Early Years Practitioner

Job description: Early Years Practitioner
Job title: Early Years Practitioner

Responsible to: Room Leader and Manager

Responsible for:

Your personal performance and and working as part of a team.
Purpose of the job:To work as a key person and as part of the pre-school team under the direct of the room leader and manager. To provide safe, high quality education and care for young children which meets the individual needs of children attending the setting.

Benefits
● Competitive salary
● Company pension
● Termly Bonus
● Tailored training
● Lunches
● Career progression

Hours: 40hrs per week
Salary range: £25,500- £30,000 Dependant on qualifications and experience
Benefits include, 5.6 weeks paid holiday, pension employer contributions, staff team building days, staff birthday celebrations, educational memberships paid.

We hire for ATTITUDE, not necessarily aptitude. We will train you to excel in a child care environment, if you have the passion to do so! So even if you don’t meet all the requirements listed above, still consider applying if you’re a bright, motivated, loving, positive person who wants to be a part of a winning team and make a difference in the lives of children and families

Main duties
1. To assist with the planning of the curriculum using the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Montessori curriculum for guidance.
2. To help to set up the playroom(s) for the daily programme and to help tidy away at the end of the session.
3. To act as a key person to a small group of children, liaising closely and building an effective relationship with parents/carers and ensuring each child's needs are recognised and met.
4. Work in partnership with parents/carers and other family members.
5. To advise the room leader/Pre-school Manager of any concerns e.g. over children, parents or the safety of equipment, preserving confidentiality as necessary.
6. To teach children, offering an appropriate level of support and stimulating play experiences.
7. To ensure that children are kept safe and that you understand when to follow child protection procedures.
8. To support meal times within the setting.
9. To actively participate at team meetings, supervisor meetings and appraisal meetings.
10. To attend training courses as required and to take responsibility for your development.
11. To keep completely confidential any information regarding the children, their families or other staff, which is acquired as part of the job.
12. To be aware of and adhere to all the setting’s operational policies and procedures, e.g. health and safety, fire precautions, dropping off and collection of children, food safety, cleanliness of the setting etc.
13. To ensure that adequate records are kept and updated regularly.
14. To promote the nursery to current parents and potential customers.
15. To undertake any other reasonable duties as directed by the Pre-school Manager, in
accordance with the setting’s business plan/objectives.

This job description is not an exhaustive list of duties and the post holder will be required to undertake any other reasonable duties discussed and directed by the line manager.

Person specification
Essential criteria
1. Willingness to learn.
2. Level 2/3 early years education and childcare qualification or equivalent, and a commitment
to obtaining a level 3/4/5 qualification.
3. Previous experience of working with young children.
4. Sound knowledge of child development for children from birth to five years.
5. Knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
6. Knowledge of child protection procedures.
7. Good communication and IT skills.
8. Ability to work in a team and value and respect the ethos of the nursery and Montessori
philosophy of a child centred education
9. An understanding of play based approaches to children’s learning and development.
10. Commitment to equal opportunities.
11. Commitment to working effectively with young children and families.
12. Friendly and flexible approach at work which facilitates the development of effective
relationships.

Desirable criteria
1. Level 3 early years education and childcare qualification or equivalent, and a commitment to obtaining a level 4 qualification.
2. Montessori assistant or diploma
3. Willingness to undertake further training in particular Montessori training.
4. Current First Aid at Work qualification.

Terms and conditions
This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974) and does require a criminal records check. Applicants must be prepared to disclose any convictions they may have and any orders which have been made against them