven is sure to be a success!
Big shout out also to our longterm supporters Katrina and Alan who are spending their wedding anniversary walking for us - committed as ever 💙💜
Thanks so much again and we look forward to seeing the finish line pics later 🌟

Tiny TJ received a special gift from Luci last night at the safari park.

Impact Dance NLA , Broxburn recently held a dance show and raised funds in support of Luci for our cause.

Thank you to Noriko, Luci's dance teacher and everyone who contributed at the show, a fabulous donation of £360 was received.

This will go towards supporting the many activities we offer our families.

Thank you for helping us to create smiles and Thank you Luci for delivery this very special gift.

Oh what a night our Team Jak families had tonight @ Blair Drummond Safari Park for dreamnight. Thank you to Sacha and all the team for arranging such a fabulous treat night for our families.

We enjoyed free ice cream , hot drinks, funfair rides and so much more ….. A great night had by all.

Thank you to Eve TJ and Colette TJ for sorting tickets.

Tiny TJ had fun too.

Today we were delighted to welcome along a fabulous team from Lloyds banking group for a day of volunteering which was overseen by one of our long term volunteers Judith. The team prepared activity packs for hospital outreach and wrapped lots of the amazing tombola donations ready for Dunfermline gala tomorrow. The team put in a great shift and we are so grateful to you all.

Thank you all and also thanks to Judith and Margaret for all your prep work.

Supporting siblings cousins and friends of our angels is a privilege we get to do sadly too often.

Allison has been working with some friends of our fabulous Jack, who sadly gained his wings at the end of last year, since then at his school.

Yesterday we painted some memory stones whilst chatting about the memories we have of Jack.

Photo used with permission from all pupils and the school.

Jack you will certainly never be forgotten by your amazing friends and it is an honour to be able to help them a little navigate their grief and continue to remember their awesome friend in doing so.

Join our Edinburgh team - As we approach 10 years since Jak was diagnosed, let's all come together and walk together to raise funds for his amazing charity to help the families we support.
You can choose your distance from 5 miles, 14.7 or 21 - it is a fabulous day with lots of entertainment, Hi-5's, sweeties and food along the route.
Don't delay - sign up today - contact [email protected]

Please help us by Nominating Team Jak 🌟

Children & Young People Special Draw
5 days, 10 charities, £5,000 each – nominations now open.
To support the incredible work that so many charities do to support children and young people, our third special draw of the year will award £5,000 to 10 charities working in this area.

The draw is only open for 5 days so make sure you nominate your favourite youth charity today.

https://youth.movementforgood.com/

Sending all our love to our superhero Dads on this Fathers Day💙

We know how much you all go through and try to hold everyone together.

Sending love and strength to our angel dads also today and every day ❤️

What a lovely fun session had by some of our lovely Fife families this morning at St Columba’s.

Drawing, games and snacks was the order of the day.

Thank you to Susan, Ellie and Luise for volunteering as always x

Good luck to all our friends at Gym 64 taking part in Tough Mudder today. Go smash it as always.