EYFS Lead (with Phonics Lead role) in Liversedge

What skills and experience we're looking for:

• Passionate about Early Years education and understands how high-quality early experiences shape lifelong learning.
• Experienced in leading practice within EYFS (or ready to make the step into leadership with proven impact).
• Skilled in creating rich, engaging, and purposeful learning environments—indoors and outdoors.
• Able to lead, coach, and inspire a dedicated team with positivity and clarity.
• A reflective practitioner who is constantly striving to develop their practice.
• Committed to working in partnership with families and the wider school community.
• Driven by inclusion, high expectations, and the belief that every child can thrive.
• Have extensive experience working within the EYFS in a Primary School Setting.
• Have a deep understanding of the EYFS curriculum and framework and be able to lead its development across the provision.
• Have knowledge of and/or leadership of Early Reading strategies and systemic synthetic phonics programmes (Little Wandle or equivalent).
• Be confident, flexible, resilient and solution-focused.
• Build positive relationships with staff, external colleagues, pupils and families.
• Commit to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

What the school offers its staff:

• A supportive, collaborative, and friendly staff team.
• Curious, enthusiastic children who love to learn.
• A commitment to staff wellbeing and professional development.
• Opportunities to shape and influence our Early Years vision.
• A nurturing environment where play, creativity, and relationships sit at the heart of learning.
• Family-friendly approach to support staff balance the needs of work and home life.
• Employment and contracts managed by Kirklees Metropolitan Council (LA).
• Access to 24/7 wellbeing support through Care First.
• Access to Kirklees Employee Healthcare offer of smoking cessation, mini-MOT, menopause support, physio, counselling.

Further details about the role:

Main purpose: The teacher will:

• Fulfill the professional responsibilities of a teacher, as set out in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document.
• Meet the expectations set out in the Teachers’ Standards.

Duties and responsibilities:

Teaching & Learning:

• Plan and teach well-structured lessons to assigned classes, groups and/or individuals, planning from, following or adapting the school’s plans, curriculum and schemes of work.
• Assess, monitor, record and report on the learning needs, progress and achievements of assigned pupils, making accurate and productive use of assessment.
• Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of pupils.
• Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils.
• Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils.
• Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge.
• Participate in arrangements for preparing pupils for statutory assessments.
• Identify pupils who have special educational needs, and know where to get help in order to give positive and targeted support.
• Implement and keep records to support their progress using school systems.
• When applicable, understand the demands expected of pupils in relation to the Early Years Foundation Stage and KS1 and/or KS2.

Whole-school organisation, strategy and development:

• Contribute to the development, implementation and evaluation of the school’s policies, practices and procedures, so as to support the school’s vision and values.
• Make a positive contribution to the wider life and ethos of the school.
• Work with others on curriculum and pupil development to secure coordinated outcomes.

Health, safety and discipline:

• Promote the safety and wellbeing of pupils.
• Maintain good order and discipline among pupils, managing behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment.
• Take part in the school’s appraisal procedures.
• Take part in further training and development in order to improve own teaching.

Communication:

• Communicate effectively with pupils, parents and carers, including written reports.
• Working with colleagues and other relevant professionals.
• Develop effective professional relationships with colleagues.
• Establish effective working relationships with professional colleagues including, where applicable, support staff and external professionals.
• Direct and deploy support staff effectively.

Personal and professional conduct:

• Uphold public trust in the profession and maintain high standards of ethics and behaviour, within and outside school.
• Have proper and professional regard for the ethos, policies and practices of the school, and maintain high standards of attendance and punctuality.
• Understand and act within the statutory frameworks setting out their professional duties and responsibilities.

Safeguarding:

• Work in line with statutory safeguarding guidance (e.g. Keeping Children Safe in Education, Prevent) and our safeguarding and child protection policies.
• Work with the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) to promote the best interests of pupils, including sharing concerns where necessary.
• Promote the safeguarding of all pupils in the school.

Commitment to safeguarding:

Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment. Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance. Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant): childcare disqualification, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), medical, online and social media prohibition from teaching, right to work, satisfactory references, suitability to work with children. You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.