Early Years Apprenticeship

 Purpose of post:

To ensure a high standard of physical, emotional, social and intellectual care for all children in their care To ensure all children are safeguarded and their welfare and safety is promoted To give support to other team members within their immediate room and within the wider nursery To work as part of a team in order to provide an enabling environment in which all individual children can play, learn and develop

Duties and responsibilities:

Operate a programme of activities that meet the individual needs and interests of children in your area in conjunction with other team members To keep records of your key children’s development and learning journeys and share this with parents, carers and other key adults in the child’s life To follow the nursery safeguarding procedure to ensure all children are kept safe, well and secure Support all staff and engage in a good staff team Liaise with and support parents and other family members To be involved in out of working hours activities, e.g. training, monthly staff meetings, parent evening, fundraising events etc. To be flexible within working practices of the nursery. Be prepared to help where needed, including to undertake certain domestic jobs within the nursery, e.g. preparation of snack meals, cleansing of equipment etc. Work alongside the Manager and staff team to ensure that the nursery’s philosophy is fulfilled Read, understand and adhere to all policies and procedures relevant to your role as deemed appropriate by the Manager Liaising with practitioners to record accidents in the accident book correctly. Ensure the Duty Manager has initialled the report before parents receives it Look upon the nursery, as a “whole” where can your help be most utilised? Be constantly aware of the individual needs of all children Ensure someone known and agreed by the nursery and parent collects the child To respect the confidentiality of all information received

Specific childcare tasks:

The preparation and completion of activities to suit each individual child's stage of development and interests To develop your role within the team especially with regard as a key person To ensure that mealtimes are a time of pleasant social sharing  Washing and changing children as required To ensure good standards of safety, hygiene and cleanliness are maintained at all times Ensuring a poorly child is kept calm and warm, and management is notified immediately To develop and maintain strong partnerships and communications with parents/carers to facilitate day-to-day caring and early learning needs To ensure the provision of a high-quality environment to meet the needs of individual children regardless of any disabilities, family backgrounds or medical history To be aware of the high profile of the nursery and to uphold its standards at all times, both within work hours and outside. Ensuring that the policies of the company are observed, and that  good practises are encouraged, particularly in the areas of Health & Safety, Equal Opportunities, and confidentiality

The above is not an exhaustive list of duties and you will be expected to perform different tasks as necessitated by the organisation which are relevant to your post within the company to meet the overall business objectives.

Training:
Level 3 Early Years Educator Apprenticeship Standard Functional skills in maths and English (if required) All training will be delivered on-line with 1:1 tutor support and independent learning

Training Outcome:
Possibility of securing a permanent position within the nursery on completion of the apprenticeship programme and progression to a higher-level qualification

Employer Description:
We are a family run business that opened in Bovingdon in 1998, since then we have opened 5 nursery settings and a term time only lodge based at The Grove hotel in Watford. We are OFSTED registered and have been awarded an Outstanding rating in some of our latest OFSTED reports. Latimer - Established in October 2012, the nursery has 96 child places at any one time for children from 3 months to 5 years. We are open Monday to Friday 7.30am – 6.30pm all year round except for public bank holidays. Our premises offer ample parking and once inside the rooms are divided into appropriate age groups. We arrange for children with a sibling or friend to visit their group during the day to spend some time together. We also have a separate room called the Adventure Play Room which contains a floor to ceiling soft play area, a ball pool and other exciting activities. Our cook produces nutritious home-made food. Fresh ingredients are locally sourced i.e. meat is supplied by W.H. Higgins of Chorleywood, fruit and vegetables are supplied by Grocer on the Green. We have a variety of extra curriculum activities throughout the year such as sport sessions with Challenge Sport & Education, music/dance classes with Dinky Dancers etc. Old MacDonald’s Latimer is surrounded by open farmland and woodland enabling us to embrace Forest schooling. It is a modern well appointed building with beautiful views over the surrounding countryside and Chess valley.

Working Hours :
All of our sites are open 7.30am - 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. Shifts will be discussed at interview.

Skills:
Communication skills,Attention to detail,Customer care skills,Number skills,Team working,Creative,Initiative,Non judgemental,Patience,Physical fitness