At Caring Kindergartens, children are at the heart of everything we do. We are looking for an enthusiastic and experienced Senior Nursery Officer (Third in Charge) to join our team and play a key role in supporting the day-to-day leadership of the nursery. From being a fairy godmother one day to a firefighter the next, no two days are ever the same.

This is an exciting opportunity for a passionate early years professional who is ready to take the next step in their career. You will work closely with the Nursery Manager and Deputy Manager, supporting the delivery of outstanding care, education and safeguarding while leading by example and inspiring your colleagues.

Duties and Responsibilities

• To support the Nursery Manager and Deputy Manager in the day-to-day running of the nursery, assuming responsibility in their absence where required.
• To lead, motivate and support a team of practitioners, promoting high standards of practice and positive professional relationships.
• To act as a key person for a group of children, observing, assessing and recording their progress and development through high-quality observations and learning records.
• To develop meaningful interactions with children that build upon and extend their thinking, curiosity and learning.
• To plan, prepare and deliver a wide range of stimulating play experiences that promote children's physical, intellectual, social and emotional development.
• To ensure planning is informed by children's interests, observations and next steps in line with the EYFS framework.
• To support each child in developing self-esteem, confidence, independence and a strong sense of belonging.
• To monitor and maintain high standards of teaching, learning, care and safeguarding throughout the nursery.
• To support the induction, mentoring and development of colleagues, sharing best practice and promoting continuous improvement.
• To build positive partnerships with parents and carers, ensuring effective communication regarding children's development and wellbeing.
• To act as a positive role model by treating children, families and colleagues with kindness, professionalism and respect.
• To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of current legislation, safeguarding requirements and best practice through ongoing professional development.
• To ensure health, safety and hygiene standards are consistently maintained in line with Caring Kindergartens' policies and procedures.
• To contribute to nursery audits, quality improvement plans and the achievement of company objectives.
• To work collaboratively with the management team and colleagues to create a positive, proactive and highly effective nursery environment.

To be successful in your application, you will need:

• A suitable Level 3 childcare qualification recognised by the Department for Education (Level 5 desirable).
• Significant experience working within an early years setting.
• A strong understanding of the EYFS and child development.
• A thorough knowledge of safeguarding legislation and best practice.
• Experience of leading or mentoring colleagues within an early years environment.
• Excellent spoken and written English.
• Strong organisational and leadership skills.
• The ability to extend children's learning through high-quality interactions, experiences and activities.
• Experience of managing a key group of children and maintaining accurate learning records.
• Excellent communication skills with children, families and colleagues.
• A commitment to reflective practice, continuous improvement and professional development.
• An enhanced DBS check.

Why Join Caring Kindergartens?

Our safe, secure and inspiring environments ensure that children can learn through play, exploration and meaningful experiences. As a Senior Nursery Officer, you will have the opportunity to make a real difference to children's lives while developing your own leadership skills within a supportive and ambitious organisation.

The nursery is easily accessible from all local areas, including surrounding villages.

What are the benefits for working at Caring Kindergartens:

• A brilliant work culture, celebrating success and achievements of our teams and the individuals within them. We consider ourselves to be like a family, therefore we care about everyone and their wellbeing, as happy staff make happy children;
• We all deserve a treat so we offer a wide variety of discounts across high street brands, travel, utilities and days out;
• Financial support for our working parents, offering 60% discount on fees for all children that attend the nursery;
• We fully understand how Christmas and New Year is a time for family and friends (and some Christmas TV too) so we guarantee you time off over the festive period;
• Not only will we provide you with the training and access to platforms you require to carry out your role, but we’ll also regularly meet to check in with how you are getting on, working together to create an amazing, safe environment for you to ask questions and share thought, no matter how small.
• We are invested in your development, so for every stage of your career, we will tailor make your individual journey, with opportunities across our chain of nurseries;
• We can provide you with access to our NURTURE programme, preparing you to step into your next position within Early Years;
• Your health and wellbeing are very important to us, we offer every member ongoing internal support, along with an Employee Assistance Programme;
• To help keep worklife organised, fun and all in one place, we have an internal employee app to support staff to manage work rotas, book annual leave, access documents and policies, along with it's very own social media platform where activities, ideas and team challenges are regularly shared;
• Day One Inclusion – Every member of staff has the same rights as everyone else from their very first day with Caring Kindergartens.