Early Years Practitioner

Are you an enthusiastic and engaging Early Years Practitioner? Do you have a sound knowledge of child development and early years foundation?

We are seeking an experienced, level 3 qualified Early Years Practitioner with good initiative and imagination to create an enriching and caring environment where children aged 0-5 years can thrive. As a strong team player, you will provide high quality, safe and supportive childcare with a focus on nurturing the development, racial, cultural, religious, language, gender and disability needs of each individual child.

A variety of development opportunities are available through becoming room and age group experts and attending local network meetings, with prospects of gaining relevant experience to progress on to more senior practitioner and deputy positions.

One permanent post and one 12 month fixed term post available.

Previous applicants, need not apply

**You will**:

- work as part of a team with children aged 0-5 years providing high quality, stimulating childcare
- ensure the quality of care is of the highest level, providing a safe, caring, happy and stimulating environment
- take an active role in settling a new child in, liaising with parents and keeping up to date records of learning and development
- establish and maintain relationships within the staffing team, with parents and with all children
- have the imagination and enthusiasm to plan and evaluate activities for children
- use strong communication skills essential for team work and building relationships with the children under your care
- have effective writing skills, enabling completion of children’s written assessments and other related and non-related paperwork

Established for over 20 years, Saplings Nursery is an Ofsted registered day nursery located within the grounds of Southmead Hospital. Saplings Nursery moved to our newly refurbished premises in Somerset House in July 2018.

The Nursery provides care for 90 children aged from 6 weeks to starting school. Our dedicated and experienced team at Saplings is committed to providing a warm, safe and stimulating environment for children to learn, explore, develop and grow. We are open to both employees of North Bristol Trust and parents/carers who are not employed by the Trust. Saplings Nursery works closely with the local authority, Bristol City Council, who support the nursery by providing us access to a Qualified Early Years Teacher who visits the nursery four times a year offering guidance and reviewing our practice. Saplings Nursery is registered and inspected by Ofsted and currently has an Ofsted rating of “Good”.

North Bristol NHS Trust employs over 12,000 staff providing healthcare to the residents of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset from our award-winning hospital building at Southmead. We are the regional Major Trauma Centre, and an internationally recognised centre of excellence in a range of services and major specialities. Our vision is that by enabling our teams to be the best that they can be, we will provide exceptional healthcare, personally delivered.

To ensure the health and safety of the children in your care

To provide a safe, stimulating environment to encourage children to reach their full potential

To plan and evaluate day-to-day activities to ensure that children experience a wide range of appropriate activities that meet their interests and learning needs

To organise both individual and group activities for the children and ensure they are adequately supervised on and off the site.

To take responsibility and care for a group of children, taking the lead for their learning diaries and completing all observations, reports and other paperwork as necessary

To work closely and build a good relationship with parents and ensure all relevant information is available to parents and communicate with them daily as regards their child’s welfare

To provide a transition plan for new children to the nursery or for those children who are moving on to another setting or school

To work alongside other agencies to support special educational needs