Early Years Practitioner (Level 3)

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
  • 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.

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

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

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

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

What you need

Essential

  • Enhanced DBS.
  • Aged 16 or over.
  • Level 2/3 qualification specific to Early Years as defined by the Department for Education.
  • 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.