Early Years Lead Practitioner

The Role

Davenport Lodge Nursery School is looking to appoint a qualified Early Years Lead Practitioner to join our team of highly dedicated and friendly Practitioners, to start in January 2024. The role will be full-time hours, term time only.

The purpose of this role is to oversee the quality of the early education for the children in the nursery and effectively deliver the Group’s high educational standards. This role will focus on promoting teaching and learning to ensure that children progress in their development to achieve their full potential and become ready for school.

The School

At Davenport Lodge Nursery School we aim to provide a supportive and structured environment in which babies and children, as they develop, are encouraged to recognise their individuality, efforts and achievements as happy and secure individuals in learning and social environments. We have a strong emphasis on personal, social and emotional development.

The Group

The Alpha Plus Group was founded in 1931 and currently comprises independent nurseries, schools and colleges, which have developed a longstanding reputation for delivering premium quality education. Alpha Plus Group creates centres of educational excellence. Each centre retains its own identity, with the Heads and Principals afforded significant management authority, but with the benefits of financial security, camaraderie and opportunities for sharing best practice by belonging to one of the country's leading educational groups.

Job Description

This is a leadership role that includes:

a) setting accurate intentions for the curriculum that has been planned for the children (intent)

b) overseeing the implementation and teaching strategies used in the classroom (implementation) and

c) measuring the impact of the curriculum to ensure children are progressing in their learning (impact).

This will also ensure that children experience an overall rich curriculum that provides a broad range of learning opportunities to the children that enable them to develop their knowledge and skills as a foundation for good future learning. As well as being an experienced early years’ professional, you will work effectively with the Head and parents to develop positive and effective relationships.

Duties & Responsibilities

• To be accountable for the delivery of high quality inclusive early education, which is responsive to the needs of children and their families.
• To lead practice within the classroom. This includes:

- establishing and sustaining a safe, welcoming and stimulating environment through the provision of appropriate resources

- planning a balance of continuous provision and adult-led experiences

- promoting the development of children's prime areas of learning so they provide the right foundations for the development of the specific areas of learning

- organising learning materials and resources by using them creatively

- developing children's curiosity, interests, and knowledge

• To monitor systems of assessment, recording and reporting on the progress in children’s development and learning.
• To ensure that all practitioners understand the principles and content of the Early Years Foundation Stage and know how to put them into practice.
• To ensure that practitioners have high expectations of all children and demonstrate commitment to ensuring that they can achieve their full potential.
• To influence and shape the policies and practices of the setting and share in collective responsibility for their implementation.
• To ensure that the service delivery is maintained within current legislative requirements including the Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements, Health and Safety and Safeguarding and the Learning and Development Requirements.
• To work in partnership with parents / carers and other family members, providing formal and informal opportunities through which information about children’s well-being, development and learning can be shared to improve their outcomes.
• To contribute to the work of a multi-professional team and, where appropriate, coordinate and implement agreed programmes and interventions on a day-to-day basis.
• To work in partnership with specialist agencies or professionals to ensure the safety and well-being of all children, identifying child or family support needs, as necessary.
• To take responsibility for staff professional development including apprentices and sessional staff by role modelling best practice, providing mentoring support sessions.
• To conduct termly observations of practice and report findings to the Head.
• To conduct termly monitoring of learning records and feedback to the practitioners about how they can improve the quality of their observations and the accuracy of their assessments.
• To undertake any other duties as may be appropriate and required from time to time.

The full Job Description is available on the APG Careers Site.

Safeguarding

Davenport Lodge Nursery School and the Alpha Plus Group are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and employees of Davenport Lodge are expected to share this commitment. The protection of our students’ welfare is the responsibility of all staff within Alpha Plus Group Schools and individuals are expected to conduct themselves in a way that reflects the principles of our organisation. All members of staff must undergo an enhanced DBS with Barred List clearance, be aware of and follow the Safeguarding policies and partake in training on safeguarding and personal welfare.

Equal Opportunities

We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.

Please click the link below for further information on employing Ex-Offenders:

Policy on employment of ex-offenders.pdf (alphaplusgroup.co.uk)

Application Process

Please click 'Apply' to submit your application through the APG careers site.

The closing date is Friday 17 November, 17:00 and interviews will be held in the week commencing 27 November.