Childcare and playwork community mentors wanted

To support our goal for an anti-racist Wales and our actions relating to the childcare and playwork sector, the Welsh Government are seeking individuals from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities in Wales with knowledge and experience of the impact of racism within childcare and play environments.

If you are from a Black, Asian and minority ethnic community and have experience of the childcare and playwork sector in Wales, either as current or former part of the workforce or as a parent/carer of a child using childcare or play services we want to hear from you. Community mentors may also be academics, consultants, experienced policy officials from local government or the voluntary or private sector, or experienced community workers in one of the policy areas.

We are looking for up to 10 individuals to become community mentors from a range of Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities for paid consultancy services for 15 working days (120 hours) to March 2024, with an option to extend the appointment for one or two years.

The Welsh Government’s Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan (ARWAP) published in June 2022 sets out a number of goals and actions for Welsh Government and partners in the Childcare and Playwork sectors.

This work has been taken forward through a Governance group and three subgroups, namely:

• Professional learning;
• Research; and
• Community mentoring and allyship

This specification relates to the community mentoring and allyship subgroup and our intention to ensure the voices and lived experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people are not just heard but acted on.

To support the childcare and playwork sector actions in ARWAP, the Welsh Government are seeking individuals from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities with knowledge or experience of the impact of racism within childcare, playwork and early years to become community mentors. Community mentors may have experience and/or expertise in several of these policy areas or specialise in one.

Community mentors may be members of the childcare and playwork workforce, someone who has left the workforce or a parent/carer using childcare and playwork services. Community mentors may also be academics, consultants, experienced policy officials from local government or the voluntary or private sector, or experienced community workers in one of the policy areas.

Community mentors will gain valuable leadership and development skills and help the Welsh Government and partners to influence positive change in the childcare and playwork sector. 

What is important is that they can share their lived experiences and provide independent input, offering their lived experience, expertise and advice to support our Anti-Racist Wales Childcare and Play Governance Group and who can help us refine and deliver our ARWAP goals and actions. 

Community mentors would be required to do the following:

• Bring their own lived experience of the childcare and playwork sector from a Black Asian and minority ethnic  perspective as a worker, former worker, parent or a specialist in this area.
• Provide knowledge and understanding of how racism impacts on different areas of the childcare and playwork sector.
• Work constructively with others to inform understanding of what changes are needed to support Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people in the sector through courageous conversations about race.
• Bring strong interpersonal and communication skills to share their knowledge and understanding of how institutional and systemic racism impacts on the lives of different Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic  groups.
• Build trusted relationships with people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities to allow for courageous conversations.
• Help Welsh Government to develop anti-racist behaviours and policy in the childcare and playwork sector.

We are looking to appoint up to ten community mentors from a broad range of Black Asian and minority ethnic communities who have a broad range of experiences to feed into our work.

We welcome community mentors being able to offer experiences and knowledge of the issues impacting on people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities in relation to childcare and playwork. We do not need community mentors to be experts in childcare and playwork or policy development, but we want them to seek out and have curious and courageous conversations about how we can help make positive change.

Community mentors will:

• Advise, support, co-design, and challenge the Welsh Government and wider public services on delivery of the ARWAP and its vision and purpose for an anti-racist Wales.
• Attend our ARWAP Childcare and Play Governance Group and Task and Finish groups to provide an anti-racist lens.
• Apply that anti-racist lens by reviewing learning resources, and other documents such as policies, procedures, guidance, and training.
• Give their opinions and/or expertise on proposed research Welsh Government need to undertake to understand barriers to access services within the sector.
• Help us to co-design a survey of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic workforce staff on their experiences of working in the sector and help us design proposals to improve their experiences.
• Help us to consider how best to engage with Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people to identify how the voice and lived experiences of people in these communities can be better captured as part of the Childcare Sufficiency Assessment that Local Authorities are required to undertake.
• Assist us to establish and understand complex and courageous conversations with people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.

The Welsh Government is looking for up to ten individuals to become community mentors from a range of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities and faiths. This is a paid consultancy role for 15 working days (120 hours) between April 2023 and March 2024. There may be an option to extend the appointment after the year of community mentors are agreeable.

These do not have to be 15 days; it might be three or four hours blocks that add up to 120 hours over the period from appointment to March 2024.

Community mentors will receive a nominal £300 a day, with a maximum of £4,500 (15 days/120 hours) available, in total for this work. Please note, due diligence checks will be completed prior to appointment. This will include, but not necessarily be limited to, social media and internet searches. If successful, community mentors may also be asked to provide two referees (employer and personal) who we will contact and we will do the necessary due diligence prior to appointment. Welsh Government may request that community mentors complete Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) police checks if necessary. We do not envisage community mentors will be given access to Welsh government laptops.

Once appointed, community mentors will need to provide confirmation of time worked, a breakdown of hours and days worked should be supplied to support audit purposes. Welsh Government advise that the daily pay of £300 is pro rata based on 8 hours per day.

Community mentors will fill-in an Employment Status questionnaire, providing details to the VAT and Tax Team to determine whether the individual will be self-employed or fee paid and Welsh Government will process payment accordingly.  We envisage that if you are already a public servant in Welsh public services, you will agree with your employer that this is part of your current contract with them and not get paid. However, Welsh Government are happy to discuss this arrangement as part of the public service duty with your employers if we fund or collaborate with them

Welsh Government will support appointed community mentors by:

• Supporting and engaging with community mentors on a regular basis, ensuring community mentors have access to nominated Welsh Government officials to raise any concerns and suitable arrangements to support well-being.
• Ensuring community mentors are provided with clear expectations of their role and remit.
• Establishing open communication and confirmation of how a community mentors time will be allocated and the resources to support this.
• Supporting community mentors’ to come together collectively and form a network of support.
• Making sure community mentors understand how they will be paid and pay them in a timely manner.

 Community mentors will:

• Provide a personal statement (no more than 900 words) outlining how they think they can contribute in this role, along with their CV by Thursday 6^th April to talkchildcare@gov.wales
• Not have to attend an interview, a panel will consider applications and contact successful candidates.
• If successful, community mentors will be contacted by the Welsh Government and given further detail, including their status as self-employed person by the Welsh Government.

As community mentors will attend the ARWAP Childcare and Play Governance Group and Task and Finish groups, they will be accountable to these groups for their activities and performance.

Welsh Government officials will work with the community mentors directly to ensure that they feel suitably supported and can raise any issues as necessary.

Welsh Government officials responsible for community mentors are:

The Welsh Government intend to evaluate success of community mentors in delivering the childcare and playwork goals and actions in the Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan from March 2024. Evaluation will include individual discussions with each of the community mentors, discussions with the membership of the governance group and subgroup and any other parties, as necessary.