Early Years Practitioner/ Nursery Staff - UK Based

Position Title: Early Years Practitioner/ Nursery Staff

Section/Department: Nursery

Reports To : Head Date of Review

Location/Site: School

Employment Status: Full Time, Permanent

 Job Description

Position Purpose

You will work to inspire, excite and nurture children through a crucial stage of their development. Your aim is to motivate children and use resources imaginatively to help them learn. You will provide a safe and secure environment for them to develop their social and communication skills while recording observations and summarising their achievements.

Key Responsibilities

A) Planning learning

• Plan rich and stimulating learning activities that achieve good progression in pupils’ understanding by:

• Identifying clear learning objectives and learning content, appropriate to the subject matter and the pupils being taught

• Setting exciting and intriguing tasks for whole-class learning, small-group learning, and self-initiated, exploratory learning.

• Setting clear targets for pupils’ learning that build on prior attainment

• Identifying pupils who: - have special educational needs - are high attainers - are not yet fluent in English Ensure that learning is appropriately differentiated so that the learning is well pitched and all pupils are challenged at their current level of understanding.

• Create a high-quality, rich, stimulating, and enabling learning environment containing items that will capture pupils’ attention and lead to independent exploration.

• Make effective use of assessment information on pupils’ attainment and progress when teaching and in planning future learning.

• Plan opportunities to develop pupils’ spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development.

B) Teaching and classroom management

• Ensure effective teaching of the whole class, and of groups and individuals within the whole class setting, so that learning objectives are met, and pupils’ learning time is used efficiently.

• Establish and maintain a purposeful learning atmosphere.

• Set high expectations for pupils’ behaviors, establishing, and maintaining a good standard of discipline through well-focused, engaging teaching and through positive and productive relationships.

• Establish a safe, clean, and secure learning environment that promotes pupils’ confidence.

• Use teaching methods that capture pupils’ interest and maintain their engagement through offering rich, captivating learning activities, setting the highest expectations for all pupils

• Clearly establishing a purpose for learning, placing it within a context

• Effective questioning that includes open and closed questions, together with the use of probing, supplementary questions

• Providing frequent opportunities for pupils to learn through talk and interaction

• Stimulating intellectual curiosity and communicating enthusiasm for learning

• Matching the teaching approaches used to the learning and development area of the curriculum and the age of the pupils being taught

• Modelling good language use to children

• Modelling good social skills to children

• Clear instruction, effective modeling and accurate explanation

• listening carefully to pupils, analyzing their responses, and responding constructively in order to take their learning forward

• Selecting and making good use of ICT and other learning resources which enable learning objectives to be met

• Providing opportunities to develop pupils’ wider understanding by relating their learning to ‘real life’.

• Be familiar with the Code of Practice on the identification and assessment of special educational needs and, as part of the responsibilities under the Code, create and review One Plans for pupils with identified special educational needs.

• Evaluate your own teaching critically and use this to improve your effectiveness.

C) Monitoring, assessment, recording, reporting and accountability

• Assess how well learning objectives have been achieved and use this information to improve specific aspects of teaching.

• Maintain good organization and accurate assessments so that they offer a clear record of pupils’ progress and complete an EYFS profile for each child.

• Be familiar with the statutory assessment and reporting requirements and know how to prepare and present informative reports to parents.

• Understand the expected demands of pupils in relation to the expectations of the Framework for the Early Foundation Stage.

D) Management and administration

• Be responsible for the line management of teaching assistants in the Nursery including their performance management.

• Participate in administrative and organizational tasks related to the responsibilities described above.

• Support students on placement in Early Years Foundation Stage classes.

• Foster close relationships with parents/carers and the wider community. Assist them to support their child’s learning at home. Present a positive image of the school to all other stakeholders. The Governing Body is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share in this commitment.

  Person Specification

KEY CRITERIA,ESSENTIAL, DESIRABLE

Qualifications

• Foundation Degree or BA in Early Years (B.Ed)

• NVQ Level 3 or equivalent in childcare

• Qualified teacher status (QTS)

• Early years teacher status (EYTS)

• Early years professional status (EYPS)

Experience

• Excellent understanding of the EYFS curriculum and requirements

• Experience within the Early Years Foundation Stage.

• Experience of, and commitment to, outdoor learning.

Knowledge

• A knowledge and understanding of room organization, learning strategies, and working with a free-flow environment

• EYFS welfare, learning, and development requirements; Planning for learning in the EYFS

• The statutory requirements of legislation concerning Equal Opportunities, Health & Safety, SEN, and Child Protection

• The use of ICT to effectively support the teaching and learning and to monitor children’s progress.

• A knowledge and understanding of the use of a range of media to teach and assess children’s progress.

Skills and Abilities

Ability to:

• Develop good personal relationships within the team

• Establish and develop effective relationships with parents and the community

• Communicate effectively (both orally and in writing) to parents and children

• Deal with conflict in an appropriate manner

• Be reflective and learn from past experiences; Show resilience and an ability to work under pressure; Promote the school and nursery’s aims positively

• Demonstrate excellent IT skills

Work-related Personal Qualities

• Be an effective team player that works collaboratively and effectively with others

• Excellent interpersonal skills, communicating (verbally and in-writing) effectively to a wide range of audiences

• Support, motivate, and inspire both colleagues and pupils by leading through example

• Suitability to work with children

• Confidence, warmth, sensitivity, reliability, and enthusiasm

Equal Opportunities and Commitment

• Commitment to equality of opportunity for all regardless of gender, disability, religion, and ethnic origin

Demonstrate a commitment to:

• safeguarding and child protection

• equalities

• promoting the school’s vision, values, and ethos

• high quality, stimulating learning environment

• relating positively to and showing respect for all members of the school and wider community

• ongoing relevant professional self-development