Children's Centre Practitioner

Children’s Centre Practitioner (Level 3)

Location Base: Queens Park Children’s Centre, Marlborough Road, MK40 4LE +

 Multi-Site travel within Bedford

Hours: Full – Time, (37.5 hours per week)

Salary: £16,855 per annum + Benefits

Company/Overview:

Are you a qualified Early Years Practitioner looking for the next step in your career?

Early Childhood Partnership (A subsidiary of One YMCA) is seeking an experienced Level 3 Children’s Centre Practitioner to join the Queens Park Children Centre team (with multi-site travel to all ECP Children Centre sites).

The primary focus of the Children’s Centre Practitioner role is to support the Children’s Centre Team Leader in work with parents, carers, families and children that reflect the vision of the Children’s Centre and support the engagement of parents in the development and learning of their children.  The post holder will work alone at times, for which a Lone working policy will apply.

The key elements of the post are to:

• Support the Children’s Centre Team Leader in planning and ensuring the smooth delivery of services to local families with children under 5 years of age.
• Promote the engagement of parents in their children’s development and learning and contribute to the effective and efficient delivery of information, advice and support to parents in order to improve outcomes for vulnerable children under five and their families.
• Work towards and achieve the agreed Key Performance Indicators and performance objectives and ensure a high level of service is provided at all times

Essential Knowledge, skills & Experience

• Level 3 qualification in children and young people or early years
• Knowledge of the development needs of children from birth to 5 yrs and the importance of empowering parents to support their child’s learning and development.
• Experience of working within a childcare, family support or Children’s Centre setting
• Good working knowledge and understanding of current childcare legislation, national standards and frameworks
• Understanding of the importance of confidentiality
• Understanding of the issues faced by diverse communities and barriers to inclusion
• Good understanding of safeguarding procedures (in relation to Child Protection) and Safeguarding Certificate
• Awareness of the roles and responsibilities of other agencies and professionals working with all children and families
• Experience of multi-agency working essential, experience of working in a children’s centre setting (BENEFICIAL)
• Experience of developing positive working relationships with a range of service users
• Paediatric First Aid Certificate or willingness to undertake training
• Good level of applied literacy and numeracy
• Computer literate, working knowledge of Microsoft Office, and ability to learn new skills
• Full driving licence and able to travel within the community (ESSENTIAL)

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ALSO HAVE A SHORT-TERM MATERNITY POST AVAILABLE AND ARE HAPPY TO CONSIDER PEOPLE FOR BOTH/EITHER

Closing Date: Midnight 15th April 2018

Interview Date: Week Commencing 16^th April 2018