Flexible Early Years Practitioner

Purpose of Role: This role will be key in delivering high-quality engagement with children supporting their developmental needs while ensuring the highest levels of supervision are maintained. You must support and maintain our Keeping Everyone Safe policies and procedures and continuously demonstrate and adhere to safe working practices. Support the observation and assessment standards in line with the regulatory requirements and Bright Beginnings, Bright Horizons curriculum to ensure a child-centred approach. Work in partnership with parents to support the observation and planning process to ensure this meets the needs of all children in line with the Quality Assurance Framework. Work to ensure service excellence for our current and prospective customers. This includes role modelling behaviour in line with our HEART principles and Bright Promise to deliver exceptional care and education. In addition, this role will work with the room leader together with Early Childhood Specialists to drive continuous improvement and embed inspirational early years pedagogy of the highest standard and secure regulatory compliance with better than National Average inspection outcomes in the UK. You will support in sharing and articulating the attributes of the Bright Horizons brand, securing Bright Horizons as the provider of choice for families, corporate clients, and employees.

Key Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Deliver the highest care and education standards and ensure secure knowledge and understanding of policies and procedures, child development, and knowledge of EYFS and Bright Beginning curriculum and regulatory standards.
• Ensure internal policies and procedures and legislation from governing bodies are adhered to and demonstrate your knowledge through high standards of practice.
• In line with Bright Horizons UK standards for pedagogy, deliver and support the Bright Beginnings, Bright Horizons curriculum to ensure a child-centred approach to operating all aspects of the nursery, and support the observation and planning process to meet the needs of all children in line with the Quality Assurance Framework.
• Demonstrate effective written and verbal communication with all stakeholders of the nursery and wider Bright Horizons community including parents, professionals, and colleagues.
• Ensure Keeping Everyone Safe policies and procedures are continuously demonstrated to underpin a high-performing safety culture.
• Work as part of the team to ensure all essential day-to-day tasks are completed in line with the demands of the area you are working within, e.g., hygiene standards and room preparation.
• Understand the referral processes when necessary to engage with professionals to support a child referral.
• Actively promote and support charities including the Bright Horizons Foundation for Children.
• Attend staff meetings and training to ensure a continuation of personal professional development to ensure your knowledge and skills are up to date, full, and relevant to the role of Bright Flex Practitioner.

Responsible for:

• Promote and follow guidelines implemented for managing behaviour, including supporting children to manage their own feelings.
• Ensure the children you care for are fully supervised and remain safe and well, leading by example and driving the culture of safeguarding children.
• Provide strong clear communication and partnership with your team members to ensure you are meeting the needs of all the children within your care.
• Demonstrate a clear understanding of efficient staff deployment and child supervision in line with policies and procedures and regulatory standards.
• Supervise and support in the preparation of meal times in line with policies and procedures to ensure high supervision of children is maintained at all times.
• Risk assess all areas a child can access to ensure all areas of the nursery are safe for children and remove any risks identified. Lead by example in daily tasks of keeping children safe, e.g., picking up coats, sweeping sand from the floor.
• Fulfil roles, responsibilities, and legislative duty in relation to safeguarding children by ensuring that you have read, understood, and implemented the Safeguarding Policies and Procedures.
• Ensure that you have completed Child Protection training every two years as set out in the Child Protection Policy and that this training impacts on your ability to safeguard the children in your care.
• Undertake suitable professional development activities and opportunities for personal growth within a culture of self-driven development and expertise in all aspects of nursery development and learning, to maintain a highly effective, motivated, and innovative team member with perspectives of ‘best practice’.
• Deliver the highest quality Early Childhood practice and experiences for all children in the setting, including those with Special Educational Needs and/or Disability, promoting emotional wellbeing by embedding the Bright Horizons early years curriculum.
• Be highly motivated and driven, supporting with information for children’s record keeping and assessments.
• Support the completion of accurate and effective assessments, which reflect the needs, interests, and stages of development of the child by effective delivery of the key person approach.
• Ensure children within your key person group are meeting their milestones for personal development.
• Provide support for your colleagues within the nursery and across the broader business when required.
• Attend staff meetings and training sessions to ensure continuous professional development.

Essential Experience:

• Proven ability to work as part of a team to ensure essential day-to-day tasks are completed in line with nursery demands, e.g., hygiene standards and room preparation.
• Sound understanding of child protection and safeguarding children.
• Passion for ongoing learning and personal development.

Experience Desirable:

• Experience as a key person.
• Current 12hrs paediatric First Aid Certificate.
• Knowledge of the early year’s curriculum and regulatory requirements.
• Experience of food preparation and the completion of relevant training linked to food management.
• Work experience within the Early Years Sector.
• Knowledge of Local Authority and Regulatory requirements and inspection processes across the UK.
• Working within policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements.
• Specific experience of working within the 0-2 years age group in accordance with the regulatory requirements if required.

Qualifications:

• Full and relevant level 3 or above childcare qualification (Essential).
• 12 hours paediatric first aid (Can be completed as part of induction).
• Food Hygiene or equivalent training and compliance in food management (Can be completed as part of induction).
• Relevant safeguarding/child protection training undertaken and a willingness to update training regularly (Can be completed as part of induction).

Personal Attributes:

• Able to communicate clearly with adults and children using a variety of techniques (oral and in writing).
• Ability to support and inspire children in achieving the highest standards of care and education.
• Able to manage workload and time effectively.
• Able and competent user of company ICT systems and have the willingness to learn and develop ICT skills.
• Enjoyment of working with a wide group of colleagues and professionals.

We look forward to receiving your application!