Advanced Practitioner

Reports to

Head of Room

Our mission

To provide exceptional early years care in a safe, nurturing and fulfilling environment whilst inspiring children to unlock their full potential through key skills and values which will establish them as gifted citizens of the world.

Our vision

To be a nursery where teaching is fun, and learning is easy.

Our values

We are caring

We are kind, gentle, calm, and welcoming. We respect the children, each other, and our environment. We teach the children and are ready to listen and learn from them. We build trusting, supportive, and non-discriminatory relationships in the best interests of the child. We have sensitive, responsive, and expressive interactions between practitioner and children. We celebrate each child’s unique perspective and take children seriously as active and competent members of society.

We are energetic

We play, learn, and laugh together, spending time outdoors and encouraging children to be active, confident, and joyful participants. We provide experiences which inspire creativity and nurture curiosity, enabling children to be independent, resilient, and successful. We grow, eat, and cook together, building skills for a healthy future.

We are innovative

We uphold traditional theories and pedagogies, but constantly review, research, and reflect. We listen to ideas and are ready to embrace them. We are proud to be leaders in progressive childcare.

Your duties

General

To promote positive relationships
To promote the health, safety and well-being of the children
To support the children’s development, learning and play
To be a key person carrying out all related responsibilities in building relationships with your key family and their families
To be a buddy key person to a key family belonging to a named practitioner
To be aware of and discuss the needs of all the children with your team so that you are aware of their needs and interests
To contribute to the effectiveness of teamwork
To be a role model and be able to showcase high quality practice with regards to your key children, and others, as necessary
To take responsibility alongside the senior team for the safety, security and wellbeing of all the children, staff and visitors at all times
To ensure that safeguarding procedures are followed in line with local authority and Snapdragons procedures
To support the senior team to achieve the highest possible outcomes possible for all the children
To promote Snapdragons and to understand the important role you play as a member of the team in providing the highest levels of care and education
As an advanced practitioner, you may be required to take on additional responsibility such as apprentice mentor, training, research or a curriculum area
As an advanced practitioner, you may be required to lead the team in the absence of the unit manager, or if requested, and to make decisions with regard to staff deployment, including lunch breaks
As an advanced practitioner, you may be required to assist the unit manager with supervisions/organising peer observations/planning
As an advanced practitioner it is important to be reflective and to be able to evaluate your practice and provision
To abide by the Snapdragons Code of Conduct and all other policies and procedures at all times, maintaining a professional approach and confidentiality at all times
To act as a representative of your nursery and Snapdragons, promoting a professional image at all times
To have an awareness of any legislation relating to your role
To show a willingness to undertake additional roles to meet the needs of the nursery, children and colleagues
To keep your job knowledge up to date through company and external training, showing a commitment to professional development
To support other nurseries, where necessary. This might mean working at different sites.
As an advanced practitioner, you might be required to take on additional duties in the absence of more senior staff, but you would not be expected to undertake anything of which you had no knowledge or understanding.

Performance Requirements

To reinforce Snapdragons policies and procedures at all times and deal with any breaches swiftly and in an appropriate manner
To ensure that the nursery is seen as the ‘nursery of choice’ and ‘Snapdragons” as the company of choice, both internally and externally
To promote equality and diversity within the nursery, challenging any behaviour which does not support our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy
To be part of a team that provides a purposeful, stimulating environment that is rich in learning opportunities, both indoors and outdoors. Activities should take into account children’s abilities, interests, language and cultural backgrounds
To support Snapdragons commitment to safeguarding children by following Snapdragons Safeguarding Policy and Procedures and the guidance from the local authority
To be flexible within the working practice of the nursery and be prepared to help where needed, including undertaking domestic jobs within the nursery e.g. preparation of snacks, washing up, cleaning of equipment, putting out bins/nappy bags, etc
To be flexible with regard to working in different rooms as and when required to ensure the effective operation of the nursery
To be flexible with regard to helping at another Snapdragons nursery
To be flexible with regard to shifts to ensure the correct ratios are maintained at all times
To respond to issues regarding confidentiality
To work well as part of a team
To promote our Code of Kindness amongst children and staff
To work with the team to ensure the smooth running of the nursery
To support the senior team and the nursery manager and to raise any issues appropriately
To attend staff meetings and training sessions necessary for continuous professional development
To be a reflective practitioner
To participate in all self-development activities, including supervisions and appraisals
To maintain staff ratios in accordance with statutory regulations
As an advanced practitioner, it is important that you keep up to date with any changes to the curriculum, statutory requirements or policies so that you can share this information with other practitioners and continue to lead knowledgeably, including leading staff meetings/training
As an advanced practitioner, it is particularly important that you lead by example, demonstrating strong teamwork and flexibility and taking account of the wellbeing of your colleagues
As an advanced practitioner it is important to demonstrate a ‘can do’ approach and to be positive and proactive

Childcare

To reflect on daily practice and identify areas for continual improvement
To ensure all children are treated as individuals and that is supported through your approach to planning in line with the EYFS
To work in partnership to ensure standards are continually being met in line with Ofsted requirements and the EYFS
To ensure that any identified developmental needs are raised with the senior team
To ensure that settling in sessions and transitions are well managed for all children and parents with accurate and timely communication to parents, carers and colleagues
To ensure effective communication with staff and families through participation in staff meetings, parent evenings and any other events held by the nursery
To deal with any parent/carer issues or concerns in a timely manner, escalating any issues to your unit manager/overall manager, as necessary
To support the planning and implementation of activities with individual or groups of children thereby promoting effective teaching and learning
To follow the guidance and requirements as set out in the EYFS
To use professional knowledge of the individual child and the diverse ways that children learn and develop to meet their differing needs
To establish positive and sensitive relationships with children
To act as a role model and have achievable expectations
To promote the inclusion of all children
To meet the physical needs of children by encouraging good standards of personal hygiene, whilst promoting independence
To provide support for the children’s emotional and social needs by implementing the principles for promoting positive behaviour and role modelling high standards in all aspects of your role and personal conduct
To participate in the key person system and be responsible for a group of children including monitoring, assessing, recording and reporting on their development and progress ensuring that the information held on children is accurate and up to date. This includes personal information
To be responsible for your key children’s personal care e.g. nappy changing
To take on the role of a buddy key person in the absence of another practitioner
To have the children’s best interests at the centre of everything you do
To practise positive behaviour management techniques in line with Snapdragons behaviour and wellbeing policy
As an advanced practitioner, with responsibility for apprentice mentoring, you will be expected to ensure that the apprentices are observing and planning appropriately and that that they are following Snapdragons policies to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all the children. Any concerns must be raised immediately and, if necessary, discussed with the unit manager/overall manager. Any points for action must be monitored
As advanced practitioner, it is expected that you will support the unit manager and the lead the team in the absence of the unit manager
As advanced practitioner, it is expected that your standard of practice will be extremely high and you will be a positive role model to other practitioners, teaching and mentoring, as necessary

Environments

To work alongside the senior team to be responsible for health and safety issues
To support the senior team to ensure that all paperwork e.g. accident/medication/concern forms is completed accurately
To ensure daily checks are completed and any hazard identified or removed
To ensure that meal numbers are correct and dietary requirements noted
To ensure the health and safety of all staff, children and visitors by ensuring that Snapdragons policies and procedures are followed at all times
To raise any maintenance concerns with the nursery manager
To ensure that the environment is enabling at all times, that it is child-led, using both indoor and outdoor spaces effectively
To promote good hygiene practices in the nursery and maintain high levels of cleanliness
As an advanced practitioner, it is expected that you will demonstrate high standards of practice and will assist practitioners in understanding what an enabling environment looks like and how it impacts on a child’s learning. It is important that all practitioners are encouraged to contribute to what an enabling environment looks like and are supported by those practitioners with more experience
As an advanced practitioner, it is expected that you will check the practice of those less experienced and encourage them to become strong in daily routines e.g. around mealtimes (self-serve), checking allergies at mealtimes, tidy-up/putting everything back times, children hanging up their own coats, etc
As an advanced practitioner, it is particularly important that you encourage practitioners to keep areas tidy and clutter-free, to put things away in the right place and together e.g. puzzles, pencils, role play items, etc and that it is important to do this with the children to help them prepare for the next stage in their learning
As an advanced practitioner it is important that the same standards apply to the environment outside as well as inside

Sustainability

To support business decisions made by the senior team to ensure sustainability is maintained e.g. being willing to help with another age group/at another nursery/working a different shift/day
To work in partnership with the nursery team to ensure that the nursery is well perceived in the local community
To offer excellent levels of customer service to all visitors
To work in partnership with parents and carers. To provide objective and accurate feedback to parents and carers to support the child’s learning and next steps.
To work in partnerships with other professionals to support the child’s learning and next steps
To attend parents’ evenings and meetings as required
As an advanced practitioner with responsibility for apprentice mentoring, it will be necessary to ensure that apprentices are receiving their learning time, that they are keeping up to date with assignments and that that are showing progress and enjoying their time at nursery. It is up to you to identify areas they might need support with and to take the initiative as to how it is best to support them and to liaise with the unit manager/manager, if necessary. It might be necessary to meet with the tutor if there are any concerns or if an apprentice is demonstrating particular strengths and deserves recognition and praise

What you need

Essential

Enhanced DBS
Aged 18 or over
Minimum of a Level 3 qualification specific to Early Years as defined by the Department for Education
At least one years’ post qualifying experience working within an Early Years setting
Specific knowledge and experience of working with your specialised age group
Ability to engage with colleagues and parents
A willingness to undertake relevant further training as and when required
Good communication skills both written and verbal
Ability to engage and interact positively with children
Able to follow instructions and work using own initiative as necessary
Reliable, responsible, trustworthy and motivated
Commitment to safeguarding children at all times

Desirable

Experience of working with children 0 – 5 years
GCSE 4+ in English and Maths (A – C)
Paediatric First Aid Training (12 hours)
Foundation Safeguarding Awareness Training
A higher-level qualification i.e. Foundation Degree in Early Years / Early Childhood Studies Degree