JOIN OUR LIGHTYEAR LAB TEAM

  • Freelance status as part of a pool of Lightyear Lab Leads

  • Fee for ad hoc services: £300 per virtual Lightyear Lab series (4 sessions); £600 + expenses for in-person Lightyear Lab series (4 sessions) at a special school

The opportunity:

Lightyear Foundation is a small but fast-growing charity. We are now at a pivotal point in our growth and have ambitions to increase our reach and to grow our income enabling us to play an even more significant role in dismantling barriers to inclusion. As part of this expansion, we are increasing the number of Lightyear Labs we deliver across the UK and are recruiting to build our talented pool of freelance Lightyear Lab Leads to deliver this important programme in SEND schools and other settings.

Our Lightyear Labs offer a challenge-based learning methodology that promotes experimentation and discovery while also developing critical thinking, decision-making and problem-solving skills. Each Lightyear Lab takes a cohort of around five students (known as Researchers) through a 4-week programme of exploratory sessions, either online or in the classroom. The lab aims to support our Researchers to work scientifically in practical science (in measuring, predicting, observing, recording, concluding and use of language), to increase confidence in practical science, to learn how to make predictions based on what is already known, to develop resilience around incorrect predictions and to apply prior learning to answer a real-world science problem through an experiment. These unique sessions not only get students doing hands-on science, but crucially also upskill SEND teachers in the subject for long-lasting impact. Our Lightyear Labs are delivered across the UK.

We’re looking for passionate science communicators with classroom management experience who are driven by the opportunity to deliver our portfolio of STEM-themed lab sessions to a small group of disabled children in a SEND school.All students will have special educational needs or disabilities (e.g., Down's syndrome, autism or cerebral palsy) and you will need tocreatively adapt to ensure all experiments are fully accessible. Our Lightyear Lab Leads are disability specialists; you will deliver magical, colourful, tactile science experiences with enthusiasm, confidence and knowledge.

Assisted by the Lightyear Labs Project Manager, SEND school staff and Lightyear Foundation volunteers, you will:

  • Deliver 4 x 60-minute (max) lab sessions (one session per week) using our standardised programme products and tools

  • Complete 2 standardised reports (one on the details of the lab, the other on evaluation) which will be used by the Lightyear Labs Project Manager and leadership team to report to funders and guide the ongoing development of the programme

Full class plans and scripts, experiment lists, demonstration videos, basic Makaton training and ongoing support is provided, including time shadowing a teacher in a special school if your experience with disabled children is not recent. We offer a set fee to compensate for your time in training.

Desirable experience:

  • Teaching experience at either primary or secondary level

  • Experience working with and supporting SEND pupils

  • Educated to a suitable level in any science subject (although a degree is desirable) – you will be able to use correct terminology and answer any questions on the subject matter from the children or their teachers

  • Ability to implement our innovative evaluation techniques within the sessions, using tactile tools and gamification to engage the children

  • Narrative and metric reporting using standardised forms

Desirable but not critical:

  • Knowledge and experience of using Makaton

  • STEM or science communicator/presenter background

  • Confidence in virtual classroom management

  • Experience of the charity sector 

  • Understanding of the informal science education sector

To apply:

Please email Elle Wilks, Deputy CEO: elle@lightyearfoundation.org

  • Your CV or LinkedIn URL

  • A short covering letter (max 1 side of  A4) OR a short video explaining your interest in the role

Successful applicants will be asked for details of two referees and are subject to an enhanced DBS check.At Lightyear Foundation we embrace diversity. We’re therefore encouraging applicants from all backgrounds and especially those from black, Asian and minority ethnic groups as well as those with lived experience of disability. 

As a freelance Lightyear Lab Lead, you take full responsibility for the payment of all income tax, assessments and National Insurance. We are not obliged to guarantee any working hours. Equally, you are not obliged to accept any work that we do offer you.

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