Early years practitioner

Role: Early Years Practitioner

Salary: £24,000 per annum (pro-rata) equivalent: £21,993.57 per annum

Location: Wilmslow, Cheshire.

Contract/Hours: Permanent Part time 34 hours per week - Shift pattern Monday to Friday (34 hrs over 4 days) A rota of bank holidays and may include Christmas and Boxing Day.

Benefits:

* 29 days annual leave PLUS bank holidays, (pro-rata) with up to 5 additional days for continuous service and option to buy or sell leave.
* Gain professional qualifications and excellent training/development opportunities.
* Flexible maternity, adoption, and paternity packages
* Pension with up to 7% employer contribution with included life assurance cover
* Staff discount portal and Blue Light Card eligibility with 15,000 national retailers discounts.

A bit about the role

We are seeking a highly skilled Level 3 Early Years Practitioner looking for their next challenge, to join our dedicated team within a mother and baby unit in a prison setting at HMP Styal.

In this role, you will be responsible for providing a range of stimulating activities for children aged 0-2 years, ensuring that all experiences align with the EYFS. As part of our team led by the Early Years Practitioner Lead, you will deliver practical, quality care and support interventions tailored to each child's needs. Your responsibilities will include creating engaging activities and experiences, implementing agreed plans, and fostering a nurturing environment that promotes the development and well-being of the children.

About the service

HMP Styal's mother and baby unit provides an Ofsted registered day nursery, supportive and nurturing environment for mothers and their babies within a prison setting. The service aims to promote positive family relationships while ensuring the safety and well-being of both mothers and their children. The unit is designed to meet the unique needs of the families, offering tailor programmes that focus on parenting skills, emotional support, and personal development.

By fostering a sense of community and collaboration, we help mothers build strong foundations for their children's futures, all while navigating the challenges of their circumstances. The dedicated staff work closely with the mothers to ensure they receive the guidance and resources necessary to thrive as parents.

How you'll help to create brighter futures

* Run learning programmes for individual or groups of children appropriate to their needs and developmental stages in accordance with Early Years Foundation stage and guidance.
* Ensuring the compliance and application of policies and procedures and relevant legislative requirements, informing management immediately of any instances of non-compliance or variations in practices.
* Be alert to child protection and safeguarding issues and inform appropriate line managers about concerns in line with our safeguarding policies and procedures.

Let's talk about you.

Are you resilient and have a positive approach to change and challenge? We are looking for someone with a 'can do' attitude to join our team. Ideally you will have:

* Level 3 early years and childcare qualification e.g., NNEB, CACHE, NVQ Level 3 in Childcare and Education.
* Experience working with multi agency social care, early years, or health environments, with a strong understanding of safeguarding procedures.
* Proven ability to manage cases, complete assessments, and conduct planning and reviews to ensure positive outcomes for children and young people.
* Strong communication skills to effectively represent the feelings and wishes of the children/mothers in meetings in record keeping.
* Demonstrated prioritisation organisation skills with the ability to produce concise and accurate reports within agreed time limits.
* Proficient in utilising management systems and databases for recording and retaining case related data as well as extracting data for report presentations.

Interviews will take place face to face the week commencing 21st April 2025.

Good to know.

Application Process

Please note we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.

There are five sections to complete: Personal Details, CV, Supporting Statement & Information, Equality & Diversity, Submission & Declaration.

Talent Pool 

We know talent when we see it. But sometimes we find the right person but not for the right job. We'd love to keep your details for when the right job comes up. Let us know if you'd rather we didn't.

Diversity, equality, and inclusion

At Action for Children, we're dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace.

We actively encourage applications from Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic and disabled candidates as they are under-represented within Action for Children. We want to take deliberate and purposeful action to ensure equal opportunity to all groups in society and for Action for Children.

Male staff are under-represented within our Children Service roles. We would like to encourage more male applicants for our Children Service roles.

Don't meet every single requirement?

If you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with the job description, we'd love you to apply anyway. You might just be the perfect person for this role, or another role within the Action for Children family.

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