Senior Early Years Practitioner

(must have Level 3 in a recognised childcare qualification)

A unique opportunity to be part of an outstanding academy and to act as an experienced practitioner in a new nursery setting.

We seek an experienced Senior Early Years Practitioner and leader in the Nursery setting, bringing expertise and experience working with young children to provide excellent support and teaching to our pupils. We want to invest in a member of staff for the long term, and support in their development and impact as they lead within our nursery provision, working closely with our excellent Head of EYFS and Lead Teacher of Nursery.

KSA is rare in that it is a genuine all-through school – our pupils can go from 2 years to university in our school. We have a brand new nursery building for over 100 pupils for 2-4 year olds on track to open in April 2021, to expand our existing nursery provision for 65 pupils.

In this role you will be a key person in managing the experience of pupils and their parents. You will act as a role model and leader to the Early Years Practitioners. You will have a welcoming and warm manner and build confidence in our families.

We have a great team in Early Years and are looking for a Senior Early Years Practitioner who is passionate about helping children love learning and playing in a warm and inclusive environment. We are proud of our woodland garden and are building a Forest School provision.

We hire on values. This means that our teams are made up of like-minded people who share real passion for our mission. We are an inclusive team and we are actively seeking to enhance the diversity of our team. We welcome team members from all backgrounds. We look after our staff with enhanced benefits and ongoing professional and personal development. We’re a school nursery setting which is serving our local community with ambition and passion.

Day to day you will:

·         Be a role model in working with children, helping them to develop and learn

·         Be a key worker to identified group of pupils

·         Act as a ‘room leader’ for wider groups of pupils

·         Build and maintain excellent relationships with parents

·         Work alongside other leaders to plan the curriculum

Our ideal candidate will have:

·         Experience of working and leading in a high-quality nursery setting, ideally including 2 year old provision

·         Been or acted as a room leader

·         The relevant Early Years Qualification, Level 3 or above

·         Excellent initiative, problem solving and organisational skills

·         A genuine passion for education and making a difference to the lives of children

·         Drive and motivation with a ‘make it happen’ attitude

·         Kind and clear communication with families and staff

·         Commitment to KSA’s ethos of high expectations

What we can offer you:

·         13 weeks of holiday (including bank holidays; outside of school term)

·         Extensive personal development, including being part of the Ark Professional Development community

·         Funding and paid time off for training

·         Access to the secure Local Government Pension Scheme with significant employer contributions

·         Enhanced maternity and paternity pay for new parents

·         Generous sick pay, leave for dependents and compassionate leave

·         Childcare discount for paid places at nursery / priority criteria for children into King Solomon Academy

If you are an outstanding individual who has the relentless drive, boundless enthusiasm and the resilience for a challenging but rewarding new opportunity, then we’d love to hear from you.

To apply, and to see more information about the school and this role please visit: http://kingsolomonacademy.org/current-vacancies.

The deadline is 11am on Friday 21st May, 2021.

To discuss the role, please feel free to email the Principal’s PA, Shaheen Riaz (s.riaz@kingsolomonacademy.org) or phone on 0207 563 6901.

Senior Early Years Practitioner

Reports to:             Assistant Principal, Head of EYFS

Start date:               4^th May 2021

Salary:                     Ark band 5 (full time salary: £23,427- £ £27,021; actual salary: 98.1%: £22,982 - £26,508)

Hours:                      8am-5pm, term time only

Exact hours and days flexible, agreed on appointment.

The Role

To work collaboratively and display leadership within the Early Years team to provide a safe and joyful start to our children’s education through our ‘integrated’ approach to teaching and learning based on developing the unique child, supporting them to learn through play and assessing their progress so they achieve excellent outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

·         Contribute to creating and maintaining an excellent learning environment both inside and outdoors

·         Invest in positive relationships with children and their families

·         Support children in our two priority areas of personal, social and emotional development and communication and language

·         Meet the needs of all our children, including pupils who have diagnosed or emerging SEND

·         Observe, monitor and assess children using the EYFS framework and through child-initiated observational assessment.

·         Act as a figurehead, taking a lead for all the pupils in the room when appropriate

·         Work collaborative as a member of a team

·         Ensure pupils eat well at snack times and meal times

·         Respond to pupils’ needs on a 1:1 basis

·         Safeguarding

Outcomes and Activities

Many of these activities are also the core activities of an Early Years Practitioner. As a Senior Early Years Practitioner, they will performed at an expert level, which models excellent practice to all staff.

·         To build a positive relationship with children and families encouraging dialogue, co-operation and partnership.  Share information about their child in an honest but sensitive manner.

·        To plan, prepare and set out, in collaboration with the Early Years team, activities, materials and equipment and resources for groups of and/or individual children.

·        Support planning and building a stimulating learning environment which enables children to develop independence and learn to manage risk; where homes and families are reflected and which provide provocation based on children’s needs and interests.

·        Support the organisation of the learning environment so children can play physically as well as with objects, symbolic play, music, movement, pretend and socio-dramatic play and games with rules.

·        Celebrate nature in the learning environment and take every opportunity to play and learn outside with children

·        Be responsible for the planning, initiating and delivery of programs of work and activities for a class, group or individual children.  Eg  story sessions, math meetings, guided reading, interventions, cooking, music & movement, 1:1 SEN support

·        Share and at times take sole responsibility (within ratio) for children working indoors and outdoors, facilitating and enabling learning by providing high quality support and interaction.

·        Be responsible for groups of children and prepare and present their assessment evidence in learning journals.

·        Liaise with external professional contacts and develop co-working practices with colleagues from other agencies, for example, health visitors, speech therapists and educational psychologists by exchanging information and participating in sessions/visits, contributing to assessments and carrying out action plans.

·        Constantly reflect on and improve professional performance and participate in weekly PD training.  Keep informed of current childcare legislation, educational theory and practices.

·        Role model exemplary practice for support staff and support the development of the whole team in collaboration with the phase leader.

·        Contribute to experiential learning activities and participate in trips and extended learning opportunities e.g fire brigade day,  going for a local area walk.

·        Seek to constantly expand children’s vocabulary, deepening their understanding of the world around them through repeating key phrases and providing commentary on children’s play.

·        Take every opportunity to promote a love of reading, singing, rhymes and games

Other

·         Perform additional duties and tasks required for the effective operation of the school, including: attending home visits, parent meetings, open mornings, home learning workshops, providing cover for colleagues across the phase, break supervision and other duties

·         Undertake other various responsibilities as directed by the Principal or the line manager

Person Specification: Senior Early Years Practitioner

Necessary qualification criteria

• Relevant level 3 qualification in childcare as a minimum
• GCSE English and maths at grade C or above
• Right to work in the UK

Experience

• Experience of teaching in and leading others (even if only informally) in an EYFS setting
• Acting as a “room leader” and leading on the care of children
• Experience of working with vulnerable children desirable but not essential

Skills and attributes

We are looking for these skills and attributes in line with our values or - at the very least - a candidate’s clear, demonstrable capacity to develop them:

“Aiming high”

• Prepares for success with excellent organisational skills
• Works hard to achieve goals
• Never gives up on ourselves, our teammates or our mission
• Willingness to play a full part in school life and go above and beyond to ensure success
• High energy and driven by a ‘whatever it takes’ attitude.

“Working together”

• Works effectively as part of a team
• Seeks out opportunities to build on own and others’ strengths and helps others to be better through a culture of clear, kind feedback
• Makes a strong contribution to assessments and child-led planning

“Being kind”

• Able to create a safe, happy and successful environment for everyone in our community
• Shows gratitude
• Takes care of others
• Exhibits pride in achievements of self and others

“Leading the way”

·         Has a passion for working in the EYFS

·         Is a positive role model to others, and can direct other staff’s work in an EYFS setting

·         Is brave

·         Shows initiative

·         Feels passionate about creating a better future.

Other

This post is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Services check.