An exciting opportunity has arisen for a full-time Early Years Officer to join the team at our nursery school, working 37 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 52 weeks per year. Job sharing would be considered.

We are a maintained nursery school and form part of a federation of four local authority maintained nursery schools across Northamptonshire, with a supportive and proactive governing body. Our mission is to provide the highest quality of Early Education and care for all our children, in whom we foster a love of learning to help each child become the best they can be.

Main duties

• To ensure the standards of teaching and learning in the school are of the highest possible quality
• To be responsible for a large group of children, including planning the learning, resourcing the environment, evaluating learning, and record keeping
  
• To work alongside Early Years Assistants (EYAs) who will support you in the planning, preparation, and delivery of learning and development
• To lead on planning and provisions of the children, with a group of EYAs and/or leaders
  
• Overseeing and providing the planning and delivery of group times and scheduled work time, to ensure they meet the specific needs of your group of children
• To support the leader with the running of sessions, ensuring routines are followed and managing the team if the leader is called away
  
• To analyse children's progress and attainment - identifying trends and areas of strength, as well as next steps which are then to be implemented into provision
• To be aware of stages of development, so as to be able to make judgements about children's development, including identifying SEND
  
• Undertaking home visits to gather information about new starters
• Completing termly assessments on children's development, including narrative reports for parents/carers
• Organising and co-ordinating parent/carer consultation meetings to share progress and attainment
• Organising, co-ordinating, and monitoring record keeping, floor books, and displays that inform families of children's learning
• Organising and planning staff deployment of provisions and interventions
• Organising and planning support for any EYPP children in your group
  
• Review and consistent implementation of key routines
• Review and maintenance of physical environments, including continuous provision and enhancement
• Daily communication with parents. If working a late shift, to inform colleagues of anything which may need to be fed back to parents/carers the following morning
• Nurturing effective and positive relationships with both the children under your care and across the provision and their parents/carers
  
• To read the staff communication and deployment board prior to work, and be ready at your work station at the designated start time
• To communicate with your team about necessary plans for provisions, changes to routines, and/or messages from parents/carers
• Working together to form a consistent approach to behaviour management
• Effectively planning and delivering parent/carer events
• Providing information and guidance to EYAs on children's developmental needs, and to support them with any parent/carer events, i.e. parents evenings and home learning plans
• Reporting any safeguarding concerns or accidents at home and/or nursery, and being prepared to have conversations with parents and/or professionals
• To be fully aware of vulnerable children within the group, and communicate with teams of EYAs on support
• To provide information and guidance to EYAs on children's developmental needs
• To support and guide EYAs with regards to parent/carer events and home learning plans
• To follow all school policies
  
• Keeping up to date with any changes to statutory or non-statutory guidance and procedures for the Early Years sector, including Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), GDPR, EYFS Statutory Framework, Development Matters, and Birth to 5
• To work together to form a consistent approach to behaviour management
  

Benefits

• A friendly, collaborative community of children and their families, staff, and governors
• A caring and supportive working environment that prioritises wellbeing
• Opportunity for progression and CPD within the Federation and the wider maintained nursery school network
  
• Competitive salary and generous annual leave entitlement
• A generous Local Government pension scheme
• Discounted nursery sessions for your children
• Free onsite parking

"Leaders have a continual drive for further improvement. They are reflective and insightful. They take part in national and international research. They support staff to use innovative approaches in their teaching of the curriculum. Staff appreciate the opportunities leaders provide them to improve their practice." - Ofsted (2020)

To apply for this vacancy, please complete the application form, including a personal statement describing how your experience, skills, and knowledge meet the criteria for this post as laid out in the job description/person specification. You will also be required to complete and return a self-disclosure declaration with your application. Submit both through MyNewTerm.

To arrange a visit and/or learn more about working at Croyland Nursery School & Day Nursery, please email Lindsey Gwynne at LGwynne@ffcnschools.com or phone 01933 279681 between 08:00-18:00 on weekdays.

Foundations for Children Nursery Schools Federation is strongly committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. References will be sought for all short-listed candidates and a successful candidate will be required to undertake an enhanced DBS check.