Early Years Practitioner - Cowgate under 5\'s

The Early Years Practitioner will provide a service compatible with good practice in the education and care of children and young people within the policies and systems laid down by the Council and Education Department and the Care Inspectorate. They will work as an effective member of a Multi‑Disciplinary or other Team promoting a stimulating environment which balances education and care for children and young people, meeting children’s individual needs and those of their families, enabling everyone to achieve their potential.

This post is regulated work with children and/or protected adults under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007. The preferred candidate will be required to join the PVG Scheme or undergo a PVG Scheme update check. Where an individual has spent a continuous period of 3 months or more out with the UK in the last 5 years, an Overseas Criminal Record Check will be required. You will be required to provide this check. An unconditional offer of employment and commencement in the post will be subject to the outcome of both these pre‑employment checks being deemed satisfactory.

We are committed to creating a workplace culture where all our people feel valued, included and able to be their best at work, and we recognise the benefits that a diverse workforce with different values, beliefs, experience, and backgrounds brings to us as an organisation. To help achieve this, we’re changing the way we interview and assess candidates by moving from a competency‑based interview approach to a behavioural and technical (skills for the job) based approach. This new way of interviewing will allow us to assess how you think and how you would bring our Behaviours of Respect, Integrity and Flexibility into your ways of working.

Our salary range typically reflects the initial starting salary and annually increases until it reaches the top of the range. Happy to talk flexible working.

We’re the second largest local authority in Scotland with a workforce of over 19,000 who all play a crucial role in maintaining and supporting vital services to over 500,000 residents. We offer an incredible variety of career opportunities across a broad range of sectors. Join us and you’ll find a role where you can make a difference and grow your career.

Our Behaviours, respect, integrity, and flexibility guide everything that we do, and we strive to make sure all colleagues feel valued and have a sense of belonging in the workplace. We want to make sure that we bring people into our roles who demonstrate Our Behaviours and are dedicated and committed to our purpose of serving our community. We are focused on delivering excellent customer service to meet citizens' needs and make the city a better place.

We particularly encourage applicants from under-represented groups including women, LGBT+ people, racially minoritised groups, people with disabilities and people who are neurodivergent. As part of our commitment to inclusive recruitment, we are delighted to announce that we have extended our guaranteed interview scheme to include all applicants who are or have been care experienced, and who meet the essential criteria for the post. This extends our current arrangements of being a Disability Confident Employer, that guarantee an interview to applicants who meet the criteria for the post and who declare a disability.

As outlined in our People Strategy 2024‑27, we aim to nurture a healthy workforce where we can all thrive. We offer regular events, initiatives and learning opportunities covering a range of different health and wellbeing topics. We’re committed to supporting employees to achieve a healthy work-life balance. There are several policies in place to support this ranging from flexible work options to career breaks. We have a range of support options available including access to counselling, a mental health support service, an occupational health service, speak up supporters and a colleague listening service.

We’re committed to providing an inclusive and accessible experience at work for all our colleagues and we’ll work hard to ensure that we meet the changing needs of colleagues throughout their time with us. We’re also geared up to support all candidates who may require reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process. Candidates invited for interview should let the hiring manager know what they need, and they will do everything they can to accommodate your request.