Early Years Practitioner 98 views

Job description: Early Years Practitioner

Job title:                       Early Years Practitioner

Responsible to:           Lead Practitioner and Pre-school Manager

Responsible for:         None

Safeguarding: Everyone who works at Southmoor Pre-School has the responsibility for

promoting the safeguarding and welfare of children.

Commitment to Safeguarding Children:

• To ensure awareness of Pre-School policy and procedures regarding Child Protection.
• To become aware of the signs and symptoms of abuse by attending relevant courses.
• To report all causes for concern to the Child Protection Officer.
• To ensure the safety of all children in the school learning environment both indoor and outdoor.
• To carry out risk assessments in consultation with the teaching staff prior to activities.

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

Main duties

1. To assist with the planning of the curriculum using the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum for guidance.
2. To help to set up the indoor and outdoor environment in accordance with our Teaching and Learning Policy for the daily programme and to help tidy away at the end of the session.
3. To act as a key person to a 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. Attend meetings with parents as necessary.
5. To advise the Lead Practitioner and/or the Pre-school Manager of any concerns e.g. regarding 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, safeguarding etc.
13. To ensure that adequate records are kept and updated regularly.
14. To promote the pre-school to current parents and potential customers.
15. To comply with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation.
16. To undertake any other reasonable duties as directed by the Lead Practitioner and/or the Pre-school Manager, in accordance with the setting’s business plan/objectives.
17. To work positively and professionally as part of a whole team, assisting and supporting colleagues wherever required and being flexible whenever necessary.
18. To cooperate and work effectively with the management team, to ensure that the vision, philosophy and objectives of the Pre-School are met, positively promoting developments in policies and procedures to the team.
19. To be aware of the high profile of the Pre-School and to uphold its standards at all times. To be an ambassador for the Pre-School both within the Pre-School and in the wider community.

Southmoor Pre-School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We will require two references and a Staff Disqualification Declaration. The successful candidate will be required to have a clear DBS check and to sign up for the DBS Update Service.

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 early year’s education and childcare qualification or equivalent, and a commitment to obtaining a level 3 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 Revised Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
6. Knowledge of child protection procedures.
7. Good communication skills.
8. An understanding of play based approaches to children’s learning and development.
9. Commitment to equal opportunities.
10. Commitment to working effectively with young children and families.
11. Friendly and flexible approach at work which facilitates the development of effective relationships.

Desirable criteria

1. Level 3 early year’s education and childcare qualification or equivalent, and a commitment to obtaining a level 4 qualification.
2. Willingness to undertake further training.
3. Current First Aid at Work qualification.

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.