Qualified Teacher / Early Years Teacher

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

Key areas

  • Knowledge & Understanding of the EYFS.
  • Effective practice.
  • Relationships with children.
  • Communicating and working in partnership with families and carers.
  • Teamwork & collaboration.
  • Professional development of other practitioners.

Knowledge and understanding of the EYFS

  • Supporting / mentoring other practitioners in understanding the principles and content of the Early Years Foundation Stage.
  • Support other practitioners in acknowledging the various influences and transitions experienced by a child from both inside and outside the setting.
  • Practice and promote current legal requirements, national policies and guidance on health and safety, safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of children.

Effective practice

  • To promote the delivery of high-quality teaching and learning opportunities.
  • To promote a positive attitude amongst other practitioners in having high expectations of all children and their abilities to achieve their full potential.
  • Establish and sustain a safe, welcoming, purposeful, stimulating and encouraging environment where children feel confident and secure, and are able to develop and learn.
  • Support the use of observation and other strategies to monitor children’s activity, development and progress, encouraging use of information in planning and improving practice and provision.
  • Plan and provide safe and appropriate activities and play opportunities in indoor, outdoor and in out-of-setting contexts, which enables children to develop and learn.
  • Use a range of resources suitable for children’s ages, interests and abilities, taking account of diversity and promoting equality and inclusion.
  • Actively support the development of children’s language and communication skills.
  • Promote children’s rights, equality, inclusion and anti-discriminatory practice in all behavioural skills.
  • Promote a safe environment and support practices that promote children’s health, safety and physical, mental and emotional well-being.
  • Ensure all practitioners understand how to recognize when a child is in danger or at risk of harm and know how to act to protect them.
  • Support the process of effective assessment, recording and reporting on progress in children’s development and learning and use this as a basis for differentiating provision.
  • Encourage all practitioners to talk to children, including giving feedback to help children understand what they have achieved.
  • Support a positive and proactive culture amongst practitioners in being able to identify and support children whose progress, development or wellbeing is affected by changes or difficulties in their personal circumstances, ensuring staff know when to refer them to colleagues for specialist support.

Relationships with children

  • Encourage all practitioners to establish fair, respectful, trusting, supportive and constructive relationships with children.
  • Encourage a culture of listening to children, paying attention to what they say and valuing and respecting their views.
  • Ensure all staff demonstrate the positive values, attitudes and behaviour which the setting expects from the children.

Communicating and working in partnership with families and carers

  • Promote fair, respectful, trusting and constructive relationships with families and parents / carers and communicate sensitively and effectively with them.
  • To work in partnership with parents / carers and other family members, providing formal and informal opportunities through which information about children’s well-being, development and learning can be shared to improve outcomes.

Teamwork and collaboration

  • Promote a positive culture of collaboration and cooperative working between colleagues.
  • Consider and contribute to the policies and practices of the setting and share in collective responsibility for their implementation.
  • Support the work of a multi professional team and, where appropriate, participate in the implementation of agreed programmes and interventions.

Professional Development

  • Encourage all practitioners to develop and use skills in literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology to support their work with children.
  • Help with the process of identifying and finding ways of meeting the professional development needs of practitioners.
  • Promote creative and innovative approaches towards practice, by supporting opportunities for improvements, and encouraging other staff to make suggestions.

Teacher with QTS (working with Pre-School 3 – 5 years)

  • To personally demonstrate effective practice as outlined fully in the Department for Education Teachers’ Standards Teachers' standards
  • Preschool teachers engaged in the two-year ECT induction programme will develop these skills to a higher level of competency through ongoing ECT mentoring and training.
  • Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils.
  • Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils.
  • Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge.
  • Plan and teach well-structured lessons.
  • Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils.
  • Make accurate and productive use of assessment.
  • Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment.
  • Fulfil wider professional responsibilities.

Teacher working with Babies / Toddlers with QTS or EYT status

  • To personally demonstrate effective practice as outlined fully in the Department for Education Teachers’ Standards (Early Years)
  • Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils.
  • Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils.
  • Demonstrate good subject knowledge of early learning and EYFS.
  • Plan education and care taking into account the needs of all children.
  • Adapt education and care to respond to the strengths and needs of all children.
  • Make accurate and productive use of assessment.
  • Safeguard and promote the welfare of children and provide a safe learning environment.
  • Fulfil wider professional responsibilities.

All teachers

  • To utilise the ‘Snapdragons Teaching Toolkit’ ensuring children experience a wide range of daily learning opportunities to develop appropriate skills and knowledge across the seven areas of learning, delivered in accordance with Snapdragons’ educational philosophy.
  • Preschool teachers will also ensure that the full range of specific teaching programmes, chosen by Snapdragons, are implemented effectively and consistently throughout each daily routine to support each child’s school readiness.
  • Demonstrate highly effective teaching skills underpinned by previous and ongoing professional study, actively furthering own knowledge and developing as a teacher through an ongoing cycle of self-reflection and improvement.
  • Model effective teaching methods to develop the skills of team members including apprentices.
  • Work in partnership with Reception Teachers to achieve successful transitions to school in the best interest of the individual needs of the children and their parents/carers at this important stage in their education.
  • Complete accurate ‘Moving to School’ assessments for use by Reception Teachers to continue each child’s ongoing progression through the EYFS in an informed manner.

What you need

Essential

  • Enhanced DBS
  • Aged 21 or over
  • Qualified Teachers Status (QTS) / Early Years Teacher Status (EYT)
  • 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

  • Subscription to the DBS update service
  • Experience of working with children 0 – 5 years
  • GCSE 4+ in English and Maths (A – C)
  • Food Hygiene Certificate
  • Paediatric First Aid Training (12 hours)
  • Emergency First Aid at Work (1 day)
  • Foundation Safeguarding Awareness Training