Nursery Overview Monkey Puzzle are part of an award-winning nursery group, offering high quality childcare in their specially equipped nursery for children aged three months to five years old. They also offer multi-sports, cooking, sing and sign and Yoga to ensure the children at their nursery have every opportunity to develop holistically. Their onsite chef produces a varied and delicious menu providing nutritious meals for the children and staff. Monkey Puzzle’s Early Years Team excel in teamwork and will deliver an outstanding learning experience to you as well as supporting you to develop your skills through innovative training. Job Overview The role of an apprentice is to ensure all children receive high quality care, are kept safe and are provided with planned and stimulating play experiences which meet their individual needs and support all aspects of EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage). The apprentice is part of a team responsible for the wellbeing of the children, working closely with the management, building partnerships with parents / carers. The successful candidate has to be creative, fun, able to follow directions to implement new ideas and use a range of strategies to continually improve practice and be committed to achieving their Level 3 Early Years Educator Apprenticeship. Under the guidance of senior staff, you will provide the highest level of care and education for all children attending the setting. This Level 3 apprenticeship training programme develops the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to work in an Early Years setting with the opportunity to take responsibility for leading the Early Years provision. Main responsibilities: To deliver a high standard of learning, development and care for children aged 0-5 years. To ensure that the preschool nursery is a safe environment for children, staff and others. To developing partnerships with parents/carers to increase involvement in their child’s development. To be responsible for any tasks delegated by the Deputy Nursery Manager/Nursery Manager. To complete all academic aspects of the apprenticeship. Main activities: To provide a safe, caring, stimulating educational environment, both indoors and outdoors, at all times. To deliver an appropriate play based Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum that enables children to make individual progress. To help ensure the preschool nursery meets Ofsted requirements at all times. To understand and work to preschool nursery policies and procedures, including how to deal with child protection issues appropriately and how to respond to incidents, accidents, complaints and emergencies. To plan activities which ensure each child is working towards the early learning outcomes. To be a key person. To ensure records are properly maintained, e.g. daily attendance register, accident and incident book, risk assessments. To liaise closely with parents/carers, informing them about the nursery and its curriculum, exchanging information about children’s progress and encouraging parents’ involvement. To work in partnership with senior management to update and review the self-evaluation and improvement plan. To undertake any other reasonable duties as directed, in accordance with the preschool aims and objectives. Skills and Attributes Empathy and understanding of children under five. Excellent verbal and communication skills with children and parents. Ability to write reports and keep clear and accurate records. Excellent organizational skills. Administrative and basic IT skills. Calm and caring nature. Ability to work as part of a team. Able to work on own initiative. Personal Qualities Reliable, enthusiastic, and flexible. A commitment to quality in all areas, with a high level of motivation and enthusiasm. Able to perform under stress. A creative thinker. A good sense of humour. Future Prospects On completion of the apprenticeship you will be a qualified nursery practitioner with the potential to progress into a Room Leader and completion of Level 5 Early Years Lead Practitioner. Training Information Over the course of 15–18 months, you will study units such as health & safety in a childcare setting, holistic child development, safeguarding in a childcare setting, child development, communication with children, purposeful play and educational programmes, supporting children with special educational needs, collaborative working in early years childcare, and wellbeing principles for children. Upon successful completion of the apprenticeship programme, you will achieve a Level 2 or 3 qualification and a TQUK Diploma in Early Years. As part of the apprenticeship, alongside your job role, 20% of your time in work must be dedicated to developing new skills.