Nursery Assistant in Leeds

Salary: B1 £26,016 - £26,847

Hours: Various, Term Time Only and All Year Round positions available

Contract: Permanent

Location: Little Owls Nursery - Quarry Mount

Are you interested in a career in childcare? Little Owls nurseries are currently recruiting for nursery assistants. Little Owls is a great place to progress in your childcare career and many of our assistants move on to become managers. We support staff to learn and progress by offering regular training.

As a nursery assistant based in one of our Little Owls nurseries you will be part of a great team and will deliver a high standard of care which meets the individual needs of the children. It is rewarding work, as well as energetic and at times challenging. We are committed to the ambition of Child Friendly Leeds. We want Leeds to be a city where all children are safe, happy and healthy, do well at school, fulfil their potential and grow up to be active citizens with voice and influence.

You will:

• Provide high quality care and education for all children and support for families
• Observe and monitor children’s development and contribute to reports of their progress
• Liaise with and provide professional advice to parents, social workers and health visitors

About you:

We are looking for qualified, enthusiastic, adaptable candidates with personal qualities to care for and develop young children. You must have:

• Excellent communication and listening skills
• Ability to safeguard and motivate children and sustain their interest in play activities
• Ability to write reports and plans to document children’s learning, development and wellbeing to the required standard

We expect the following experience and qualifications:

• Minimum of level 2 qualification in childcare.
• Good standard of literacy and numeracy
• Basic computer literacy

Please be aware that successful applicants will be employed by LCC and not a particular centre and could be asked to work at any of the city wide Little Owls Nurseries.

What we offer you:

• A competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
• Membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements
• A clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
• A range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further

How to apply:

Please complete the online application form. Read our guidance for further advice on completing your application. If you have any queries or would like an informal chat about the role please contact Kirsty McHugh – Early Start Admin Team – kirsty.mchugh@leeds.gov.uk – 0113 535 0753.

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check against the Children’s or Adults’ barred list as applicable will be carried out on preferred candidates. We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.

This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria.

All new Leeds City Council appointments are made subject to the satisfactory completion of a 6-month probationary period.

Job purpose:

Under the general direction of the Manager and senior staff, the Nursery Assistant role is to work as part of a team to deliver a high standard of care which meets the individual needs of the children. To make and maintain positive relationships with the children and to safely meet the physical care and management needs of children. All staff are required to support the services main purpose of encouraging and enabling children to develop, behaviourally, educationally and emotionally.

Responsibilities:

• To provide high quality care and education for all children and support for families.
• To provide a broad and balanced Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum that will meet the requirements of the relevant national and local standards.
• To establish and deliver on the delivery of Individual Educational Programmes (IEP) and the Early Support Programme for children with Special Educational Needs and disabilities (SEND).
• To observe and monitor children’s development and contribute to written reports of their progress.
• To maintain client confidentiality.
• To liaise with and provide professional advice to, parents, social workers and health visitors involved with a child and their family.
• To liaise with local primary schools and prepare reports that will support the child’s transition into school.
• To report any injury or accident, ensuring that health and safety of the individual is maintained.
• To understand and operate the policies and procedures for the administration of medication including accurately recording and verifying drug sheets.
• To report any suspicious or suspected non-accidental injury to follow and comply with Departmental Child Protection Procedures.
• To support student placements: to help prepare and present accurate, concise reports on these to the Manager and/or college tutors.
• To provide interesting and appropriate educational visits for children and families, observing Health and Safety policies and making risk assessments as required.
• To support parents and families where necessary in the successful admission and transition of their children.
• To take responsibility for a group of children during any building evacuation.
• To participate in and provide training and development activities as necessary to ensure up to date knowledge and skills.
• To undertake other duties appropriate to the post as required by the Service.
• To comply with the requirements of all Leeds City Council policies, procedures and staff instructions.
• To actively promote and support Leeds City Council's Policies on Equal Opportunities and to work in an anti-oppressive manner.

Qualifications:

It is an essential requirement of this post that the post holder should hold a minimum of a relevant Level 2 qualification as defined by the Sector Skills Council for Childcare.

Essential requirements:

• Able to communicate with a wide range of people individually, in groups and at all appropriate levels.
• Ability to safeguard children and support them to develop their resilience.
• Able to motivate children through positive role modelling and sustain their interest in play activities.
• Able to work as part of a team.
• Able to listen and accept instructions.
• Able to write reports and plans to document children’s learning, development and wellbeing, to the required standard.
• Able to observe, record and monitor children’s development as they progress through the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
• Able to work in partnership with parents and carers to support their children’s learning, development and wellbeing.
• Able to support children and families in a culturally sensitive, positive and non-judgemental way.
• Able to support the development of children with special educational needs and disabilities in an inclusive setting.
• Able to complete risk assessments.
• Able to effectively use the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) to plan and evaluate activities to aid children’s learning.
• Able to supervise students and apprentices.
• Able to use ICT packages, including Word and Excel.
• A flexible approach to working hours with the ability to change shift patterns as required.

Knowledge required:

• A minimum of a relevant Level 2 qualification as defined in ‘Qualifications’ section above.
• GCSE Maths and English or equivalent as recognised by CWDC.
• A relevant and current Paediatric First Aid or Emergency Paediatric First Aid certificate or a commitment to achieve this within the first 3 months of employment.
• Knowledge and understanding of current legislation, policy and guidance relating to the work of Sure Start Children’s Centres.
• Current knowledge of practises to safeguard children and understanding of responsibility in the protection of children and promotion of their wellbeing.

Experience required:

• Experience of working with children and/or families.
• Experience of work in a nursery or childcare environment.
• Experience of teamwork.
• Experience of planning and organising play experiences for children.

Behavioural and other Characteristics required:

• Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours and codes of conduct.
• Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Best City Ambition of Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth and Zero Carbon.
• Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council equality and diversity policies.
• Willingness to actively participate in training and development activities.
• Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.