Early Years Practitioner

Job overview

To work as part of a team with children aged 0-5 years. To help provide high quality, stimulating childcare encompassing their development, racial, cultural, religious, language, gender and disability needs. Ensuring the quality of care is of the highest level, which provides a safe, caring, happy and stimulating environment.

Please be aware that a Level 3 in Health and Social Care is NOT the correct qualification for this Early Years Practitioner role.

Main duties of the job

• NNEB, NVQ level 3 Qualification or BTEC
• Paediatric First Aid
• Child Protection Training
• Knowledge and understanding of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and Welfare requirements
• Working knowledge of all the settings policies and procedures and the ability to put these into practice when required.
• Experience of working with children aged 0-5 within an early years setting
• Understanding and awareness of Health and Safety
• To have strong communication skills essential for team work
• To take responsibility for a group of children, taking an active role in settling a new child in, liasing with parents and keeping up to date records of learning and development.
• To have effective writing skills, enabling completion of children’s written assessments and other related and non-related paperwork
• To have the imagination and enthusiasm to plan and evaluate activities for children
• To establish and maintain relationships within the staffing team, with parents and with all children.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To ensure the health and safety of the children in your care •    To provide a safe, stimulating environment to encourage children to reach their full potential •    To plan and evaluate day-to-day activities to ensure that children experience a wide range of appropriate activities that meet their interests and learning needs •    To organise both individual and group activities for the children and ensure they are adequately supervised on and off the site •    To take responsibility and care for a group of children, taking the lead for their learning diaries and completing all observations, reports and other paperwork as necessary •    To work closely and build a good relationship with parents and ensure all relevant information is available to parents and communicate with them daily as regards their child’s welfare •    To provide a transition plan for new children to the nursery or for those children who are moving on to another setting or school  •    To work alongside other agencies to support special educational needs
• To occasionally take part in home/school visits for any children needing extra support  •    To work as part of the early years team, usually in one room but being flexible about working in other rooms with different age groups and occasionally, working at other locations within North Bristol Trust •    To be responsible for the maintenance of positive behaviour in accordance with the Behaviour Policy •    To attend staff training, feeding back information to colleagues and to keep up to date with childcare information •    To have a sound knowledge and understanding of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and Welfare Requirements which is implemented and lead by the manager •    To follow North Bristol Trust’s and the Childcare Services Dept. policies and procedures •    To work towards and contribute to a quality assurance scheme •    To attend parents’ evenings to provide parents with their child’s progress and developmental files and discuss any issues they feel relevant •    To attend and contribute to staff meetings on a regular basis •    To maintain professional relationships, build on team work and share ideas •    To promote equal opportunities and follow the Valuing Diversity and Promoting Equality policy within the setting and ensure that a culturally sensitive environment is maintained •    To adhere to the settings dress code at all times •    To attend staff appraisals where performing and training needs are monitored •    To be aware of data protection and the importance of confidentiality