Application Pack – Assistant Childcare Practitioner

Kaleidoscope is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all practitioners and volunteers to share this commitment. Please note that having a Criminal Record does not automatically mean that an offer of appointment will be withdrawn. Kaleidoscope will use information from DBS checks alongside the statutory framework of the EYFS and advice from relevant bodies to assess the suitability of any potential employee.

Under the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 you will be required, if successful for interview, to provide evidence that you are legally entitled to work in this country. Official confirmation of your National Insurance number on a P45, P60, plastic NI number card, former payslip or a letter from HM Revenue & Customs or other Government department will suffice.

Enclosed in this pack is:

  1. Job Description
  2. Person Specification*
  3. Terms and Conditions
  4. Application Form
  5. Safeguarding and Child Protection and Whistleblowing Policies

*Please note that any applications that do not match the essential requirements as set out in the Person Specification will not be responded to.

Introduction to Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope was established in 1990, originally in York. Through careful management and continual reinvestment, we now offer over 550 Nursery and KOOSH places at nine sites across Leeds and York, employing 130+ full and part time staff and we are still expanding. Our new nursery, Out Of School Club and Training Centre opened in Drighlington, Leeds in October 2012.

We know how difficult it can be for parents to entrust a child to the care of someone else, especially at such a young age when the rate of learning and development is quicker than at any other time in their lives. We want parents to feel confident that the Kaleidoscope approach is the most stimulating and flexible learning programme where each individual child’s needs are planned and provided for. Kaleidoscope reflects the individual, complex, changing nature of children. There are no set patterns to how children learn and by providing an endless variety of stimulating experiences, we aim to nurture children’s potential.

Our commitment to children, their families and our team shows itself through our mission statement:

“We care, we love, we nurture, we respect. Your child is at the centre of all we do.”

Our nursery philosophy is the same now as it was when we first started: “children learn through play” and interaction with adults is essential to supporting children’s learning. The quality of our staff and our team’s happiness at work helps to create the family atmosphere of our Nurseries and KOOSH clubs. As an accredited Investor in People, training and development is very important to us and all our Early Years Practitioners are either qualified or working towards a relevant qualification. We offer apprenticeships at level 2 and 3 with training & assessment on site and all our managers have higher level qualifications or degrees.

The environment is important to children, parents and staff alike and we ensure that our premises are bright and spacious, yet warm and welcoming. Outdoor play is vital to children’s physical development and we ensure that learning can take place in pleasant outdoor play areas as well as inside. We offer free flow indoor and outdoor play and all nursery sites have vegetable and flower gardens as we place great emphasis on nutritious, home cooked, locally sourced food.

At Kaleidoscope we want to create an environment where everyone is happy to be.

Job Description

Post Title: Assistant Childcare Practitioner

Responsible to:Senior Childcare Practitioner, Deputy Manager, Nursery Manager

Job Purpose: The role of Assistant Childcare Practitioner is:

  1. To work as a member of the nursery team, showing initiative & creativity ensuring a high standard of childcare is maintained at all times.
  2. To be responsible for ‘Key Children’ following Kaleidoscope’s ‘Key Person Policy’.
  3. To be actively involved with planning and providing interesting learning opportunities through play, experiences and activities, which allow the children to explore, develop and progress within the Early Years Foundation Stage framework.

Key elements of the job:

  1. To be a reliable and flexible member of a team working cooperatively with all members of staff.
  2. To take responsibility for your own continuous professional development, keeping up to date with current issues relating to your job role and participating in all self-development activities including self reflection, PDRs and targets on your PIP.
  3. To attend and contribute to monthly staff meetings, training events, the annual Company Conference and Fun Day on a Saturday and two Parent Evenings as required.
  4. To be involved in the Self Evaluation Form and Early Years Quality Improvement Support Programme.
  5. To support and contribute to the values of Kaleidoscope at all times and promote its good image.
  6. To follow Kaleidoscope’s ‘Key Person Policy’ for key children and seconds, ensuring Learning Journeys are kept up to date and shared with parents on a regular basis to support the ‘Unique Child’.
  7. To express ideas and contribute towards planning a wide range of quality, age appropriate, child and adult initiated experiences and activities.
  8. To interact with all children through play and social activities to ensure their progress and all round development.
  9. To ensure that the setting offers an enabling environment for all children.
  10. To display all children’s work attractively, ensuring they are interesting, link to the Early Years Foundation Stage and show significant learning.
  11. To offer healthy snacks and meals as required according to Safer Food Better Business and Eat Better Start Better guidelines and Kaleidoscope’s Nutrition and Mealtime policies.
  12. To meet and greet all parent/carers and visitors in a friendly manner sharing their child’s day.
  13. To develop positive relationships with all parents/carers, family members and appropriate agencies and to work in partnership with them.
  14. To complete daily diaries and effectively share this information with parents when they collect their child.
  15. To have an understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework including observation, assessment and planning and work towards helping children achieve more.
  16. To ensure the health, welfare and safety of all children in the nursery at all times, in accordance with Kaleidoscope’s Code of Conduct and Health and Safety Policy.
  17. To ensure all children are signed in and out of nursery and daily registers are accurate.
  18. To be competent in assessing risks and complete the weekly room log on a daily basis.
  19. To fully understand and uphold Kaleidoscope’s Safeguarding and Child Protection and Whistleblowing policies and ensure the child is always at the centre of all we do.
  20. To follow and promote the policies and procedures outlined in Kaleidoscope’s Compliance Manual and Employee Handbook in line with the Safeguarding and Welfare and Learning and Development Requirements.
  21. To actively promote and support Kaleidoscope’s Equality of Opportunities Policy and to ensure the nursery functions in an anti-oppressive manner.

Person Specification

Detailed below are the types of skills, experience and knowledge that are required of applicants applying for the post. The ‘Essential Requirements’ indicate the minimum requirements, and applicants lacking these attributes will not be considered for the post. The points detailed under ‘Desirable Requirements’ are additional attributes to enable the applicant to perform the position more effectively or with little or no training. They are not essential, but may be used to distinguish between acceptable candidates.

Post Title: Assistant Childcare Practitioner

Essential Criteria / Desirable Criteria / Method of Assessment/ Source of Information
Skills and Abilities /
  1. Ability to work as and contribute to a team and to use own initiative
  2. Able to communicate and work in positive partnership with colleagues, parents and other professionals individually, in groups and at all appropriate levels
  3. Able to motivate children, sustain their interest and positively role model behaviour
  4. Able to contribute to written records which plan for and support individual children’s learning and development
  5. Able to develop a sensitive approach to the care of children and their families in a fully inclusive setting
  6. Good verbal and written communication and listening skills
/ Application Form
Interview
Qualifications & Knowledge /
  1. Qualified to a full and relevant Level 2 qualification
  2. Minimum of Key Skills Level 2 or GCSE grade C in English
  3. Knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage
  4. An understanding of the Children Act 2004 and Childcare Act 2006, Safeguarding Children, Health and Safety and Equality of Opportunities
/
  • Minimum of Key Skills Level 2 or GCSE grade C in Maths
  • First Aid and Food Safety certificates
/ Application Form
Interview
Experience /
  1. Experience of working in a nursery or similar environment
/
  • Experience of teamwork
  • Experience of planning and organising play experiences for groups of children
  • Experience of working with parents / carers
  • Experience of the role a nursery plays within the community
/ Application Form
Interview
Personal Attributes /
  1. General natural aptitude for working with children
  2. Proactive, self-motivated with an ability to reflect
  3. Flexible, reliable and punctual
  4. Committed to giving children and families the opportunity to reach their full potential
  5. Committed to client confidentiality
  6. Calm under pressure
  7. Willing to take responsibility for one’s own actions
  8. Commitment to continuous professional development
  9. Must be aged seventeen or over
/ Application Form
Interview

Terms and Conditions

The terms and conditions that are specific to this post are provided below.

Place of Work

Kaleidoscope operates Nurseries and KOOSH clubs at a number of sites across Yorkshire and if you are able, you may be required to work at any one of them. This will usually be for short periods to cover sickness or holiday arrangements for other staff.

Hours of Work

Your normal hours of work are as per your agreed contract and you are required to work flexibly to meet the needs of the business. Where you are required to stay at the premises during your break, you will be paid. If you work over six hours you will be given a minimum of 30 minutes unpaid break.

Annual Leave and Public/Bank Holidays

Your holiday year begins on 1st January and ends on 31st December each year, during which you will receive a paid holiday entitlement of 28 working days inclusive of public/bank holidays.

Entitlements are pro-rata to the above for part-time employees.

In your first holiday year your entitlement will be proportionate to the amount of time left in the holiday year.

The public/bank holidays each year are:

New Year's DayThe last Monday in May

Good FridayThe last Monday in August

Easter MondayChristmas Day

The first Monday in MayBoxing Day

In the event of you working on any of the above public/bank holidays, in addition to the normal day's pay, you will either be paid at single time for the hours worked or you will be given one day off in lieu, at our discretion. The date when a day off in lieu is to be taken is to be mutually agreed with us.

CM6.1 R&S ACP Application PackJan 14