Childcare and playwork community mentors opportunities

The Welsh Government’s Anti-racist Wales Action Plan (ArWAP) was published in June 2022 and refreshed in November 2024,the plan 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

Since July 2022, Welsh Government have funded community mentors to collaborate and support these groups and key external stakeholders providing the voices and lived experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people, ensuring they are not just heard but acted on in shaping resources, policies and procedures. 

The opportunity to become a community mentor is being made available once again, through this advert to Black, Asian and Minority Ethic (including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller) people with lived experiences and expertise in Childcare and Play. 

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 (including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller) 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 (including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller) community and have experience of the childcare and playwork sector in Wales, either as a 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 come from the voluntary or private sectors or be experienced community practitioners.

We are seeking up to 10 individuals from a diverse range of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller) communities to provide paid consultancy services as Community Mentors. Each appointment will be for up to 10 working days (80 hours) between now and March 2026, with the option to extend for a further year.

Community Mentors are individuals from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller) communities with knowledge or experience of the impact of racism within childcare, playwork and early years. 

We don't 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.

A Community Mentor may be:

• members of the childcare and playwork workforce, someone who has left the workforce
• a parent/carer with current or recent experience of using childcare and playwork services.
• community workers in one or more of the policy areas.

Being a Community Mentor is a very important role and has been fundamental in helping Welsh Government and key stakeholders in refining and shaping policies, procedures and resources in delivering our ArWAP goals and actions to date. 

It’s important that as a Community Mentor you’d be able to share your lived experience with us and provide independent input, expertise and advice to support our Anti-Racist Wales Childcare and Play Governance, sub-groups and our key stakeholders. 

As a Community Mentor your role would involve the following: 

• Bringing your own lived experience of the childcare and playwork sector from a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller) perspective as a worker, former worker, parent or a specialist in this area.
• Providing knowledge and understanding of how racism impacts on different areas of the childcare and playwork sector.
• Working constructively with others to inform understanding of what changes are needed to support Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller) people in the sector through courageous conversations about race.
• Bringing 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 (including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller) people.
• Help Welsh Government to develop anti-racist behaviours and policy in the childcare and playwork sector.

Community Mentors undertake a range of meaningful and diverse tasks that offer opportunities to influence and collaborate with the Welsh Government and key stakeholders. There is no expectation to contribute to all activities, and the work can be arranged around other personal or professional commitments.

As a Community Mentors your tasks would involve:

• Advising, supporting, co-designing, and challenging the Welsh Government and wider public services on the delivery of the ArWAP and its vision and purpose for an anti-racist Wales.
• Attending our ArWAP Childcare and Play Governance Group and relevant sub-groups to provide an insight through an anti-racist lens.
• Reviewing learning resources, and documents such as policies, procedures, guidance, and training materials to ensure they reflect anti-racist principles.
• Sharing your perspective and expertise on proposed research exploring barriers to accessing services within the childcare and play sector.
• Helping us to consider how best to engage with Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller) 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.
• Supporting Welsh Government to better understand complex and courageous conversations with people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller) backgrounds.

Some examples of Community Mentor tasks to date include: 

• Co-designing the Creating an Anti-racist setting best practice toolkit.
• Working with social researchers to design research methodologies and research tools
• Working with Care inspectorate Wales on initial review of Inspection Framework
• Reviewing and refreshing the ArWAP goals and actions
• Reviewing Cwlwm partners policies, templates and equality strategies.
• Reviewing Speech, Language and communication resources
• Working with Play Wales to develop survey questions for young people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds

As a Community Mentor you will gain valuable leadership and communication experience and help the Welsh Government and partners to influence positive change in the childcare and playwork sector. Below are some quotes from current Community Mentors:

I am so pleased to meet everyone in person and knowing that all of our works have been highly appreciated.

I think the community mentor work has changed me a lot from time to time. My mindset is growing stronger and better.

This is a paid consultancy role for up to 10 working days (80 hours) from the date of appointment to March 2026. 

Hours can be flexible and do not need to be completed in full-day blocks; it might be three or four hours blocks that add up to 80 hours over the period from appointment to March 2026.

There may be an option to extend the appointment beyond March 2026.

As a Community Mentor, you will be paid £37.50 per hour, up to a maximum of 8 hours per day. 

The total amount available to claim is £3,000, based on 80 hours (10 working days) of consultancy work. Pre-agreed expenses can also be claimed.

You will be provided with a timesheet template to record your hours each month. We will ask that all completed timesheets are submitted by the 7^th of each month. Payment will be made in arrears and processed on the last working day of the month.

On appointment you would need fill-in an Employment Status questionnaire, providing details to the Welsh Government VAT and Tax Team to determine whether you will be self-employed or fee paid and we 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

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 will 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. 

As a community mentor you will not be given access to Welsh Government laptops. Most of the meetings you’ll need to attend are virtual via Microsoft Teams, and the tasks you’ll be undertaking will need to be completed electronically. You’ll be expected have access to the necessary equipment to allow you to participate in this way. 

The Childcare, Play and Workforce Team within Welsh Government will provide you will all the support, guidance and information that you need. The Team will: 

• Provide an Induction Pack outlining the role, the support and providing guidance and support.
• Support and engage with you on a regular basis, ensuring you have access to nominated officials to raise any concerns and suitable arrangements to support wellbeing including any triggering.
• Provide access to monthly Community Mentor drop-in sessions facilitated by DARPL (Diversity and Anti-racism Professional Learning) where Community Mentors can come together collectively and form a network of support.
• Provide templates and reminders for submission of claims for payment.
• Ensure you are provided with clear expectations of role and remit.
• Establish open communication and confirmation of how your time will be allocated and the resources to support this.
• Provide clear information on how you will be paid and pay in a timely manner.

• As a Community Mentor you will attend the ArWAP Childcare and Play Governance Group and one of the sub-groups.
• You will be invited to participate in defined work tasks and we will provide an estimate of how much time should be allocated to each task.
• Welsh Government officials will work with you directly to ensure that you feel suitably supported and can raise any issues as necessary.

We won’t be undertaking a formal evaluation, however, we will be evaluating the progress towards the ArWAP goals and actions and how the Community Mentor have contributed and supported this work. 

To apply, please:

• Provide a personal statement (no more than 900 words) outlining how you think you can contribute to this role, along with your CV by 23^rd June 2025 to HSCEY-EYCPD.Correspondence@gov.wales
• You will not have to attend an interview; a panel will consider applications and contact successful candidates.
• References may be required for those shortlisted for the Community Mentor role.
• If successful, community mentors will be contacted by the Welsh
• Government and given further details, including their status as self-employed person by the Welsh Government.

If you’d like to ask any further questions, then please email:

HSCEY-EYCPD.Correspondence@gov.wales