Nursery Officer

Job title: Nursery Officer

Salary: B3 £27,274 - £29,071

Hours: 37 all year round

Contract: Temporary maternity leave cover until 31.08.2027

Location: Little Owls Meanwood

Are you interested in a career in childcare? Little Owls nurseries are currently recruiting for nursery officers.

Little Owls is a great place to progress in your childcare career and many of our officers move on to become managers. We support staff to learn and progress by offering regular training.

As a nursery officer 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.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.

You will:

• provide high quality care and education for all children and support for families
• be responsible for ensuring that the day to day childcare provision in your assigned room is of a high standard
• work with the wider leadership team to ensure a broad and balanced Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum is provided.

About you:

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

• ability to build relationships and communicate effectively 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 effectively use the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) to lead planning and evaluation of activities to aid children’s learning.
• able to write and oversee the production of reports and plans to support children’s learning, development and wellbeing, to the required standard.

We expect the following experience and qualifications:

• minimum of level 3 qualification in childcare. To check if your qualification is relevant, please go to: www.gov.uk/guidance/early-years-qualifications-finder
• good standard of literacy and numeracy
• recent experience of working with young children and families

What we offer you

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

• 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.

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.

If you have any queries or would like an informal chat about the role please contact Andrea Smith (Support Services Manager) [phone removed] Email: [email removed]

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check against the Children’s or Adults’ barred list as applicable will be carried out on preferred candidates. Read our recruitment of ex-offenders policy.

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.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visa route before applying. 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. Please ensure you are eligible before applying.

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

Job Description

Job purpose

Under the general direction of the Manager and Senior staff, to work as part of the team to deliver a high standard of care which meets the individual needs of the children.

All staff are required to support the services main purpose of encouraging and enabling children to develop, behaviourally, educationally and emotionally. To create and maintain a customer focused attitude and approach at all times that promotes positive relationships and generates a culture of openness and trust. To deliver efficient, effective and quality services by way of flexible working. To work together with colleagues from other service areas and organisations to provide and maintain a safe secure and learning environment that promotes the safety and welfare of children in which they can prosper, develop and achieve. To foster, maintain and support pro-social behaviour, a restorative and solution focussed approach with, children, and colleagues.

Responsibilities

• To lead and provide high quality care and education for all children and support for families.
• To lead and provide a broad and balanced Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum that will meet the requirements of relevant National and Local standards.
• To establish and deliver on Individual Education Programmes (IEP) and the Early Support Programme for children with Special Educational Needs and disabilities (SEND).
• To observe and monitor children’s development and prepare written reports of their progress, to promote their wellbeing.
• To liaise with and provide professional advice to, parents/carers; and other professionals involved with the child.
• To maintain client confidentiality.
• To liaise with the local primary school teachers and prepare reports that will support the child’s transition into school.
• To report any injury or accident ensuring that the Health & Safety of the individual is maintained.